1973 | Dir. Guy Hamilton | 121 Minutes
"Names is for tombstones, baby! Y'all take this honky out and waste him! Now!"
M sends James Bond to New York to investigate the mysterious deaths of three MI6 agents who were monitoring Caribbean dictator Dr. Kananga. Bond seduces Kanaga's beautiful fortuneteller Solitaire, and exposes and destroys his drug trafficking operation.
More tonally palatable than Diamonds Are Forever but still considerably campy, Live and Let Die attempts to capitalize on the popularity of blaxploitation films of the time, positioning Bond against a drug lord and surrounding him with a supporting cast predominantly made up of black actors. While the picture manages emulate the style of the genre, it completely misses the mark, sorely lacking in anything that resembles social commentary while perpetuating ugly stereotypes by openly mocking Voodoo religion. The stakes are set considerably lower than those of previous 007 adventures, and New York, New Orleans, and the Caribbean are some of the least exotic locations for a Bond film.
Live and Let Die's action sequences are competently executed with a hefty helping of hit-or-miss humor intended to liven things up. The set pieces and staging of the stunt sequences are relatively mundane but two chase sequences stand out in particular: an unconventional two-part chase scene involving a double-decker bus and a granny operating a small airplane, and an elaborate speedboat chase just before the picture's final act. Filling in for regular composer John Barry, Beatles producer George Martin supplies the film's mildly funky soundtrack while erstwhile Beatle Paul McCartney contributes the feature's rocking theme song.
Kicking off his long tenure in the role of James Bond, Roger Moore immediately defines his softer and notably cornier take on the secret agent. He's entertaining enough but not very convincing as a man of action. As the innocent Solitaire, Jane Seymour is lovely but kind of dull as the standard damsel in distress. Seymour at least gets a better deal than Gloria Hendry who plays the woefully inept double agent Rosie Carver. Yaphet Kotto brings gravitas to the role of Dr. Kananga though the affectations he takes on to become Mr. Big are just as ridiculous and pointless as the alter ego. Earl Jolly Brown doesn't look the least bit intimidating as Whisper while Julius Harris is a scene-stealer as the claw handed Tee Hee. Geoffrey Holder leaves quite an impression as the supernatural Baron Samedi though his presence in the story doesn't lead to anything at all. Clifton James brings J.W. Pepper to life, the racist southern sheriff with way too much screen time, the worst Bond movie character ever. David Hedison, the fifth actor to play Bond's CIA friend Felix Leiter, provides bits of exposition while allowing Bond to run amok in his backyard, exhibiting the usual Felix Leiter behavior without adding much personality to the formula. Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell appear once again for a short scene as M and Miss Moneypenny, though the once playfully flirtatious Maxwell comes off more motherly this time around.
Featuring fun and often silly action, relatively low stakes, and a memorable soundtrack, Roger Moore's first James Bond film falls right in the middle in terms of the overall quality of his seven-picture run. Live and Let Die is an average action picture masquerading as a blaxploitation movie without anything interesting to say. All in all, it's not the best Bond movie but it's far from the worst.
THE COLD OPEN
The respective murders of the three MI6 agents which involve electrocution at a U.N. session in New York, a stabbing during a funeral procession in New Orleans, and a voodoo ritual in the Caribbean set the stage for a plot that is far less intriguing than the way the initial killings were carried out.
THE THEME SONG AND OPENING TITLES
The first James Bond theme song to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Song, Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die" is one of the best theme songs of the series, and B. J. Arnau's in-movie rendition of the song is pretty damn great, too. It's a rocking tune that stands apart from the standard Bond title song in the very best way. The opening title sequence designed by Maurice Binder prominently featuring beautiful black models and ominous skull imagery is fantastic.
THE BOND GIRL
There isn't much to say about Solitaire besides the idea that her powers are tied to her virginity is total nonsense. Once she loses her powers, she also loses what little agency she had becomes just another woman for Bond to rescue. It's disappointing that the producers opted not to cast a black woman in the part as it was proposed by screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz at one point.
THE BOND VILLAIN
Dr. Kananga's scheme to bankrupt his competition by giving drugs away is simple but practical... aside from pointlessly disguising himself as Mr. Big prosthetic mask and all. His death by ingested compressed-gas pellet is one of the more spectacular ways for a Bond villain to go.
FEATURED HENCHMEN
Whisper is kind of lame but Tee Hee's incessant giggling and his claw hand make him one of the more iconic henchmen of the series. Baron Samedi is worth mentioning for his striking presence and apparent supernatural powers but he doesn't really do anything.
FEATURED GADGET
Bond gets a lot of mileage out of his magnetic watch, from unzipping ladies dresses to sawing ropes to pissing off M.
FLEMING FIDELITY
Based on Ian Fleming's second novel of the same name published in 1954, the film retains characters from the book but changes a great deal of the plot. In the novel, Mr. Big is an agent of SMERSH selling 17th-century gold coins to finance Soviet spies. Bond's adventure eventually takes him to Jamaica where he meets Quarrel and Strangways who appear again in the sixth novel in series Dr. No. The film omits several major scenes from the book that would turn up in later Bond films most notably Felix Leiter's dismemberment by shark after falling victim to a trap set by Mr. Big (a catalyzing event for Bond in Licence to Kill), and Bond and Solitaire being towed through a coral reef by a line from Mr. Big's yacht (eventually depicted in For Your Eyes Only).
FRAGMENTS
- At age 45, Roger Moore was the oldest actor to play James Bond when he made his debut
- Dr. Kananga was named after stunt coordinator Ross Kananga who owns the the alligator and crocodile farm featured in the film
- At the bottom of the end credits, the film advertises that "James Bond will return in The Man with the Golden Gun"
