James Bond Director Guy Hamilton Interview

Bond Legend Interviewed in Aberdeen, Scotland

Apr 29, 2009 Kevin Sturton

Guy Hamilton, the director of four James Bond films, appeared at an event organised by the city's university.

Now in its second season, The Director's Cut seeks to bring international talent to Aberdeen to discuss their careers. The brainchild of Allan Marcus, the University of Aberdeen's Head of Film and Visual Arts, the events have proved a resounding success. Previous interviewee's include Raul Ruiz and Nicholas Roeg. The 86-year-old Guy Hamilton didn't disappoint with a string of entertaining anecdotes about his time working as an assistant to directors like Carol Reed and John Huston, and about his own movies, particularly The Colditz Story (1955), Goldfinger (1964),and Funeral in Berlin (1966).

Guy Hamilton Returning to Aberdeen after 64 Years

Hamilton's last visit to Aberdeen was on May 8th 1945, VE Day, when his Naval vessel arrived in a deserted port and found the entire city was drunk.. After the war his love of cinema and for Jean Renoir's La Bete Humaine (1939) led him to pursue a career as a filmmaker.

The Third Man and The African Queen

Hamilton spoke warmly about Carol Reed, whom he served on The Fallen Idol (1948) and The Third Man (1949). From Reed, he learnt how to direct actors and handle the money men. Star Orson Welles proved to be as elusive as the roguish Harry Lime, only turning up halfway through a production that saw Reed having to improvise by keeping Lime hidden in Vienna's shadows.

John Huston provided even more drama. An enthusiastic hunter, Huston was initially more interested in shooting an elephant than shooting The African Queen (1951) Hamilton spoke admiringly of the movie's stars, Humphrey Bogart and Kathleen Hepburn and how they coped with difficult conditions without once complaining, something he doubted modern stars would do.

The Colditz Story

Hamilton described how there were true stories he couldn't film about the notorious prison, because no one would believe them. One such incident involved the POW's being marched down to a nearby village and being kept prisoner in the town hall while the Nazi's tore the prison apart looking for items that could aid an escape. On their return the prisoners found the courtyard filled with their stuff. The Germans must have thought they had taught the POWs a lesson, until the villagers phoned to complain the town hall had been stripped of all its metal furnishings.

James Bond and Harry Palmer

Hamilton directed four Bond films, Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Live and Let Die (1973) and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). He is credited with introducing the classic elements of the Bond movie and bringing a sense of humour to proceedings. Hamilton's description of Sean Connery's discomfort as they filmed the laser sequence in Goldfinger drew laughs from the audience, especially when the scene was subsequently shown, and we now knew Connery was genuinely worried about his 00's.

Funeral in Berlin was a grittier affair, with Michael Caine's working-class spy Harry Palmer caught up in Cold War shenanigans. Hamilton admitted Caine might have made a decent 007, although he diplomatically avoided interviewer Janice Forsyth's question about who was the best James Bond. Hamilton did cast some light on why he thought the Bond films caught the imagination of cinemagoers in the 60's and 70's. It was all about style, something the remarkable Guy Hamilton has in abundance.

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