MORTNER, DR. CARL

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

Renegade Nazi scientist, portrayed by Willoughby Gray, hired by Max Zorin (CHRISTOPHER WALKEN) as a horse-breeding consultant in A View to a Kill. In actuality, Mortner is Hans Glaub, a renowned German specialist in the development of steroids.

During World War Il, in an attempt to enhance intelligence in newborns, Glaub experimented with steroid injections in pregnant concentration-camp inmates. Virtually all children were aborted, but a handful were born with incredible IQs. The only side effect was that they all turned out to be psychotics. One of those children was Max Zorin.

After World War Il, the Russians grabbed Mortner before he could be arrested and tried for his war crimes. He was set up to develop steroids for Soviet athletes. British Intelligence lost track of him around 1970.

In Zorin’s employ, Mortner has been using his steroid knowledge on racehorses. By surgically implanting microchips and a small supply of natural horse steroids in the animals’ legs, Mortner can overcome their fatigue on the racecourse. Zorin’s prize thoroughbred, Pegasus, demonstrates that ability in a race observed by James Bond (ROGER MOORE) and Sir Godfrey Tibbett (PATRICK MACNEE).

After Bond successfully averts Zorin’s plot to destroy Silicon Valley by triggering a huge earthquake, Mortner joins Zorin and Scarpine (PATRICK BAUCHAU) in the getaway blimp. During an amazing fight atop the Golden Gate Bridge, Mortner is blown to bits when a batch of dynamite headed 007′s way explodes prematurely.

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