In The Man With The Golden Gun, Bond utters this idiom and crude play on words when he threatens Lazar (the craftsman behind Scaramanga’s distinctive gold ammunition) with a shot to the groin. Despite his friendly demeanor, Lazar is never in control of the encounter and Bond seemingly toys with him just long enough to establish his dominance before turning the exchange into a blunt interrogation about the origin of the gold bullets.
Q Branch’s forensic assessment underscores the banality lurking beneath Scaramanga’s mythic weaponry. The bullets are composed of “soft 23-karat gold with traces of nickel,” produced with “undemanding” workmanship. Not in India, as Q Branch discusses, but the Far East: Macau, where Lazar manufactures them in an “imaginative” yet narrowly specialized operation.
Bond visits Lazar not to admire his craftsmanship but to follow a lead, and once Lazar has outlived his usefulness, his affability becomes irrelevant. The scene reinforces Bond’s purpose of confirming the identity of the man with the golden gun.
