A View on a Thrill: Looking back on Topol’s villain Milos Columbo

One of the highlights of the late Roger Moore’s fifth smash-hit James Bond movie, For Your Eyes Only (1981), was the close attention given to the motivations and behaviour of the two main villains, Aristotle Christasos (played by the excellent Julian Glover) and Milos Columbo (played by the equally superb Chaim Topol).

Rather than just being an exercise in straightforward and obvious villainy, the script equipped the two seemingly villainous characters with some complex depths that teased the audience for quite a while, leaving cinemagoers (at first) uncertain about who the real villain actually was.

The actor Topol’s character Columbo exemplified this, and left a strong impression on Bond fans. As we wait to see how the new 007 director Denis Villeneuve will shape Bond 26, and who he will choose as the villain (or villains) for the next movie, it is worth looking back on Topol’s contribution to the famous Bond Baddie roll-call of past 007 films.

Back in 2023, the JBIFC was very sad to learn that the popular and acclaimed actor had died, aged 87. Topol (1935-2023), who was happy to be referred to just by his surname, was undoubtedly best known to cinema audiences for his Oscar-nominated portrayal of the troubled milkman Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof (1971), the smash-hit film musical, an all-singing role he also played on stage at numerous locations around the globe, and reprised later in his career, including on Broadway in the 1990s. In fact, Topol’s rendition of the very catchy hit song ‘If I Were A Rich Man’ from the movie also became a firm favourite with many audiences, and has been regularly played on radio stations and sung in productions mounted by amateur theatrical groups ever since. Topol himself was very proud of the song and his role as Tevye, although he was also keen to take on other movie roles. His films thus included Galileo (1975), Flash Gordon (1980), alongside a young pre-Bond Timothy Dalton, and The Winds of War (1983).

Topol and the New Direction in Bond

Topol’s contribution to the EON franchise came just as it was changing creative gears. After a long and successful time as editor and Second Unit director on the Bond films, John Glen was given the opportunity by producer Cubby Broccoli to become full director on For Your Eyes Only (FYEO), and his first James Bond film as director saw Glen very much bring a more down-to-earth, realistic and gritty feel to the film’s storyline, arguably closer to Ian Fleming’s original concept of 007. Indeed, after the orbit-set and hugely escapist Moonraker (1979), both Cubby Broccoli and Glen were keen to take Bond in a new direction, where 007 would rely more on his own resourcefulness and physical skills. Less gadget-laden and with more tension, FYEO seemed to draw inspiration from the earlier films in the 007 franchise and presented itself as more of a thriller than an outlandish extravaganza.

It also brought out a notably strong performance from Roger Moore. As well as action, there was more emphasis on character, and a complex interplay between trust and duplicity was placed at the heart of the movie. The storyline teased the audience as to who the real villain might be: was it Ari Kristatos (played by Julian Glover) or Milos Columbo (played by Topol)? Even Roger Moore’s Bond is uncertain at first.

The casting of Topol as the charismatic Columbo was an inspired piece of casting, and it is thought that Topol won the role after he was suggested for the part by Cubby Broccoli’s wife, Dana.

The role was based on a character who had appeared in Risico, one of the short stories in Ian Fleming’s original short-story collection For Your Eyes Only (1960). Milos Columbo is a charismatic Greek smuggler of gold and diamonds, who runs a large smuggling organisation in Corfu and is in constant competition with his rival Kristatos, who is actually a heroin smuggler with links to the Russian KGB.

Columbo’s habit of munching on pistachios was apparently something suggested by Topol, and became a key part of the tense warehouse scene, where someone treads on the discarded pistachio shells. There is also some great dialogue between Bond and Columbo, given to them by screenwriter Richard Maibaum. At one stage, it is clear Columbo has developed a fond respect for James Bond and his skills. He tells 007: ‘You have what the Greeks call thrassos – guts’.

Topol’s exuberant and compelling interpretation of Columbo was hugely successful, and appeared to capture the over-the-top and charismatic essence of Ian Fleming’s original character in the short story Risico. Interestingly, a number of commentators compared Milos Columbo to a previous strong ally of Bond, Kerim Bey in From Russia, With Love (1963). For Your Eyes Only premiered at the Odeon, Leicester Square on 24th June, 1981, before going on general release in the UK on 26th June. The reviews were mainly very positive, and the grounded, more realistic plot, together with the emphasis on ‘character’, brought high praise from critics.Topol certainly contributed to this success, and in interviews said he had enjoyed making the movie from day one to his very last day on set.

Bonded: Uniting Cubby and Harry

Topol was not just an actor and singer: he was also a playwright and screenwriter, penned an autobiography (Topol by Topol in 1981), and contributed to a number of documentaries. Born in Tel Aviv, he was – in many ways – one of Israel’s most famous showbiz stars. He embraced life to the full, as the title of his 1994 book (To Life!) made clear. Moreover, Topol was also known for his friendliness and ability for diplomacy and reconciling people. In his book Bond on Bond (2012), the late Sir Roger Moore revealed that Topol had suggested to Bond producer Cubby Broccoli that he should invite his former EON partner Harry Saltzman to the premiere of FYEO, held at the Odeon Leicester Square in London. The two producers had split acrimoniously in the mid-1970s after The Man With The Golden Gun (1974), but Topol’s suggestion worked beautifully: the reunion of the two producers at the premiere was a happy one.

Did You Know? 

Director John Glen once revealed that the popular henchman ‘Jaws’, played so memorably by the late Richard Kiel in the previous two Roger Moore Bond movies, was also considered for 1981’s For Your Eyes Only, which would have been his third Bond appearance in a row. However, it was decided that this would not be right for the new mood being aimed at in the film, and the idea was dropped.