Thunderball (EON Productions) 1965
Murder in Beaconsfield
The Royal Saracen’s Head Pub in Beaconsfield (just outside the M25, so forgive this inclusion as a London location) only appears for a fleeting moment as the exteriors where Major Derval is murdered. Lippe is on the phone outside, and you see a car being driven by the RAF driver who’s gone to pick up Derval.
The entrance
The entrance is no longer a drive through, and serves now as the main entrance to the pub itself. The bay windows once white are now black.
There is a mention of this in Martijn Mulder’s On the Tracks of 007, but he has misquoted the placement of the phone box. Connery never made a phone call from here. That was in Shrublands.
Interiors
I’m fairly confident that the interiors were filmed at Pinewood. Indeed this location was probably used as it lies within close proximity to Pinewood.
I’ve enquired with the staff at The Royal Saracen’s pub to see if the (supposed) studio shots resemble any interiors upstairs, which is exclusively for staff and their accommodations.
The Staff
The friendly young staff that served us lunch knew nothing about the pub being used for the film Thunderball, and furthermore, there is nothing inside the pub acknowledging it’s use. Which is a shame, but not surprising.
Thunderball (EON Productions) 1965
The Telephone Box
The telephone box that Lippe used is no longer there. However, there is a red telephone box just 50 feet away facing the pub. Like every red telephone box, it’s in pretty poor nick and considerably vandalized. I don’t think this is the same box as it has a different door for the entrance.
Interestingly, there is a red circle spray on the pavement where the original red telephone box once stood.
UPDATE DEC ’25
Julian just sent me this. It’s a picture of The Saracen’s Head in 1955 – no phone box! Perhaps it was put there for the film? He saw this in his mother’s care home. – Rob Smith, Co-Host.
Additional Intel
Rob and I both had a sandwich inside for lunch. I had steak sandwich Rob had the chicken and I was delicious. They gave me salad instead of chips, but perhaps the confusion was laid at my door when I bamboozled them with Bond trivia whilst ordering the food.
Also
Just a seven minute drive away is the Crown Pub where Roger Moore stayed when he was filming Ivanhoe. Documented on page 120 of his memoir, The Word is my Bond.
Full menu and bookings through their website here. PS – I’ve made enquiries as to what the pub looks like upstairs to see if it compares at all to the film. Will update in due course.
UPDATE DEC 2025
Hi Pete,
Thank you so much for getting in touch, and I’m really pleased to hear you and your friend enjoyed your lunch with us on Friday.
I’m the Area Manager for the Royal Saracen’s Head, so I wanted to personally respond to your question. We’ve actually had a similar request before regarding the Thunderball interiors, and after looking into it, we can confirm that the upstairs areas in the pub don’t match what appears in the film.
Click to shop the London Bond Map
(CONT…) It’s very likely those scenes were created in a studio, as you suspected. That said, the bar area does still feature the original oak beams, which may well explain some of the similarities you’ve spotted. They’re a key part of the building’s character and certainly add to the Bond-worthy charm! Thanks again for reaching out, and for your kind feedback about your visit. We hope to welcome you back again soon.
Best regards,
Darryl
Area Manager
More locations below.
