Film Dossier: Live and Let Die

Title Card:

Production:

• Released: 1973
• Director: Guy Hamilton
• Screenplay: Tom Mankiewicz
• Music: John Barry

Theme Song:

• “Love and Let Die” performed by Paul McCartney and Wings

Villain:

• Dr. Kananga / Mr. Big (Yaphet Kotto)

Evil Plot:

Kananga plans to distribute heroin, free of charge, through a chain of restaurants, to increase need and bankrupt competitors. Ultimately, he will be able to seize control of the drug’s sale and distribution.

Locations:

• London
• New York City
• New Orleans
• Jamaica (as San Monique)

Bond Girls:

• Solitaire (Jane Seymour)
• Rosie Carver (Gloria Hendry)

Solitaire: “A man comes. He travels quickly. He has purpose. He comes over water. He travels with others. He will oppose. He brings violence and destruction.”

Supporting Cast:

• Tee Hee (Julius Harris)
• Baron Semedi (Geoffrey Holder)
• Felix Leiter (David Hedison)
• Sheriff J.W. Pepper (Clifton James)
• M (Bernard Lee)
• Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell)
• Whisper (Earl Jolly Brown)
• Quarrel, Jr. (Roy Stewart)
• Miss Caruso (Madeline Smith)

Notable Moments:

• After arriving in New York City, an attempt is made on Bond’s life when his taxi driver to shot with a poisonous dart.
• A second attempt is made on Bond’s life after arriving in his San Monique hotel room: a snake is set loose in his room. But Bond kills the snake by burning it, using an aerosol can and a lighter.
• Rosie Carver is killed after a romantic encounter with Bond in a field: she flees from him, seeing signs of voodoo in the nearby woods, and is killed by poisonous dart shot from the mouth of a scarecrow.
• Bond and Solitaire are chased through the back dirt roads of San Monique in a double-decker bus. Eventually, they escape by boat.
• Kananga reveals himself to be disguised as Mr. Big, when he takes off a latex mask in front of Bond.
• When Kananga’s henchman, Tee Hee, leaves Bond isolated with a hungry group of crocodiles, Bond manages to escape by running across the crocodiles’ backs.
• Bond eludes Kananga’s men via speed boat, in a chase through the Louisiana bayou.
• Bond kills Kananga by inserting a pill in his mouth that causes him to inflate and explode.

Clip: