Luciano Paluzzi-the best villainess ever
zooeyhall
Posts: 8MI6 Agent
Watching Thunderball on DVD the other night, I am very impressed by Luciano Paluzzi as Fiona Volpe in that movie. She was terrific! She is the meanest, sexiest, bitchiest woman Bond has ever come up against!
I just love the scene where she is talking to Largo, and he says that Bond must be killed. She replies: "You want to kill him because he makes love to your [contemptuously flicks cigarette away] 'woman'?"
And how about the line: "James Bond---who only has to make love to a woman and she starts to hear heavenly choirs singing. She immediately repents and returns to the side of right and virtue. But not THIS one---phah!"
I was wondering whatever happened to her. Did she appear in any other Bond movies?
I just love the scene where she is talking to Largo, and he says that Bond must be killed. She replies: "You want to kill him because he makes love to your [contemptuously flicks cigarette away] 'woman'?"
And how about the line: "James Bond---who only has to make love to a woman and she starts to hear heavenly choirs singing. She immediately repents and returns to the side of right and virtue. But not THIS one---phah!"
I was wondering whatever happened to her. Did she appear in any other Bond movies?
Comments
Best. Bond Villianess. Ever.
"Strange as it may seem...I've grown accustomed to your face."
No, the lovely Luciana didn't appear again in a Bond film. Most of her work has been in European cinema/TV, with an English-speaking appearance only from time to time.
But she is certainly the best vamp the series produced. Theres just such a touch of class about Paluzzi.
She went on the marry a British jewish businessmen and became Luciana Paluzzi Solomon. Lives in some luxury along the Thames I here.
In response to the topic, I would say no (she would be third on my list) but she certainly remains among the absolute greatest villainesses Bond has ever dealt with.
As for Xenia - I think fiona is much better, she was created 30 years earlier and I think probably is a little more threatening. Also, more grounded in reality.
Does anybody know the body counts for the two villianesses?
You and your lists.
When it comes to Bad Bond Girls, Luciana is #1 as far as I'm concerned. She's incomparably beautiful (although since I'm Italian I freely admit to some bias here) and she really enjoyed being bad. I was crestfallen when she was finally dispatched; she could have easily persuaded me to switch sides and put on a SPECTRE ring. :007)
If you ever get a chance to see Bond Girls are Forever, she is interviewed in the movie and despite being a number of years older still looked great. She is my favorite.
And if you want to see ... ahem ... more of Luciana Paluzzi, you may want to check out The Sensuous Nurse, an Italian sex farce from the mid 1970s that also stars Ursula Andress. It isn't exactly War and Peace but there are some laughs to be had and it is easy on the eyes.
What's great about Luciana Paluzzi, aside from her performance, is how dear she seems to hold the franchise and those she worked with. I had no idea until I watched the TB DVD extras, but she and Terence Young were extremely close -- in fact, her gave her away at her wedding. She has always seemed to view herself as part of a tight-knit family, and that's nice to see.
Word Barry.
Full agreement.Fiona's the original--while Xenia and Fatima are only pale imitations.Fiona's an exquisite diamond--while by contrast, the other ladies are merely pretty little zircons.
And on a physical level,Luciana is really so much more beautiful than the majority of any of the other Bond girls in the series--the good ones and the bad ones alike--who followed in her wake.
Not only does the glorious one top my fav Bond femme fatale entry, she occupies many an other movie on my dvd shelf. Tony's suggestion of The Sensuous Nurse is a good 'un. But I also recommend "Muscle Beach Party" where the Contessa attempts to steal Frankie from Annette!
Then there's "The Green Slime". A deliriously fun ride