Is there a Curse of Bond? The theory is occasionally put forward, largely in the British tabloids, that winning a part as a "Bond Girl" will act as a permanent blight on the career of the actress concerned. This theory is, of course, exaggerated; starring in Bond films does not seem to have harmed the careers of, say, Honor Blackman, Britt Ekland or Diana Rigg, who later went on to become a Dame of the British Empire. Indeed, some hitherto little known actresses (Ursula Andress, Jane Seymour, Kim Basinger) have been able to use the role as a starting-point for their rise to stardom. Nevertheless, there may be some truth in the idea; Daniela Bianchi, Claudine Auger, Lois Chiles and Carey Lowell are among those Bond Girls who are little known for anything else. If there is a Curse of Bond, it certainly seems to have affected "The Spy Who Loved Me". Its heroine may have stayed in the public eye because of her marriage to one of the Beatles, but "Can you name two films starring Barbara Bach?" would be a question to stump all but the most obsessive film buff.
"The Spy Who Loved Me" seems to have been one of a number of periodic attempts by the Bond producers (dating back at least to Pussy Galore in "Goldfinger") to answer feminist criticism of the series by providing heroines who were strong and capable as well as sexy. (Neither of the two previous heroines, the passive and fatalistic Solitaire in "Live and Let Die" and the endearingly incompetent Mary Goodnight in "The Man with the Golden Gun", fitted that particular bill). The plot has Bond joining forces with Major Anya Amasova, one of the KGB's top operatives, to foil a sinister scheme by the villain, a shipping tycoon named Stromberg. Stromberg hopes to start a nuclear war which would wipe out nearly all life on land, leaving him free to found a new underwater civilisation, and to this end has captured two nuclear submarines, one British and one Russian. (The Anglo-Russian co-operation shown in this film may reflect the growing mood of détente in the mid-seventies).
There is an extra twist to the plot in that on a previous mission Bond was responsible for the death of Anya's lover, another Russian agent. This means that Anya's character is, emotionally, considerably more complex than that of the average Bond Girl. On the one hand she hates Bond; on the other she finds herself falling for him. It is therefore unfortunate that such a weak actress was cast in the part, in my view the weakest ever cast as a Bond Girl. Handicapped by the need to assume a phony Russian accent, Bach seems quite incapable of showing any emotion, and delivers all her lines in a flat tone of voice and wearing the same wooden expression. Her main qualification for the role seems to have been her looks. (Despite the difference in colouring, she bears a close facial resemblance to Britt Ekland, who had played the heroine in the previous Bond film). It is perhaps unfortunate that the role did not go to Caroline Munro, as attractive as Bach and far more animated, who played the villainess Naomi.
There are, however, some good things about this film. I have always regarded Sean Connery as the best Bond, but this is one of Roger Moore's better contributions to the series, characterised by a greater seriousness and less jokiness than some of his outings, with some moments of genuine emotion, such as when Anya refers to his dead wife Tracy. Curt Jurgens's Stromberg is not the most memorable Bond villain- I preferred Michael Lonsdale' Drax in "Moonraker", a man with a similar scheme and similar motives- but the film did introduce one of the best villains of the whole series in the form of Richard Kiel's Jaws, an immensely strong assassin with steel teeth. Unlike most Bond villains who end up dead, Jaws survives to make another appearance in "Moonraker". There are some good chase sequences, such as the one where Bond and Anya escape in the amphibious Lotus Esprit (a good combination of excitement and humour) and the opening ski chase which ends in the famous Union Jack parachute jump. Unlike many of the pre-credits sequences, this one does have some relation to the main plot, as it is during this chase that Anya's lover is killed. With a stronger heroine, this could have been one of the best of the Bond films. 6/10
"The Spy Who Loved Me" seems to have been one of a number of periodic attempts by the Bond producers (dating back at least to Pussy Galore in "Goldfinger") to answer feminist criticism of the series by providing heroines who were strong and capable as well as sexy. (Neither of the two previous heroines, the passive and fatalistic Solitaire in "Live and Let Die" and the endearingly incompetent Mary Goodnight in "The Man with the Golden Gun", fitted that particular bill). The plot has Bond joining forces with Major Anya Amasova, one of the KGB's top operatives, to foil a sinister scheme by the villain, a shipping tycoon named Stromberg. Stromberg hopes to start a nuclear war which would wipe out nearly all life on land, leaving him free to found a new underwater civilisation, and to this end has captured two nuclear submarines, one British and one Russian. (The Anglo-Russian co-operation shown in this film may reflect the growing mood of détente in the mid-seventies).
There is an extra twist to the plot in that on a previous mission Bond was responsible for the death of Anya's lover, another Russian agent. This means that Anya's character is, emotionally, considerably more complex than that of the average Bond Girl. On the one hand she hates Bond; on the other she finds herself falling for him. It is therefore unfortunate that such a weak actress was cast in the part, in my view the weakest ever cast as a Bond Girl. Handicapped by the need to assume a phony Russian accent, Bach seems quite incapable of showing any emotion, and delivers all her lines in a flat tone of voice and wearing the same wooden expression. Her main qualification for the role seems to have been her looks. (Despite the difference in colouring, she bears a close facial resemblance to Britt Ekland, who had played the heroine in the previous Bond film). It is perhaps unfortunate that the role did not go to Caroline Munro, as attractive as Bach and far more animated, who played the villainess Naomi.
There are, however, some good things about this film. I have always regarded Sean Connery as the best Bond, but this is one of Roger Moore's better contributions to the series, characterised by a greater seriousness and less jokiness than some of his outings, with some moments of genuine emotion, such as when Anya refers to his dead wife Tracy. Curt Jurgens's Stromberg is not the most memorable Bond villain- I preferred Michael Lonsdale' Drax in "Moonraker", a man with a similar scheme and similar motives- but the film did introduce one of the best villains of the whole series in the form of Richard Kiel's Jaws, an immensely strong assassin with steel teeth. Unlike most Bond villains who end up dead, Jaws survives to make another appearance in "Moonraker". There are some good chase sequences, such as the one where Bond and Anya escape in the amphibious Lotus Esprit (a good combination of excitement and humour) and the opening ski chase which ends in the famous Union Jack parachute jump. Unlike many of the pre-credits sequences, this one does have some relation to the main plot, as it is during this chase that Anya's lover is killed. With a stronger heroine, this could have been one of the best of the Bond films. 6/10