The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Preceded by: The Man With the Golden Gun (1974)
Succeeded by: Moonraker (1979)

See our full list of James Bond films.

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
James Bond	Roger Moore
Major Anya Amasova	Barbara Bach	½
Karl Stromberg	Curt Jürgens	½
Jaws	Richard Kiel
Naomi	Caroline Munro	-
Frederick Gray, Minister of Defence	Geoffrey Keen	-
Sheikh Hosein	Edward de Souza	-
Captain Benson	George Baker	-
Miss Moneypenny	Lois Maxwell	-
General Gogol	Walter Gotell	-
Max Kalba	Vernon Dobtcheff	-
Q	Desmon Llewelyn	-
Sergei Barsov	Michael Billington	-
M	Bernard Lee	-
U.S.S. Wayne Captain	Shane Rimmer	-
Aziz Fekkesh	Nadim Sawalha	-

Review

With The Spy Who Loved Me, Roger Moore's Bond era reached its zenith with elegant sophistication, lavish 1970s production values, and self-mocking silliness, and the result is one of the most fun Bond films to date. It seems Moore reacted to his early critics in the best possible way, because he is less concerned and thus a little looser and more engaging here. Another reason why he comes alive is his opposite number Barbara Bach, who fits him perfectly in her role as the Soviet agent Triple X. Although not a very good actor, she's perfectly cast and looks comfortable with Moore. When he seduces her with his trite chauvinisms and amusing sexual innuendos, she weathers it. Together they hunt the megalomaniac industrialist and marine biologist Stromberg, who as played by Curt Jürgens is one of the less distinctive Bond villains. Luckily, he's got a henchman named Jaws (Richard Kiel), whose outrageous characteristics give the film an extra zest which is still to be matched in 007 mythology. There's also an inventiveness and a sense of urgency to much of the film's shoot-em-up action, even if Moore never will look convincing in a brawl. The photographic sets were designed by Ken Adam. And Carly Simon sang the theme song "Nobody Does It Better", written by Marvin Hamlish and Carole Bayer Sager.