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In one of the earlier James Bond movies, James was escaping some henchmen in a jungle. I'm not quite sure what actor it was or which movie since it's been a decade since I saw the scene, but I think it was Sean Connery and he was wearing a white suit. During this chase sequence, a large spider (one of those big hairy ones) crawled on his arm and James smacked it, leaving a big stain on his arm.

Was this spider a real live one?

Note: the movie was not Dr. No. I distinctly remember the main character wearing a white suit, being in the jungle in daylight, being chased by henchmen, standing still, noticing a spider on his left arm, using his right arm to slap it and leaving a big stain on his shirt like you would have from a red wine spillage.

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  • It was Dr. No. AFAIK.
    – A J ♦
    Mar 15, 2017 at 9:34
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    I think you may be thinking of Octopussy Roger Moore, white-ish suit, in the jungle. I can't fine the full clip just yet, but I'm sure someone will be able to
    – Longshanks
    Mar 15, 2017 at 9:46
  • Also, whichever film it was, you could check that it has the relevant no animals were harmed... message. I doubt they'd squash a real one, just for a Bond film...
    – Longshanks
    Mar 15, 2017 at 9:48
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    There's no spider I can see in the Octopussy chase, there is a snake and a leech (which he burns off with a lighter) though. Perhaps the OP is conflating multiple scenes/movies.
    – Paulie_D
    Mar 15, 2017 at 9:53
  • @Paulie_D I might be mixing up multiple movies. One of the issues is that I'm arachnophobic, so googling this isn't really fun...
    – Nzall
    Mar 15, 2017 at 11:38

2 Answers 2

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Here is the scene you are describing. It is from Octopussy - at the start of 007's escape through the jungle.

007 in the spider's web

As others have noted (and I have no source for this), it is highly unlikely the spider was real. It would be fairly easy for the prop guys to make a simple squishable model filled with some staining liquid.

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  • This appears to be the scene I was looking for. It's not entirely how I remembered it, but it's close enough that I'm willing to chalk that up to poor recollection. I'm hesitant to accept this answer because it still doesn't conclusively answer the core question whether that spider was real or fake.
    – Nzall
    Mar 17, 2017 at 10:26
  • That image is no longer available, but you can see the clip here. On the blu-ray, the shot is at 1:02:07. The spider looks fairly good — but there's clearly a load of yellow goo under, which is then left behind when he brushes it off, so I agree it seems unlikely to be real.
    – gidds
    Aug 26 at 19:34
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It was a real tarantula and Bob Simmons was used as a skin double for the close-up of the spider walking on Bond’s arm.

From Film School Rejects

Production designer Ken Adam had only ?475 left in his budget to build the set in which Professor Dent is told to put a spider in Bond’s room. He went for sytlized minimalism with a grid at the top of the room that would make him look like he was trapped in a spider’s web.

A real tarantula was used in the film. Bob Simmons was used as a skin double for the close-up of the spider walking on Bond’s arm. The shot of the spider crawling towards Connery’s face was achieved by putting the spider on glass over him. However, to keep the spider from sliding off the glass, the bed had to be angled and Connery strapped down so he didn’t fall off.

(emphasis added)

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    I also went with Dr No but the scene described by the OP does not match the "spider in the bed" sequence. Plus I don't think Connery every wore a white suit. Sounds more like Roger Moore.
    – Paulie_D
    Mar 15, 2017 at 9:40
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    The OP describes a jungle, an escape from henchmen and a white suit...none of which are in the sequence in Dr No. It was probably a quick passing second or two. Perhaps Live and Let Die?
    – Paulie_D
    Mar 15, 2017 at 9:45
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    There was a leech though. As I commented above to the question, it's possible the OP is conflating multiple scenes/movies. You already have my +1 though.
    – Paulie_D
    Mar 15, 2017 at 9:56
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    No, it's not this one. It's not the scene where the spider is on a bed. The spider is veritably on the arm and he slaps it dead, leaving a large stain on his suit.
    – Nzall
    Mar 15, 2017 at 10:09
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    I'm actually starting to doubt it was a bond movie. I'll do some research and come back once I know the movie.
    – Nzall
    Mar 15, 2017 at 10:33

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