BOUVAR, COLONEL JACQUES

Contributed by: The James Bond Movie Encyclopedia by Steven Jay Rubin

(a.k.a. Number 6): SPECTRE agent portrayed by stuntman Bob Simmons and assassinated by James Bond (Sean Connery) in the Thunderball pre-credits teaser. Attending the colonel’s supposed funeral at a cathedral outside Paris, Bond and his French contact Mademoiselle LaPorte (Mitsouko) notice that upon leaving, Bouvar’s widow (Rose Alba) suspiciously opens a car door by herself—something French widows are obviously not supposed to do. Bond follows her back to a French chateau and promptly offers his personal condolences in the form of a solid punch to the face—revealing that the widow is none other than Colonel Bouvar in drag.

A particularly vicious fight ensues, especially for Bond, who knows that Bouvar has already murdered two double-0 agents. Whacked by a fireplace poker, Bond finally gets the best of Bouvar and breaks the enemy agent’s neck. Stopping to toss flowers on the corpse, he then escapes from the chateau in a Bell jet pack.

Note: Although Richard Maibaum’s script gives the colonel’s name as “Boitier,” it’s pronounced “Bouvar” in the finished film.

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