You Only Live Twice

Should one be surprised You Only Live Twice (1967) is a font of grotesque invention with its script by Roald Dahl who wrote the story on which a famous Alfred Hitchcock Presents was based. You may recall a ship's lottery based on how many nautical miles are achieved by a certain time. The plan of the ill- fated grifter goes awry when the woman he's talking to before he jumps overboard is blind. It’s a little like what happens to the ghoulish Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Donald Pleasance) head of Spectre whose plan is to foil American astronauts by creating a death ship, with an open mouth that literally swallows them up. One of the most glorious creations is a tank of piranhas into which a fetching succubus amongst others is tossed. Just a wish bone remains in one case.There’s the pool filled with sharks in Thunderball but this is the coup de grâce.

read "Current Events" by Francis Levy, The East Hampton Star