Why was he wearing the mask?

Was there any reason for Grant's victim in the opening scene to be wearing a mask replica of Bond's face? I've always felt like that was just a cheap move by the director to make the scene feel more suspenseful and trick us into thinking that Bond died.

I think a mask like that would be very constrictive and put Grant's opponent at a disadvantage.

He also shouldn't have been able to express emotions such as trepidation, surprise and pain.

It introduces an interesting couple of trivia question, though - in how many movies do we not see James Bond in black tie? (A: YOLT, LALD & FRWL) Also, how many characters does Sean Connery play in the 007 series? (A: 2).

Always thought the FRWL PTS was a bit goofy in that sense. The 60's were a simpler time.

Discussions of plot tend to be very literal here. It's possible for something to make dramatic but not narrative sense and the killing of 007 at the beginning of FRWL is one of those moments. Bond films are full of them.

CJB wrote:

The 60's were a simpler time.

There were just two sexes for starters.

In the 60's they landed men on the moon. Now...

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/blogs/tim-blair/law-of-averages/news-story/1a8f3950e5af279289ba2b2d27f59cde

Couldn't get to the moon today. Not just the lack of a heavy lifter (today's Falcon Heavy is unproven and less powerful than a Saturn V from 1967), but the loss of tacit knowledge. Anyway, I have it on good authority from Diamonds Are Forever that the moon landings were fiction.

Pleased to know that we have gender neutral toilets covered, though. Now that's what I call progress.

Speaking of DAF, who left Plenty O'Toole into Tiffany's pool?

It couldn't have been Rodney and the boys from Slumber, inc - they had already seen Plenty and Tiffany in Bond's suite at the Trop. It couldn't have been Wint & Kidd, as they'd already seen Tiffany on the Lufthansa flight from Amsterdam to LAX (although that artistically-tied scarf around her ankles would rather suggest their input).

She certainly got herself into Plenty O'Trouble.

It was Harry Saltzman's idea to kill Bond before the film and Terence Young decided to mimic Last Year At Marienbad using the Pinewood gardens. It works as Grant is being primed to eventually kill Bond after keeping him in line with S.P.E.C.T.R.E.'s plot until that point and gets to know every facet of him intensely.

Plenty was killed by Wint and Kidd as they are the pipeline cleaners but you would have thought they'd realize there was a difference between the ladies. But she was in the right place at the wrong time and so...

He was wearing the mask cause the filmmakers really wanted to fool the audience into thinking Bond died in the opening scene, for no reason, other than a surprise :)