History Film / Thunderball

* IncrediblyLongNote: "Thun-DER-'''BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!'''"

* CovertGroupWithMundaneFront: SPECTRE uses the cover of a refugee aid agency — "International Brotherhood for the Assistance of Stateless Persons"

* CoolGuns:
** James Bond briefly uses a Browning Auto-5 to shoot clay pigeons with Largo.
** Largo's henchmen carry [=MP40=]s.

%%* FieryRedhead: Fiona Volpe.
%%* FlareGun: Bond uses one to signal for help.

* SexualExtortion: Pat coolly rebuffs Bond's flirtations, and is all business in her dealings with our boy James. But when she leaves Bond alone-- and defenceless-- in some sort of back-stretchy machine [[FiveSecondForeshadowing (that just so happens to be named after a medieval torture device),]] things take a turn for the worse when an enemy comes to kill him by turning the machine on too high. The therapist comes back, apologizing profusely, and begging Bond not to report her for leaving him. Bond tells her he can be convinced to keep this their little secret. In a major case of ValuesDissonance, this is PlayedForLaughs, and is in fact one of the rare cases the film is ''less'' politically correct than the book; in the book he agrees to keep silent without a fuss and they do it perfectly consensually later on
* SexyDiscretionShot: As Bond and Volpe are about to have sex, it cuts to Junkanoo.

* NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization: After blackmailing Patricia into sleeping with him, Bond is later shown giving her a massage with a mink glove while she purrs in satisfaction. [[ComeBackToBedHoney She gets rather miffed]] when Bond has to leave the room to investigate what Lippe is up to.

* NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization: After blackmailing Patricia into sleeping with him, Bond is later shown giving her a massage with a mink glove while she purrs in satisfaction.

* KillAndReplace: Expecting a car to ferry him to the airbase, Major François Derval opens the door and is astonished to find himself staring back at him. The imposter then shoots DeadlyGas into his face. He's SPECTRE operative Angelo Palazzi who mentions that plastic surgery, voice lessons, and two years of study were necessary to turn him into his target, so he can take Derval's place on the crew of a NATO atomic bomber.

* KillAndReplace: Angelo Palazzi has plastic surgery to look like pilot François Derval, then kills him and takes his place on a NATO atomic bomber.

** During the SPECTRE meeting, Blofeld delivers a brief, but sincere eulogy for Col. Jacuqes Bouvar.

* NoAnimalsWereHarmed: Averted: a shark gets shot, and another speared, both on-screen. A case of ValuesDissonance.

* LeaveTheCameraRunning: The underwater battles are long. A common consensus today is that while in 1965 it was awesome, after aquatic shooting became kinda commonplace [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny they're really overdrawn]].

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/04_thunderball1965.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''[[Music/TomJones ♫ He looks at this world and wants it all\\

** "Mind if my sister sits this one out? She's just dead."

* HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic: {{Averted}} with great prejudice on the set. Someone said, to the technician who was about to perform the Bell/Textron rocket-belt jump, that James Bond would look cooler if he didn't wear a helmet. The technician said to him, "Nuh-uh!" and kept the helmet on.

* AmericaSavesTheDay: The [[UsefulNotes/CoastGuard U.S. Coast Guard]] frogmen parachuting to the rescue to help Bond stop the [=SPECTRE=] frogmen with the bomb.

* BilingualBonus

** "Mind if my friend sits this one out? She's just dead."

* ChairmanOfTheBrawl

* HarpoonGun: The climactic battle is fought by at least fifty men armed with harpoon guns. The use of a harpoon gun on Vargas leads to the immortal line, “I think he got the point”. And Largo is killed this way by Domino.

* HighHeelFaceTurn: {{Lampshaded}} and {{subverted}} with SPECTRE's "Black Widow" Fiona Volpe, who warns Bond not to expect that from her. Bond, probably because he's a bed-hopping bastard, actually shrugs this off with "Well, you can't win them all". Volpe is actually the first Bond girl this doesn't work on, but it turned out he wasn't actually trying it on her in the first place.

-->'''Domino:''' My my, what sharp eyes you have.
-->'''Bond:''' (''as she walks away'') Wait till you get to my teeth.

* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: {{Averted}} just ''once'', when Bond gets shot in the leg trying to lose pursuers in the Junkanoo parade. It's not even a GameBreakingInjury, to add insult to that.

* InfraredXRayCamera: {{Averted}}. The camera Q issues to Bond just lets him take pictures of the ''Disco Volante'''s exterior. Albeit in the dark and underwater.

* InsideJob: {{Subverted}}; SPECTRE replaces Major Derval with a double to infiltrate the bomber crew.

-->'''Moneypenny''': Don't pull the wool over my eyes, James. You may be able to fool the old man, but...\\
'''M''' (exiting his office): That will be all, Moneypenny. And I'll thank you not to call me "The Old Man".

-->'''Fiona:''' But of course, I forgot your ego, Mr. Bond. James Bond, who only has to make love to a woman, and she starts to hear heavenly choirs singing. [[HeelFaceTurn She repents, and turns to the side of right and virtue]]...
-->[she steps on Bond's foot]
-->'''Fiona:''' ... but not this one!

-->'''Bond:''' My dear girl, don't flatter yourself. What I did this evening was for King and Country. [[StealthInsult You don't think it gave me any pleasure]], do you?

* StartsWithTheirFuneral: {{Subverted}}. The film opens with a close-up of a coffin with "JB" on it, leading us to assumed that Bond is dead. It turns out to be the funeral of SPECTRE agent Jacques Bouvar and Bond is there to make sure he's dead.

* SteelEarDrums: {{Averted}}, as an exploding grenade, sent after diving Bond, makes him put his hands on his ears due to pain caused by the noise.

-->'''Largo''': Vargas does not drink. Does not smoke. Does not make love. What do you do, Vargas?

* ToastedBuns: {{Averted}} with the jetpack, where the nozzles are well clear of the body. (Though the sound effect was changed because RealityIsUnrealistic).

* WidowsWeeds: {{Subverted}}. While James Bond is watching the funeral of SPECTRE agent Colonel Jacques Bouvar, he sees that Bouvar's widow is wearing a black dress, hat and veil. Then he realizes that the widow isn't a woman at all...but a man, baby!

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Bond using a woman as a meat shield would be horrible if said woman was not an agent of Spectre.

* DisposableVehicleSection: The SPECTRE yacht separates to transform into a faster hydrofoil ship. The remaining section is still usable as a gun platform and boat dock.

%%* EmptyQuiver: The stolen bombs.

%%* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** Kutz is so disturbed to see Largo torturing Domino that he helps her escape.

* EvilPlan: Emilio Largo's plan is to steal two atomic bombs and try to get ransom from the U.S. by threatening to launch them.

** Count Lippe, tries and fails to kill Bond. He is then killed himself, for failing, because this attempt is what made Bond realize something was up, and for hiring an impersonator who demanded a raise in the middle of SPECTRE's operation and threatened to derail it if they didn't comply (that man is killed himself by Largo). It also introduces Fiona, who is apparently tasked with killing SPECTRE agents who fail.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Angelo Palazzi, the impersonator, [[DudeWheresMyRespect demanded a raise immediately]] before his mission of stealing the atomic bombs. He smugly points out that with so much time and effort already spent on the plot, there's no way SPECTRE would walk away from it now, certainly not over a pay dispute. His boss, Emilio Largo, was not pleased and kills him right after he delivers the goods. Whether or not this was always the plan, or only done because he demanded more money is unclear.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Bond's hat mysteriously vanishes during his meeting with the Home Secretary. It gets mentioned briefly during an awkward moment, but never comes up again.

* TwoPersonPoolParty: Bond and Domino have one in the ocean, underwater (thanks to scuba gear). In RealLife it would would probably result in the death or injury of one or both participants.

* ToastedBuns: {{Averted}} with the jetpack, where the are nozzles well clear of the body. (Though the sound effect was changed because RealityIsUnrealistic).

* SamusIsAGirl: A motorcyclist kills Count Lippe driving a car and rides away. After running the cycle into a ditch, the cyclist takes off the helmet and reveals that she's SPECTRE assassin Fiona Volpe. Though weirdly enough, the stunt double who actually rode the bike for filming really ''was'' male.

* OnlyAFleshWound: Bond takes a bullet right into his ankle and still manages to run and escape his pursuers, barely limping through the Junkanoo parade. He stops at a bathroom, pulls up his pants and ties a handkerchief around his ankle and he's good as new. Of course, the very next day when he swims out to Largo's island in his swimming shorts, his leg doesn't even have a scratch on it.

* MagicPlasticSurgery: USED to make Angelo a dead ringer for Major Derval.