GET MOORE!

James Bond (Roger Moore) investigates several murders that lead him to New York and dr. Kananga (Yaphet Kotto) who is planning to destroy the U.S. by flooding it with heroin.

The eighth Bond flick is Moore’s first; he has a natural charm, but lacks his predecessor’s brutal streak. He gets no help from Jane Seymour and Kotto, two of the series’ weakest girls and villains.

The movie revels in voodoo, but has no spirit; on the plus side is a terrific title tune and a nifty sequence where Bond escapes from a crocodile trap.

1973-U.K.-U.S. 121 min. Color. Directed by Guy Hamilton. Novel: Ian Fleming. Song: ”Live and Let Die” (performed by Paul McCartney & Wings). Cast: Roger Moore (James Bond), Yaphet Kotto (Dr. Kananga/Mr. Big), Jane Seymour (Solitaire), Clifton James, Geoffrey Holder, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell. 

Trivia: Burt Reynolds, Julian Glover and Anthony Hopkins were considered as 007; Diana Ross for the part of Solitaire. Followed by The Man With the Golden Gun (1974).