To mark the Danish theatrical release of "Live and Let Die", EON Productions' 1973 James Bond 007 film, GAF Corporation produced a set of View-Master reels based on the movie. The reels were marketed in the US, West Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark (and perhaps other countries as well).
The three View-Master reels boiled the basic plot of "Live and Let Die" down to 21 sets of stereograms. When viewed through the ViewMaster viewer, the colour slides (taken from the film) appeared to be in stereoscopic 3-D.
"A View-Master disk holds 14 film slides in seven pairs, making up the seven stereoscopic images. Two film slides are viewed simultaneously, one for each eye, thus simulating binocular depth perception."
- from Wikipedia
The View-Master system, patented in 1940, was originally developed as a means of presenting photographs of tourist attractions in stereoscopic 3-D. After GAF Corporation acquired the system in 1966, the ViewMaster library was expanded to include film and TV adaptations. This writer owns Danish View-Master reels based on "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982) and the safari flick "Hatari!" (1962) as well as Lucky Luke and The Smurfs cartoons.
The Danish "Live and Let Die" reels pictured in this post were bought in 2014 at a flea market in Odense, Denmark for a mere 50 kroner (around £5 or $7). Then again, the reels were not in their original packaging, and the slides had faded and acquired a pinkish tint.
For some reason, the View-Master reels randomly reordered the scenes from the film with scant regard for chronology:
1. Agent Baines [spelled "Braines" on Danish reels] met voodoo death on island of San Monique.
2. At San Monique Hotel, Baron Samedi did Death Dance.
3. Bond knocked out the guard to Solitaire's house.
4. The Tarot card told Solitaire her future with Bond.
5. Camouflaged poppy fields were source of riches for Kananga.
6. Bond and Solitaire escaped in a double-deck bus.
7. The bus skidded. The pursuing motorcycles went flying!
8. Low bridge! The double decker became a single deck!
9. At airport, Bond slammed plane through, lopping off wings.
10. Handcuffed in Mr. Big's hideout, Bond awaited fate.
11. Escaping from crocodile pool, he drove boat across road –
12. – causing a multiple pile-up of police cars.
13. Bond led his pursuer toward an old landing craft.
14. The gangster's boat exploded on the landing craft.
15. On the island, Solitaire was led to voodoo death stake.
16. Baron Samedi rose from grave in voodoo cemetary.
17. Bond shot his way through to rescue Solitaire.
18. Two gangsters guarding Kananga were overpowered.
19. Bond and Solitaire found Kananga in secret grotto.
20. They were bound together on a pulley above shark pool.
21. In final combat Bond defeated Kananga, freed Solitaire.
● The American edition of the "Live and Let Die" ViewMaster reels (external link)
