The passing away of Sir Roger Moore aged 89 brought many memories to those who remember his presence in Malta over 40 years ago during the shooting of the film, Shout at the Devil and also to those who watched the television series of the 1960s/1970s, The Saint. This short feature is a fitting tribute to the man who was the longest-serving James Bond star with seven films to his credit.

The situation of filming in Malta in the early 1970s is very well captured by Charles Cauchi in the book, World Film Locations (2015). At the time Malta was going through a period of mass tourism development with the national airline Air Malta having been launched in 1973 and the island seing a boom in low-budget tourism from the United Kingdom. Hollywood was also going through a period of transition with the increase in runaway productions, favouring exotic locales over LA-based studios. If we consider the distinct shift in cultural production for both sites, it is easy to read The Mackintosh Man as an arcetyal example of espionage films made in the era.

No less than 150 films were shot in Malta over the years and it is now possible to know more about at least 20 of them in a two-hour walking tour of Valletta.

Towards the end of 1974, Michael Klinger, the producer of Shout at the Devil sent two complete construction crew to Transkei, South Africa and to Malta, to build the vast sets the movie demanded. Shout at the Devil started filming in South Africa on 3 March 1975.

Shout at the Devil was a 1976 British war adventure film directed by Peter R. Hunt and starring Lee Marvin and Roger Moore. The film, set in Zanzibar and German East Africa in 1913-1915, is based on a novel by Wilbur Smith which is very loosely inspired by real events (the sinking of the SMS Königsberg). The supporting cast featured Barbara Parkins and Ian Holm.

Colonel Flynn O'Flynn (Lee Marvin), a hard-drinking American, manipulates British aristocrat Sebastian Oldsmith (Roger Moore) into helping poach ivory in Tanganyika, which is part of the German-controlled pre-World War I territory of German East Africa. On hearing news that the American has returned, Herman Fleischer, the local German Commander of the Southern Provinces, relentlessly hunts O'Flynn with his Schutztruppen.

Later Sebastian meets and falls in love with O'Flynn's daughter, Rosa (Barbara Parkins). They are married and have a daughter together. Meanwhile the poaching continues. Fleischer has a warship ram and sink O'Flynn's Arab dhow (ship) containing poached ivory. But while attacking O'Flynn's home, Schutztruppe under Fleischer's command kill Sebastian's daughter Maria.

O'Flynn and Sebastian decide to go and kill Fleischer as revenge for the death of the little girl. But when it is discovered that Britain is at war with Germany, allied officers convince O'Flynn to locate and destroy the German warship awaiting repair.

O'Flynn, Sebastian and Rosa pursue Fleischer, who also happens to be on the warship. Eventually they find her in an inlet and sink her.

The film's budget has been reported as $9-10 million. Klinger says $3.5 million was provided by AIP. The film was shot on location in Malta and, controversially due to the then apartheid regime, in South Africa.

Sir Roger Moore was again in Malta in 2006 together with his fourth wife Christina (Kiki) Tholstrup.

Roger Moore has quite an impressive list of James Bond films where he was James Bond: Live And Let Die (1973), The Man With The Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983) and A View To A Kill (1985).

Sir Roger was made CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in March 1999. He was knighted in June 2003 for his work with Unicef.