Continuity mistake: When Disco Volante drops the stern and speeds away, the right ski, where Bond is supposed to hang on, is visible. But he's not there.
Thunderball (1965)
Plot summary
Directed by: Terence Young
Starring: Sean Connery, Desmond Llewelyn, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi, Claudine Auger, Rik Van Nutter
The movie begins with the mysterious death of a British jet pilot, Francois Derval, who was tasked with flying a military aircraft loaded with two nuclear warheads. Bond attends Derval's funeral and investigates his death, suspecting foul play. Upon examining the body, Bond discovers that Derval had a fake eye, indicating that the pilot was replaced to hijack the warheads.
Bond travels to the Bahamas, armed with his license to kill, to investigate the involvement of the international criminal organization SPECTRE. There he meets Emilio Largo, a SPECTRE operative posing as a rich playboy, and Domino Derval, the sister of the deceased pilot. Bond manages to charm Domino and gains her trust.
Bond discovers that SPECTRE has a hidden base of operations located in the Bahamas, known as Palmyra. He infiltrates the base, discovering the stolen warheads and a team of SPECTRE agents training to hijack and use the weapons. Bond manages to plant a tracking device on one of the warheads before being captured by Largo's henchmen.
Bond is taken prisoner aboard Largo's yacht, the Disco Volante. There he meets SPECTRE's Number Two, Fiona Volpe, a seductive and deadly agent. Recognizing Bond's capabilities, Largo decides to spare his life and keeps him captive.
Meanwhile, the British government receives a ransom demand from SPECTRE, threatening to detonate the stolen warheads in a major city unless they are paid £100 million in diamonds.
Bond manages to escape from the Disco Volante, fighting his way through Largo's henchmen. He reunites with his ally, Felix Leiter of the CIA, and together they track the stolen warheads to an underwater cave system. Using their scuba gear, Bond and Leiter infiltrate the cave and disable the bombs, preventing a nuclear catastrophe.
In order to ensure the safety of the warheads, Bond and his allies hatch a plan to disrupt SPECTRE's operations. They attack Palmyra, engaging in a thrilling underwater battle with Largo's men. Bond confronts Largo, who escapes aboard the Disco Volante, pursuing him in a high-speed boat chase.
During the pursuit, Bond manages to disable the Disco Volante by shooting a rocket into its hull. The yacht explodes, killing Largo, while Bond rescues Domino, who had been held captive.
In the final scene, Bond returns the recovered warheads to the British government and receives a passionate farewell from Domino as they sail away together into the horizon.
Trivia: When Bond and the guard fall into the pool and the shutters close over them, Largo gets the gate opened to allow sharks into the pool. When they were shooting this, there was supposed to be a sheet of glass in the water with the sharks on one side, and Sean on the other. Unfortunately, a couple of the sharks got round it, and when Sean opens the door to go through to the other pool, he's nose to nose. At this point, he's not acting. Watch his face for the genuine look of horror.
Question: As I watched the end scene I wondered: how do James and Domino intend to return to terra firma? They were whisked out of the boat by the plane and are hanging on the end of a long cord so the plane can't land without them being dragged at high speed along the concrete.
Answer: A helicopter could lower a line to them to attach themselves to. They could then cut the rope and be lowered to safety. A bit outlandish, but this is Bond we are talking about after all.
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Answer: Look up Skyhook online and you'll find out how it was done. The person hanging from the cable wold be pulled aboard by the plane's crew.