Octopussy is a 1983 spy film and the thirteenth in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sixth to star Roger Moore as the MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by John Glen and the screenplay was written by George MacDonald Fraser, Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson.
The clown suit in Octopussy is often considered the lowest point of Roger Moore’s James Bond wardrobe, but it proves to be an effective disguise after he is identified wearing the red costume that he stole from Mischka. Since the clown suit is a disguise—complete with white makeup and a red nose—is it fair to remember Roger Moore as the James Bond who donned the clown suit? Would there be a better disguise for Bond at a circus? Earlier in Octopussy he hides inside a gorilla costume, which is even more absurd than wearing a clown suit. Whilst Roger Moore is known for being the most humorous of the Bonds, he gives one of his most serious performances of the series when he’s dressed for the circus.
The clown suit is yellow with a windowpane of turquoise lengthwise stripes and black crosswise stripes. There is an orange rectangle at the points where the stripes intersect. The suit’s pattern is printed, and the cloth is likely polyester. The button two jacket is cut like an oversized lounge suit jacket, though it is unstructured. It has notched lapels, open patch hip pockets, a welt breast pocket, a non-vented skirt and black buttons. The ultra-high-waisted trousers match the jacket and are held up by thick red braces.
The clown costume includes a white wing-collar shirt that has two large black buttons on the front. The buttons have a jagged edge. The costume also has a giant red orange bow tie with black polka dots, and there is a matching pocket square stuffed into the jacket’s breast pocket. The clown hat is a bowler with an orange ribbon and orange edge trimming. A fake yellow flower is attached to the left side of the hat, and thick orange hair is build into the hat. White gloves that button at the wrist and the oversized orange oxford shoes with white wing tips finish off the clown outfit.
Here are some photographs of Roger Moore dressed as a clown on the set of Octopussy:
