 Roger Moore (I) (qv) should not have been available for the part  since at the time he was committed to  _"Persuaders!, The" (1971)_ (qv), but when the show flopped in the  U.S. he was prematurely released from his contract. Moore was author  Ian Fleming (I) (qv)s original choice for Bond, but he was  committed to _"Saint, The" (1962)_ (qv) when the earlier films were  in production.