A Quick Look: OCTOPUSSY (1983 - color)

   By the time of the release of today's film, a pattern had shown itself. When the Bond films gave the audience the elements it expected, they generally did well. When the producers experimented with new directions, the films generally did lesser business (not poor business, you understand). OCTOPUSSY embraced a lot of the more colorful elements FOR YOUR EYES ONLY had neglected. 007 is assigned to investigate a smuggling operation connected to a lady kingpin (queenpin?) known as Octopussy. Octopussy has a private island and an army of comely young women being duped by an Indian despot named Kamal Kahn. Maude Adams plays Octopussy, and the real heavy is memorably brought to life by respected actor Louis Jordon. I'm pretty keen on this chapter, featuring as it does one of the most suspenseful climaxes of the entire series. As I've noted, the film was entangled in "The Battle of the Bonds" when Kevin McClory's long-delayed remake of THUNDERBALL was finally produced and set to be released at the same time as OCTOPUSSY. McClory's film, NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN, starred the original Bond himself, Sean Connery, and there was much nervousness as to whether Moore's film could even compete. (Connery and Moore were friends, and NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN was originally supposed to end with a Moore cameo.) While NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN hit screens first, it was OCTOPUSSY which ultimately did better business (reportedly, Connery himself noted that OCTOPUSSY was the better film). OCTOPUSSY had in it's favor a more original story, and one of Moore's best performances as 007. He almost didn't do the picture, and James Brolin was all-but-cast to star before Moore finally decided to return. Roger would go on to play Bond one more time before finally calling it quits.

A Quick Look: FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981 - color)

   The first Bond of the 80's, FOR YOUR EYES ONLY was far more subdued than the previous entries. Geared more toward realism, the film tells of Bond's efforts to keep a British nuclear launch code device from enemy hands. Bond teams with the daughter of a murdered agent, and a band of black market rebels, as he tracks down the killer who plans to sell the device to the reds. No exploding secret lairs, no scarred villain, not much in the way of futuristic gadgets, just a down-to-earth story of espionage and intrigue. Though the film has some fans because of those facts, it's worth noting that EON switched back to the more standard formula for the next adventure, OCTOPUSSY. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY was the first film for which Roger Moore considered leaving the role. Famously good-humored, the violent exploits of the world's greatest spy didn't appeal to Moore as much as making people laugh did. It was right around this time that Moore spoofed his image in the comedy classic THE CANNONBALL RUN, in which he played a man who thought he was Roger Moore -and lived like James Bond! Written to showcase a new actor, FOR YOUR EYES ONLY's opening sequence shows 007 visiting Tracy's grave before Blofeld attempts to assassinate Bond with a remotely-controlled helicopter. This would've been a fine start for a potential new Bond, but Moore ultimately agreed to return. Moore again decided that he was through after completing FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, and James Brolin was all but cast for OCTOPUSSY before Moore decided to come back and do the film (which needed his presence, as a new actor probably wouldn't have been able to make the successful transition in the wake of Sean Connery's triumphant return to the role in Warner Brothers' NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN the same year). Roger, and a lot of critics, thought he was too old for the part when he did his last assignment, A VIEW TO A KILL, and Moore finally bowed out. He was subsequently knighted Sir Roger Moore.

A Quick Look: MOONRAKER (1979 - color)

   The way I heard it, Ian Fleming's story dealt with an anti-Semite who plotted to destroy London with a rocket. That'd be fine for a TV show, but by the time MOONRAKER came to the big screen, audiences expected the stakes to be much higher for a Bond adventure. So, the movie's plot involves the eccentric industrialist Hugo Drax plotting to destroy all humanity and repopulate the world with his super race of perfect specimens housed on an orbiting space station! Initially, EON planned to follow THE SPY WHO LOVED ME with FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, but the rampant success of STAR WARS left an appetite for space opera in the movie-going public. MOONRAKER was another huge success, though it has been torn apart in reflection. It's now considered far too cartoony and over-the-top. Such feelings actually arose fairly quickly, and the producers went for a more realistic approach in the next film. Personally, I think this 007 adventure may feature the most beautiful Bond girls of the series -but it's Jaws who may've walked away with the sexiest one of all! The special effects are spectacular, most of them done in-camera! Shirley Bassey provides her third James Bond title song, following the hits recorded for GOLDFINGER and DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, and she remains the perfect vocal match to John Barry's music. Though it has it's detractors, there's no denying that MOONRAKER is supremely entertaining adventure fare. And thus James Bond ended the 70's a winner.

A Quick Look: THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977 - color)

   THE SPY WHO LOVED ME revitalized the franchise (though a spy craze like that of the 60's did not follow this time). Our story finds Bond and a Russian agent forced to work together in order to prevent the theft of a pair of atomic submarines from escalating into all-out war. Barbara Bach is the Russian agent, who vows to kill 007 once the mission is complete, because our hero had earlier snuffed her lover during a ski chase. Curt Jurgens is Stromberg, the meglomaniac who plans to rule the post-war earth from his underwater city. Richard Kiel makes his first appearance as Jaws, the assassin with metal teeth. As you can tell, this adventure embraces the colorful elements that defined the genre. The plot is largely a seafaring take on the events of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, but the film holds it's own. Moore has fully settled into his version of Bond by now, and the character will begin showing a more and more humorous side from here on out. Some notable names in the supporting cast include Caroline Munro as Stromberg's giddy -and beautiful- assassin who meets the business end of a surface-to-air missile fired from Bond's latest wonder car. Shane Rimmer gets an all-too-rare showy role as the captain of an American submarine. The return of Bond to theaters was played up big time, proclaiming 1977 to be the year 0077 (imagine my shock when the year 2007 came and went without a Bond film in release). The film did dynamite business, and plans were in place to follow up with FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (the end credits announce this title as the next adventure). The incredible success of STAR WARS, however, had the producers scrambling for a more science fiction based story to bring to the screen. MOONRAKER was the result.

A Quick Look: THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974 - color)

   One of the very last films of the spy cycle, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN was also the first James Bond movie to under-perform at the box office. While not a total flop or anything, the film did far less business than did the previous entries. Following this, the producers re-trenched and made sure the next entry delivered everything fans expected. Meanwhile, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN became the unmentioned middle child of the series until it would find an audience on television. Personally, I rather like the film, and it remains one of my favorite Moore episodes. Agent 007 finds himself on the hit list of Scaramanga, the world's top assassin. The killer is known for taking out his targets with a golden bullet, fired from his custom-made golden gun. Scaramanga sees himself as cut from the same cloth as Bond, and dreams of the ultimate showdown between himself and the British agent. The climax of the film takes on the familiar territory of a THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME take-off, which may partly be why the film was received so coolly. Audiences had come to expect much more originality from 007. At any rate, this is a good vehicle for Roger Moore, and showcases him in a much more typical Bond adventure. Christopher Lee plays Scaramanga, and the part benefits from the actor's imposing physical presence and powerful voice. The girls this time around are Maude Adams as Scaramanga's kept woman and Britt Ekland as a fellow agent who serves much the same function for Bond as Sharon Tate's character did for Matt Helm in THE WRECKING CREW. Adams, of course, would break James Bond tradition by being cast in another Bond vehicle, as the titular character of OCTOPUSSY. And of course, Clifton James returns as Sheriff J.W. Pepper, who runs into Bond while on vacation in Thailand! I always forget about this until he shows up. That aside, the film is pretty nifty. The main theme song is one of the series' best. Still, the film's comparatively poor reception spooked the producers into holding back the next adventure, THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, until 1977. Though basically an aquatic re-imagining of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, the film was so handsome and exciting that it drew fans back in droves and set the stage for even more adventures.

A Quick Look: LIVE AND LET DIE (1973 - color)

R.I.P. Sir Roger Moore. You were iconic, and leave behind a legacy of tremendous fun and good humor. God bless you, sir, and thanks for everything.

In light of Mr. Moore's passing, allow me to post over the next week or so my thoughts on his tenure as the world's most famous secret agent...

   Following his return to the role of 007 for DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, Sean Connery again vowed he was done with the franchise (although he would play James Bond once more in Kevin McClory's 1983 film NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN). LIVE AND LET DIE introduced a new James Bond, and Roger Moore would go on to define the 70's Bond as much as Connery had the 60's Bond. This adventure finds 007 investigating the connection between a Harlem drug lord and the cultured leader of a tropical island nation. Although the film has it's strong points, it also has some weaknesses -the main one being Clifton James' hick Sheriff J.W. Pepper. This cartoonish parody of redneck lawmen monopolizes a good stretch of the movie's middle, but the character was such a hit with audiences that he would be brought back for the next Bond film! Roger Moore effortlessly breezes through his initial mission as 007, in a film that tosses in some supernatural elements to the usual espionage and intrigue. This might sound like a strange direction, but it should be noted that by this time the spy genre had been experimenting with elements of the fantastic to stay distinctive. DIMENSION 5, for example, included a working form of time travel amid it's gadgets. The Japanese film ESPY involved secret agents with paranormal talents. Here, Jane Seymour plays a voodoo priestess with a knack for telling the future. She's employed by the commanding Yaphet Kotto (sp?) but she quickly finds herself siding with Bond -although this means the loss of her powers. The Wings perform the title tune, which remains mysteriously popular despite being the weakest Bond theme until the dreary "Die Another Day" came along at the turn of the century. By the time of LIVE AND LET DIE, the spy craze had largely played itself out (by the 70's, detectives were again the heroes of choice). Only Bond would really survive the craze he started, his series still operating today. Despite the spy craze being over by this time, Roger Moore's initial showing as Bond was a hit. EON quickly turned around and produced the better-but-not-as-solid-financially THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, cementing Moore as the new 007.

A Quick Look: THE LEGEND OF BLOOD MOUNTAIN (1965 - color)

   Here's a movie you'll probably never see. I have a thing for regional 60's monster movies, and THE LEGEND OF BLOOD MOUNTAIN is probably the 2nd or 3rd most obscure movie in my library. It's a weird one, too, being a straight horror movie that has as it's main character what I can only describe as a 50's burlesque comic. They seem to've shot the film thinking the guy by himself was funny, and just let the camera roll without really giving him anything to do. The second reel, in fact, is spent watching this guy listening to the radio, eating cookies in bed, and then having an utterly pointless dream sequence in which he does absolutely nothing. This bit of film is easily the most pointless filler material I have ever laid eyes on, which is a truly staggering statement! Once things get moving, though, it turns into a technically-crude-but-charming monster movie. Said monster is possibly the most unique movie monster I've ever seen, being part suit, part prosthetics, and part body paint! Always a plus, the film doesn't skimp on pretty girls in 60's Summer attire. One reel is missing from the only version ever released on video, saddled with the title "Demon Hunter" for some reason. Strangely, the film was re-edited and issued a decade later as a bogus Bigfoot documentary titled BLOOD BEAST OF MONSTER MOUNTAIN. This version does have some footage missing from the 60's print, but lacks the originality and charm of it's first incarnation. It replaced the screen's most intriguing monster with a typical sasquatch, and then tried to pass itself off as a dramatization of an actual event! If one had the equipment to do so, a fella could probably edit footage from both versions into a fuller print of THE LEGEND OF BLOOD MOUNTAIN. Of course, the problem the original film had was that it's first two reels (following the pre-credit sequence) are insufferable. Removing that mess, you'd be left with a fairly entertaining (if you're like me, anyway) little regional monster picture. By the way, there is an actual bleeding mountain in the movie, which is left unexplained in either version!