James Bond in Jamaica

25 facts

The first James Bond film was shot almost 60 years ago. This year, the 25th Bond returns to the adopted Caribbean home of author Ian Fleming, the creator of the most famous secret agent in film history: last year, the film "No Time to Die" was shot in Jamaica and is due to be released in cinemas in November 2020. There are already numerous references to Jamaica in the existing 007 novels and films. Especially in the three films that were shot on the island: "James Bond Hunts Dr. No", "Live and Let Die" and "The Man with the Golden Gun". But there are also numerous other connections between James Bond and Jamaica. Be it at the Half Moon Resort, where Bond spent a night with Rosie Carver, or at Laughing Waters Beach, where the incomparable scene in which Ursula Andress climbed out of the water was filmed - a search for clues in Jamaica will not only delight die-hard Bond fans.


Here are the 25 most important facts about James Bond in Jamaica:

1. two James Bond films were shot near the town of Oracabessa, where Ian Fleming wrote a total of twelve novels: "Live and Let Die" and "James Bond Hunts Dr. No"
2. the White River, which forms the border between the districts of St. Ann and St. Mary, is the backdrop for the river scenes in "Dr. No".
3. the famous scene where Ursula Andress met James Bond for the first time was filmed on the private beach "Laughing Waters" in Ocho Rios; other shots were filmed nearby at Dunn's River Falls.
4. several Jamaican hotels were used as locations in James Bond films. The room where Bond once spent the night with Rosie Carver is now "Cottage 10" at the Half Moon Resort near Montego Bay.
5. the Couples Sans Souci Hotel near Ocho Rios was used as a location in "Live and Let Die". Bond's hotel room at the time is now specially marked "D20".
6) The iconic voodoo dance scene in "Live and Let Die" was filmed in a restaurant in Ocho Rios in 1973.
7) Bob Marley almost bought Goldeneye, Ian Fleming's property in Oracabessa, in the 1960s before it was finally purchased by his future producer Chris Blackwell.
8. numerous scenes for "Dr. No" were filmed in Jamaica's capital Kingston.
9. the house of the Jamaican Governor General, now called King's House, was used in "Dr. No" as the government house where Bond met with British intelligence officers at the beginning of his mission.
10. the Grand Port Royal Hotel (formerly the Morgan Harbour Hotel) in Kingston was a filming location in "Dr. No" and was shown there several times.
11 The legendary Jamaican soca band, the Dragonnaires, led by Byron Lee, recorded the song "Drift Up" for "Dr. No", which became part of the first Bond soundtrack.
12 Ernest Ranglin, the famous jazz and blues guitarist from Jamaica, can be heard several times on the Dr. No soundtrack, including accompanied by his wife Dianna Coupland in "Under the Mango Tree".
13 Reynolds Pier, part of the Ocho Rios cruise ship complex, can be seen in "Dr. No" in the form of the fictional island "Crab Key".
14 Ian Fleming was an avid birdwatcher. One of his favorite books was the identification book "Birds of the West Indies" - written by an ornithologist named James Bond. When he and his wife visited Fleming in Goldeneye in 1964, he was amused by the use of his name.
15 The first Bond girl described in the novels, Vesper Lynd from "Casino Royale", was named after a cocktail that Ian Fleming liked to enjoy in Jamaica: a mixture of frozen rum, fruit and herbs.
16 Two of Ian Fleming's famous heroines, Solitaire from "Live and Let Die" and Domino from "Fireball", are named after rare Jamaican birds.
17 The scenes in the swamps of Crab Key Island in "Dr. No" were filmed in the dried-up swamp of Falmouth in Trelawny.
18. the actress who played the very first enemy Bond girl was the Jamaican beauty queen Marguerite Lewars. She played Annabel Chung, the photographer assigned to spy on Bond. Her sister Barbara Lewars later married the three-time Prime Minister of Jamaica, Michael Manley.
19 Jamaica was the location for the fictional island of San Monique in the Bond film "Live and Let Die".
20 The Green Grotto, a system of stalactite caves on the north coast of Jamaica that is also open to tourists, is the setting for many underground scenes in "Live and Let Die".
21 The grounds of Rose Hall Great House, an 18th century plantation near Montego Bay, were used for the filming of "Live and Let Die". A makeshift cemetery was created on the grounds. The scene in the poppy field was filmed in the hills behind the house.
22 Chris Blackwell, record mogul and founder of the music empire "Island Records" worked as a location scout for "Dr. No".
23 Only insiders suspect that Blanche Blackwell, Chris Blackwell's mother, could have been the inspiration for the Honeychile Rider character. The Bond girl in "Dr. No", like Blanche Blackwell, came from a well-known Jamaican family and, like her, was a passionate marine biologist.
24 The plot of the novel "The Man with the Golden Gun" is set in several Jamaican locations, including Morgan's Harbour Hotel in Kingston, Green Island and Lucea.
25 Monty Norman, the composer of the legendary James Bond theme tune, has earned over USD 1 million in royalties since its release.

More about Jamaica at: www.visitjamaica.com/de/

Image: Half Moon Resort (Montego Bay)