Omnibus: The British Hero (lost television documentary; 1973)

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James Bond.jpg

A rare still from the Goldfinger segment.

Status: Lost

"Omnibus": The British Hero is a 1973 hour-long episode of a British television documentary series that chronicled British actor Christopher Cazenove starring as famous fictional British heroes from classic and contemporary literature such as Bulldog Drummond and Richard Hannay. However, the special is perhaps best widely known for Cazenove's portrayal of famous literary spy James Bond in two segments.

Little is known about the Drummond and Hannay segments, but it is confirmed by those who have viewed it that the two Bond segments presented were loose adaptations of scenes from the original Ian Fleming novels Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever. The Diamonds segment consists of the climax of the Queen Elizabeth ocean liner with the gangsters Wint and Kidd torturing Tiffany Case in their room. Bond manages to sneak in and kill the thugs in a gunfight. Tiffany then shows her appreciation by offering to share a bath with Bond. The Goldfinger segment consisted of the infamous Laser Table sequence made popular by the film adaptation, which had been reverted back to the original circular saw blade from the novel. The villainous Goldfinger (Played by actor Graham Crowden) and Oddjob, dressed in surgeon's attire, interrogate Bond while the saw blade inches towards him while a beautiful but sinister female nurse looks on with an aroused expression.

The episode has scarcely been seen since its original airing. The last widely known screening was at a James Bond 50th anniversary showing at London's National Film Theater in 2003.[1]

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