The Spy Who Loved Me
Dir: Lewis Gilbert
1977
****
The Spy Who Loved Me was a big return for the worlds favorite spy but it didn't arrive without it's problems. The tenth 007 film shares the title of Ian Flemming's tenth book in the Bond series but nothing else. Flemming never released the rights to his novel and this is the first and only film of the franchise where his name is absent from the poster. After Harry Saltzman sold his 50% share of the production company, Cubby Broccoli had to go it alone for the first time. The Man with the Golden Gun had been a flop, Eon productions had to get the franchise back on track and The Spy Who Loved Me was pivotal in the series' future. Guy Hamilton left the franchise after The Man with the Golden Gun, having decided to direct Superman instead, although that job eventually went to Richard Donner. Steven Spielberg was approached but had to turn it down due to his 'Big fish' picture overrunning. Lewis Gilbert was eventually convinced to return for what would be his second of three Bond films. The film sees millionaire megalomaniac and nautical enthusiast Karl Stromberg (played by Curd Jurgens) try to trigger a Nuclear War that would see the sea as the only safe refuge. Karl Stromberg is clearly Ernst Stavro Blofeld but Eon was unable to use the character due to Kevin McClory's injunction that gave him the right to the character and his organisation SPECTRE. It's amazing that they got away with it really, indeed two other characters from the novel managed to get into the film without incident, their names were different but there was no mistaking them, particularly Sol Horror, a tall henchman with Steel-capped teeth. Sol Horror would become known as Jaws in the film, played by the wonderful Richard Kiel. Richard Kiel's Jaws is, in my humble opinion, the greatest Bond villain of the franchise. He's big, unstoppable, has a great gimmick and lots of personality. I was very lucky to meet Mr. Kiel at a lunch in 2005. He spoke about his time on the Bond films, his lasting friendship with his co-stars and he also told me a fascinating secret he learned about Robert Vaughn and the JFK assassination while he was filming an episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in Nov, 1963. The production of the film was huge, many writers were hired (including John Landis (An American Werewolf in London), Anthony Burgess (A Clockwork Orange) and Gerry Anderson (Thunderbirds) and the budget was doubled. The plot is almost exactly the same as Gilbert's previous Bond film; You Only Live Twice but give the people what they want and all that, they got away with it once more. It was a huge success. The famous Lotus that changed from car to submarine, Jaws biting a shark, the huge action climax and the lavish sets make The Spy Who Loved Me one of Bond's biggest and best outings. A franchise saved.