Roger Moore - James Bond 007 1973-1985
A Light-Hearted Bond for the 70s - Live and Let Die, A View to a Kill,
May 2, 2009
Off the back of his success in long running popular television series The Saint and his many feature films including The Persuaders in collaboration with Tony Curtis, Roger Moore became James Bond number three for seven films from 1973 to 1985, the first of these being Live and Let Die, the last A View To A Kill. The emphasis was on humour and Moore's interpretation of the role was decidedly lighhearted in comparison to his predecessors. Moore would jump over the backs of crocodiles (well, his stunt double would at least) in Live and Let Die and clown around in Octopussy whilst still finding the time to admittedly embarrassingly bed Grace Jones, a woman 21 years his junior, in A View To A Kill.
Moore's Bond Is More Complex Than One Might Believe
Despite his humourous portrayal of the character, Moore's Bond also has a sadistic streak: he kicks Locque (Michael Gothard) off the edge of a cliff in his car in For Your Eyes Only and nonchalantly lets Sandor (Milton Reid) fall off the edge of a building in The Spy Who Loved Me. Moore would also work in his Bond films with actors as diverse as Christopher Lee, famous then for his performances as Dracula in the Hammer Horror films, and Christopher Walken. There was also Royal Shakespeare Company actor and Star Wars and Indiana Jones star Julian Glover.
Moore Means More At The Box Office As Bond Reaches An 'All Time High'
As the years went by, the Bond films began to achieve bigger box office grosses. The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker for example, though released respectively in the last three years of the 1970s amid big competition from George Lucas' Star Wars, achieved incredible opening figures. Moonraker, though not a fan favourite - and arguably one of the weakest of the Bond series - nevertheless garnered box office numbers in excess of $210 million worldwide. This is a comparatively small number when you look at Bond's success in the 21st century but was undoubtedly remarkable at this point after 11 films.
Moore Soon Becomes Less As Age Creeps Up On 007
The excesses of Moore's Bond films began to show their effect on his performance and subsequently on the box office figures upon the summer release of Moore's seventh Bond outing A View To A Kill in 1985. Moore was 58 when shooting and had been warning producers for the previous two films that he was going to leave the role. Though it has its exciting moments, it cannot be denied that A View To A Kill represents a weak turn from Moore, clearly showing his age alongside young actors, and at just over $150 million gross worldwide, though still a profit maker, Moore's final film grossed significantly less than his other Bond films. Moore would bow out and once again Bond would be taken back to Ian Fleming's basics with Timothy Dalton.
Box office figures c/o Lee Pfeiffer and Dave Worrall (eds). The Essential James Bond, updated edition. Oxford:Macmillan, 2003.
