For Your Eyes Only **** (1981, Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Topol, Julian Glover) – Classic Movie Review 1024

The 1981 spy film For Your Eyes Only is James Bond movie number 12, with Roger Moore happily back, a spunky heroine in Carole Bouquet as Melina Havelock, and Chaim Topol and Julian Glover oddly cast as Greek tycoons.

Director John Glen’s 1981 spy adventure film For Your Eyes Only is James Bond movie number 12, with Roger Moore happily back on safe ground again after the space stunts in Moonraker (1979), a spunky heroine in Carole Bouquet as Melina Havelock and mild turns by Chaim Topol and Julian Glover, oddly cast as Greek tycoons. Both Milos Columbo and Kristatos are accusing the other of having links with the dastardly Russians.

Richard Maibaum and Michael G Wilson’s screenplay takes its characters and combines the plots from two short stories from Ian Fleming’s For Your Eyes Only collection: the title story and Risico. In a cheerily outmoded tale, 007 is assigned to hunt for a lost British anti-Polaris encryption device before it falls into the hands of the KGB. The well-oiled adventure-thrills machine is all very smoothly crafted by debut director Glen, film editor and action co-ordinator/ second unit director on three previous Bond films.

Goldeneye, in Jamaica, where Fleming wrote all the Bond novels.

Adding a surprise and effective touch of satire, Faith Brown’s Mrs Thatcher and John Wells’s Denis Thatcher impersonations at the end of the movie are well worth the wait. That does bring a whiff of the real world into the movie, but, ironically, since this was an announced as an attempt to return to Ian Fleming spy realism, and actually uses two of his stories, the 007 creator goes uncredited.

The incredibly stylish and iconic title design is by Maurice Binder.

Also in the cast are Lynn-Holly Johnson, Jill Bennett, Cassandra Harris, Michael Gothard, John Wyman, Jack Hedley, Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny, Desmond Llewelyn as Q, Geoffrey Keen as Minister of Defence Sir Frederick Gray, Walter Gotell, James Villers, Charles Dance, Paul Angelis, Toby Robins, Jack Klaff, Graham Crowden, Paul Brooke, Noel Johnson, William Hoyland and Eva Reuber-Staier.

Sadly, Bernard Lee, who played M in all the previous 11 episodes, died before filming his scenes and, as a mark of respect, no one portrayed M in this movie and the script was re-written with M on leave. Lee died of stomach cancer on 16 January 1981, aged 73. Highlights in his 100-film career include The Third Man, The Blue Lamp, The Battle of the River Plate and Whistle Down the Wind.

In February 1972 Lee was mugged and robbed by two youths. After the mugging and a fire at his home that killed his wife, Lee turned to drink, was unable to find work for two years and ran into debt. By chance Lee met Richard Burton in a pub, who gave him a cheque for $6,000 to clear his debts, with a note saying ‘everyone has a spot of trouble once in a while’. Burton’s kind gift assisted Lee in overcoming his depression.

RIP Roger Moore, who died on 23 May 2017, aged 89.

RIP Jack Hedley, who died on 11 December 2021, aged 92. His birth name was Jack Hawkins, which he changed to avoid confusion.

He is perhaps best known for his role in For Your Eyes Only, where he plays Sir Timothy Havelock, father of Melina Havelock, and also provided the voice of Havelock’s parrot. He appeared in Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Longest Day (1962), In The French Style (1963), The Scarlet Blade (1963), Witchcraft (1964), Of Human Bondage (1964), The Secret of Blood Island (1964), and The Anniversary (1968).

RIP Chaim Topol (September 9, 1935 – March 9, 2023). Topol is best known for playing Tevye in the stage musical Fiddler on the Roof and the 1971 film Fiddler on the Roof, performing this role more than 3,500 times from the late 1960s to 2009.

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An Aston Martin DB5 as seen in Goldfinger.

The Little Nellie autogyro with its creator and pilot, Ken Wallis.

A Citroën 2CV 007, similar to the one used in the film.

The Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Meteora served as a location.

The For Your Eyes Only watch, released as part of the merchandising for the film.

Marvel Comics’ two-part For Your Eyes Only comic book adaptation.

Ian Fleming’s image of James Bond, commissioned to aid the Daily Express comic strip artists.

The Walther PPK is the most famous of Bond’s handguns.