40th Anniversary of Octopussy (1983) starring Roger Moore as 007

By: FSWL team

Published:
2023-06-06

40 years ago, on 6th June 1983, Octopussy, Roger Moore's sixth and penultimate film as Ian Fleming's James Bond, premiered in the UK. And since 1983, June 6th is also Sweden's National Day and on this day in 2013, FSWL founder Anders Frejdh was crowned Sweden's foremost James Bond expert on national television in Fantasterna on TV4.

Action, adventure and a spy thriller. The 13th instalment in the 007 series is the most successful (based on number of tickets sold) James Bond film at cinemas in Sweden to date.

When fellow secret serviceman Agent 009 is murdered over a treasured Faberge egg, the British intelligence sends James Bond to investigate.

Bond follows the egg to India after it is put up for auction and bought by the wealthy prince Kamal Khan (played by Louis Jordan).

There he meets the enigmatic and beautiful circus leader, Octopussy (portrayed by Maud Adams), and discovers that Khan and the maniacal Russian General Orlov plan to cripple Western Europe with a nuclear explosion and incite a world war.

Metro Goldwyn Mayer, United Artists & Albert R. Broccoli presents Roger Moore as Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 in Octopussy:

Production notes from the making of Octopussy

• 16 August 1982: Shooting began, the first scene shot was in Moneypenny’s (played by Lois Maxwell) office
• 18 August 1982: Director John Glen directed the auction of the Fabergé egg
• 24 August 1982: The first shooting day at the circus including 6 horses, 6 clowns and 6 gymnasts
• 16 September 1982: John Glen shot Bond’s backgammon game with Kamal Khan
• 23 September 1982: John Glen filmed Magda (played by Kristina Wayborn) stealing the Fabergé egg from Bond
• 27 September 1982: John Glen shot Gobinda’s (played by Kabir Bedi) attempt to kill Bond and Vijay (portrayed by professional tennis player Vijay Amritraj)
• 3 October 1982: John Glen shot the scene in which Bond is chased by gunmen on elephants
• 9 October 1982: John Glen shot Bond chasing after Kamal on horseback to rescue the kidnapped Octopussy
• 15 October 1982: John Glen filmed the death of 009 at the British Embassy
• 25 October 1982: John Glen filmed Magda’s seduction of Bond
• 1 November 1982: John Glen filmed Bond disguising himself as a cadaver to escape Kamal’s fort
• 17 November 1982: John Glen shot Bond’s fight with the knife-throwing twins
• 26 November 1982: John Glen filmed Octopussy’s group sneaking into Kamal’s fortress
• 1 December 1982: John Glen shot Octopussy’s gang fussing over an embarrassed Q in the courtyard
• 6 December 1982: John Glen shot Kamal Khan discussing Bond with the as yet unrevealed Octopussy
• 17 December 1982: John Glen shot Bond and Octopussy being attacked by thieves in the bedroom
• 22 December 1982: John Glen filmed a snake crawling over Bond as he hid from Kamal Khan
• 24 December 1982: John Glen shot Gobinda arming the bomb on the train
• 21 January 1983: Roger Moore shot his last scenes, his penultimate film as 007

A selection of filming locations used for Octopussy

• Berlin Wall, Berlin, Germany
• Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England (twins pursue agent 009 - twins pursue James Bond)
• City Palace, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India (James Bond's Hotel in India)
• Ferry Meadows, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England (train scenes)
• Hurricane Arch Bridge - State Route 9 Milepost 11, Hurricane, Utah, USA (finale aerial scenes)
• Kanab, Utah, USA (finale aerial scenes)
• Kurfürstendamm, Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany (main shopping strip)
• Lake Palace Hotel, Jagniwas Island, Lake Pichola, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India (Octopussy's island home)
• Lake Pichola, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India (lake surrounding Octopussy's island home)
• Monsoon Palace, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India (Kamal Khan's palace)
• National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, England (exterior Kremlin National Fine Art Repository)
• Nene Valley Railway, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England (Train scenes)
• New Bond Street, Mayfair, London, England (Bond leaves auction house)
• Oakley, Buckinghamshire, England (Hanger, used to fly through)
• Old War Office Building, Whitehall, Westminster, London, England (MI6 headquarters)
• Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England (train scenes and the death of 009)
• Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England (studio)
• RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, England (Feldstadt Airforce Base, Germany)
• RAF Northolt, Ruislip, London, England (scene at horse track; Feldstadt, West German airbase)
• RAF Oakley, Oakley, Buckinghamshire, England (Opening fly through hangar scene)
• RAF Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England (Circus parade scene)
• Shiv Niwas Hotel, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India (James Bond's Hotel in India)
• Sotheby's, 35 New Bond Street, Mayfair, London, England (auction)
• Wansford Railway Station, Wansford, Nene Valley Railway, Cambridgeshire, England (train scenes)

Vehicles used during the filming of Octopussy

• Acrostar Mini Jet (Bede Jet)
• Aerospatiale Alouette 316B (helicopter)
• Alfa Romeo GTV6 (car)
• Beechcraft C-45 (aeroplane)
• BMW 5 series sedan (car)
• BMW motorcycle
• Hot-air balloon
• Indian Tuk-Tuk Taxi
• Mercedes-Benz 240D (car)
• Mercedes-Benz 250 SE (car)
• Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman (car)
• Military truck
• Range Rover convertible (car)
• Rolls Royce Phantom III (car)
• Willys jeep
• VW beetle (car)

Some of the people that worked on Octopussy that FSWL has met over the years

>Alan Hume (Director of Photography)
>Albert Moses as Sadruddin
>Albert R. Broccoli (Producer)
>Alison Papworth as Octopussy girl
>Andrew Noakes (Administration)
>Anthony Waye (Assistant director)
>Arthur Wooster (Second unit director)
>Barbara Broccoli (Assistant director)
>Bill Weston (Stunt Double for Louis Jourdan)
>Carole Ashby as Octopussy girl
>Cherry Gillespie as Midge
>Cheryl Anne as Octopussy girl
>Colin Miller (Sound editor)
>David Meyer as Miska
>Dermot Crowley as Major Kamp
>Desmond Llewelyn as Q
>Eva Rueber-Staier as Rublevitch
>Geoffrey Keen as Defence Minister
>George Leech (Stuntman, crash with jeep in the early scenes)
>Helene Hunt as Octopussy girl
>Janine Andrews as Octopussy girl
>Jeremy Bulloch as Smithers
>Jim Dowdall (Stunt Double for Roger Moore under train)
>John Barry (Film soundtrack composer)
>John Glen (Director)
>John Grover (Supervising Editor)
>John Richardson (Special Effects Supervisor)
>Kabir Bedi as Gobinda
>Kristina Wayborn as Magda
>Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny
>Malcolm Weaver (Stuntman)
>Martin Grace (Stunt Supervisor and Double for Roger Moore under train)
>Mary Stavin as Octopussy girl
>Maud Adams as Octopussy
>Michael G. Wilson (Producer and screenwriter)
>Monty Norman (Composer of the James Bond theme)
>Nosher Powell (Stuntman)
>Paul Weston (Stunt Fight Arranger/Stunt Supervisor and Double for Roger Moore on the train after Grace's accident)
>Peter Davies (Editor)
>Peter Lamont (Production designer)
>Philip Voss as the auctioneer
>Remy Julienne (Stunt Driver)
>Richard Le Parmentier as U.S. Aide
>Richard Maibaum (Screenwriter)
>Robert Brown as M
>Rocky Taylor (Stunt Double for Roger Moore and Second Unit Stunt Arranger)
>Roger Moore as James Bond
>Roy Alon (Stuntman)
>Safira Afzal as Octopussy girl
>Steven Berkoff as General Orlov
>Terry Cade (Stuntman)
>Tony Meyer as Griska

Swedish Octopussy film posters

Official Swedish film posters for Octopussy. © 1983 Danjaq S.A. & United Artists Corporation. All rights reserved.

Read more about the film Octopussy on MGM's official website.

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#on_the_tracks_of_007