Enter the Third Bond
Roger Moore Takes the Lead
In 1973, the year Live and Let Die came out, I was in Ohio. I managed a small boutique in the May Company, along with the bridal department. It was a fun job for a young woman who has always loved fashion. Except that this in when the worst decade of fashion unfolded. I was saved because the boutique offered traditional wear. I had my own costume jewelry department as well. I still have a watch I bought all those years ago with my15% discount. I still love it.
The anticipation that year, when the next Bond came out, was the new Bond. Would Roger Moore fit Connery’s shoes? And then there was the excitement over Paul McCartney’s theme song, Live and Let Die. McCartney delivered, but Moore, eh. But then, was it Moore, or that silly script, that lessened the experience?
The plot involves a drug ring, and a guy that is
hungry for money, power and the growth of his empire. Nothing new there, except the drug angle. The background noise was the black power movement. The Bond girl was the elegant Jane Seymour, who plays a woman named Solitaire. She is the human good luck charm of Dr. Kananga, a corrupt dictator, (is there any other sort?) ruling over an island in the Caribbean, San Monique. Kananga’s real empire is his drug operation. Bond comes in to investigate because three MI6 agents are murdered at the United Nations. He flies into NYC, only to have an attempt on his life by a guy driving a white pimpmobile. Remember those things? And whites being called honky? Are you old enough to recall that word?
Next up is New Orleans, and jazz funerals used as covers for assassinating more agents. Then there’s a chase through the bayous, in speed boats, with a stereotypical Southern sheriff following along the levees in his car. The sheriff refers to Kananga’s henchmen as “black Russians.”
Watching the film in 2022, it’s a tad embarrassing, and its past its shelf life when it comes to those current affairs of the early 70’s. Except, like so many Bond films, it presents a glimpse into the future. Especially when it comes to the world of illegal drugs
Kananga’s operation is typical of any successful drug lord. Black Mafia was the best descriptor used in the film. That has not aged a bit.
My favorite line is when the good ole boy sheriff is told to back off the situation, because it involves a secret agent from England. The sheriff replies with, “Secret agent? On whose side?”
It is a logical question to ask. It still is.
The travelog continues on to “San Monique,” aka, Dr. Kananga’s home. Jamaica was the stand-in for the fictional San Monique. Kananga’s character is based on Papa Doc of Haiti. There was plenty of Papa Doc in the news back in the day.
The real relevancy today is that Kananga’s drug operation is never foiled. The drug war is as big as ever, and growing. Drug CEOs may be illegal, but their money buys them what they need.
With The Man with the Golden Gun, released in 1974, I had moved to New Orleans. I did not see the film that year. Too busy working as a musician. I had three different gigs: club appearances, teaching voice in a music school, and touring. I traveled throughout the South in a road show, and on a cruise ship down to Mexico.
The book was published in 1965. It’s a plot about an assassin, Scaramanga, who uses a gold gun, with bullets engraved with his victims names. Since a golden bullet was sent to M16 with Bond’s 007 engraved on it, M orders Bond to go into hiding.
Good luck with that. Bond goes in search of the man who would murder him. Of course.
Globe trotting Bond visits Beirut, Macau, Hong Kong and then, Thailand.
Bond visits Beirut to find the missing bullet from one of Scaramanga’s victims. The bullet is found in the belly button of a belly dancer. You must see this scene to appreciate it, because its absurdity and humor are over the top. It ends when Bond, not on purpose, swallows the golden bullet. The belly dancers cries out, “I’ve lost my charm!” Bond replies, “Not from where I’m standing.”
Oh I love those one liners.
This movie displays the era well, from the shirts Bond wears, to the decor. My in-laws had an apartment with dark walls and white couches. Oh so 70s.
Now here’s the most interesting part of the movie. The background noise is the energy crisis of the 1970s, when Carter scolded us for using too much energy. So you see, this issue has not gone away either, just as the drug war hasn’t changed a thing. And here’s the juicy part. Scaramanga lives on an island owned by Red China. And, this island is one big, solar electrical generating plant. Indeed, Scaramanga boasts that he will never run out of electricity, unless it is a cloudy day.
Christopher Lee, of vampire fame, plays Francisco Scaramanga. He’s such an elegant villain. I rather like the set up this villain has. Did I mention he receives 1 million smackers when his kills someone? At least he’s not trying to take over the world. He likes living the good life. So he kills rich people for other rich people. What’s not to like? Eh?
There was a three year wait for the next Bond movie, The Spy Who Loved Me. It was released in 1977. The novel was publish in 1962.
The spy is a woman named Anya Amasova, played by Barbara Bach. AKA Lady Starkey, Ringo’s wife. Anya is a KGB spy, and the lover of another KGB spy, who tries to murder 007. But 007 kills the lover. Anya vows to kill her lover’s killer. And, this being a Bond film, she becomes the lover of her lover’s killer.
Really, one would think that in the spy game, all is fair in love and spying.
The plot features another narcissist that would rule the world. Stromberg is an independent villain, doing his own thing. His “thing” is blowing up NYC and Moscow with nuclear missiles, which will result in a total nuclear blow out. To pull of this super heinous crime, he has stolen British and Russian nuclear subs. Bond and Anya find Stromberg, and of course, foil his plot.
Nuclear war aside, this was the year I produced plays in a local theater, and acted in a couple as well. Loved every moment of it. The theatre is so full of energy!
Alongside that job, I was back in college finishing up my degree. Russian and nuclear missiles were not on my mind. Producing South Pacific was on my mind. I no longer toured as a performer, so I had a life! My husband and I went to the movies to see The Spy Who Loved Me, together.
Nobody Does It Better, written by Marvin Hamlisch, and sung by Carly Simon, was the theme song. The cool car was a Lotus Esprit, that turned into a small sub. Another invention by the inventive Q, who delivers my favorite lines when he hands the car over to Bond. Q tells Bond to take care of the car; Bond replies, “Have I ever let you down?” Q then says, “Frequently.”
Every Bond film aficionado understand that bit of dialog.
Of course, there is a chase sequence featuring the Lotus.
In spite of all of Bond’s work, in saving the world from drug lords, narcissistic oligarchs who would use nuclear war, and their personal assassins, all those shaky people remain with us. Even Russia has decided to be a problem, again. To paraphrase Shakespeare….first, we kill all the oligarchs.
Ya think?