Review of Live and Let Die (1973) by Michael T — 19 Apr 2009

Bond crosses 110th street. This film features the least exotic locations of any Bond film. He visits New York city back in the SHAFT era and tries to find out the connection between a Caribean dictator and the mysterious Mr.

Big, who seems to control all black organized crime in the USA and has spies all over Harlem. Then Bond heads to the Caribean to play around with vodoo curses and Gloria Hendry only to wind up in New Orleans and, at some point, he winds up in GATOR country being chased on a souped-up powerboat by both Mr.

Big's goons and every redneck white law enforcement officer in the state of Louisiana. Bond eventually even trades in his Walther PPK for a S&W .44 magnum revolver, just like Clints from DIRTY HARRY.

And the vodoo ceremony that Bond rescues Jane Seymour from seems to have fallen into this film from a cheesy horror movie. Somewhere in the midst of this is a bonkers plot to seize control of the worldwide heroin distribution network, but this film is a real smorgesboard of pastiches borrowed from other popular movies at the time.

Roger Moore was growing into Bond at this point. Yaphet Kotto is great as the heavy.