Emilio Largo is a high ranking member of the international and criminal organization SPECTRE and the main villain of the 1961 novel and 1965 James Bond film Thunderball in which he was played by Italian actor Adolfo Celi.
Film biography[]
In the 1965 film adaptation, Largo is portrayed as a grey-haired man in his 40s who wears an eye patch and works for the criminal organization, SPECTRE. In the film, Largo is "No. 2" and head of extortion operations.
As with the novel, Largo has two main headquarters; a villa at Palmyra and his private yacht, the Disco Volante. Unlike the novel, his estate at Palmyra plays a much greater role in the film adaptation. When not transporting the warheads, Largo spends much of his time at the villa, which now includes a large swimming pool filled with his prized shark collection. Bond is later knocked into the shark pool, but manages to narrowly escape.
Scheme[]
Largo's scheme in Thunderball, at the time, was unique and ingenious. It involved the theft of two nuclear weapons from NATO at sea to which he would then use to hold the world hostage by threating to detonate the two devices in England or the United States unless they paid the ransom of £100 million British pounds. This scheme has been used countless times since Thunderball and is even a joke in the Austin Powers series of movies.
Death[]
In the film, his death is less gruesome than the novel, but more dramatic. As Bond and Largo do battle on the bridge of the Disco Volante, the spy is knocked to the floor by a sudden collision. In the confusion Largo snatches a nearby pistol and holds 007 at gunpoint. As he prepares to pull the trigger Domino shoots him in the back with a harpoon. He turns and collapses dead on the ship's wheel, jamming the controls. Unable to move the body and with seconds to spare, Bond, Domino and Kutze leap overboard as the Disco Volante runs aground and explodes violently.
Henchmen[]
Trivia[]
- Emilio Largo is parodied in all of the Austin Powers movies as a character named "Number Two". Number Two, played by Robert Wagner, also has an eyepatch and is the second in command in Dr. Evil's evil organization.
See also[]
- Thunderball
- Never Say Never Again
- SPECTRE
- Maximillian Largo
- List of James Bond villains