In celebration of James Bond Day on October 5th and nearly 60 years after the fourth 007 movie was filmed in The Bahamas, some evidence of “Thunderball” still remains. Sean Connery was so enamoured with Nassau after the shoot that he bought a villa* in an exclusive gated community at the western end of New Providence. The producers of the James Bond films also loved The Bahamas so much that they returned many times to film. They used the crystal-clear waters around the islands to film underwater scenes for “You Only Live Twice,” the underwater car scene in “The Spy Who Loved Me” and diving scenes from “For Your Eyes Only,” even though none of those films were set in The Bahamas.
Thunderball (1965)
Perhaps the most iconic reminder of the first Bond film to shoot here is the pink painted house at Rock Point on the road between Cable Beach and Nassau. Privately owned, it cannot be visited, but from the nearby public beach, the outline of the swimming pool where arch villain Largo kept sharks can be seen. The property has suffered damage from recent hurricanes, but the secret gate where Bond first enters the property still exists, as does the villa and the woods where Largo indulged in trap shooting.
The British Colonial Hotel bar was dressed up as a casino for the gambling scenes between Largo and Bond, although these rooms were subsequently renovated and are no longer recognisable. The hotel terminated its agreement with Hilton in 2022 and closed, and reopened earlier this year.
Of the several “Thunderball” locations on Paradise Island, only the breakwater where Largo’s scuba team assembled survives. Bond silently slipped into the water behind them. The site is now part of the Atlantis complex. On Paradise Beach, Bond meets the beautiful Domino, played by Claudine Auger, for the first time. He engages her by pretending to have problems with his boat engine. Domino helps him out with her boat and they come ashore on the sun-drenched tropical beach.
Off the coast of New Providence, the Vulcan bomber which crashed into the ocean can still be visited by divers and snorkellers alike. Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas runs regular trips to this site and another shipwreck from the film. Sadly, the plane has lost its outer covering and only the underlying structure can still be seen.
Now named Thunderball Grotto, an extraordinary location just west of Staniel Cay in The Exumas, is a favourite for snorkellers and scuba divers. The underwater cave system is teeming with exotic marine life and a kaleidoscope of brilliantly coloured fish. At the top of the cave, a small opening permits the sun to enter and illuminate the scene. It was through this hole that Bond was rescued by helicopter. When the tide is low and the current slack, snorkellers can swim into the cave via a hidden entrance, but at high tide diving equipment is necessary.
Never Say Never Again (1983)
Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) played Nigel Small-Fawcett in his film debut in “Never Say Never Again” and has a rendezvous with Connery’s Bond in Rawson Square’s pillared arcade.
The beach of the British Colonial Hotel was used when Bond meets Fatima Blush, played by Barbara Carrera. She water-skis in front of the resort to the end of the pier and into Bond’s arms. The landmark yellow building stands out in the background. The pier was especially built for the movie and the hotel kept it. However, the scenes where Fatima places a bomb in Bond’s room, although identified by signage as the British Colonial, was in fact filmed at the Nassau Beach Hotel. The bomb goes off, but Bond was with another lady in her room at the time, so escaped harm. The Cable Beach property was demolished in 2012.
Casino Royale (2006)
When “Casino Royale,” the 21st Bond outing, was re-made featuring Daniel Craig’s debut in the role, the crew returned to The Bahamas. The intense parkour scene, set in Madagascar, was filmed at an abandoned construction site on the military base in Coral Harbour, with largely practical stunts. The villain escapes Bond to the fictitious Nambutu Embassy, set in and around the Buena Vista Estate, subsequently extensively renovated and now occupied by John Watling’s Distillery. The Ugandan jungle scenes in which Le Chiffre, played by Mads Mikkelsen, borrows $100 million dollars from a terrorist, were filmed at an abandoned property in the centre of New Providence. The scenes where Bond emerges from the water and later romances Solange, played by Caterina Murino, were filmed on the beach at the Albany Resort on the island’s south coast.
The One and Only Ocean Club on Paradise Island appears in several scenes, including the big casino set up where Bond wins an Aston Martin. The property’s extensive Versailles Gardens and Cloisters also feature and can be visited today. In 2017, the hotel underwent extensive renovations and was rebranded as The Ocean Club Four Seasons.
*Factoid: It was at his home in Lyford Cay that Sir Sean Connery died in 2020 at the age of 90. He was a regular visitor to The Ocean Club.
