Editing Emilio Largo

{{short description|Fictional character}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox character
|image       = Emilio Largo.jpg
|caption     = Adolfo Celi as Largo
|name        = Emilio Largo
|portrayer   = {{plainlist|
* [[Adolfo Celi]] (''[[Thunderball (film)|Thunderball]]'')
* [[Klaus Maria Brandauer]] (''[[Never Say Never Again]]'')
}}
|voice       = [[Robert Rietti]] (''Thunderball'')
|first       = <!-- First appearance -->
|last        = <!-- Last appearance to date -->
|creator     = [[Ian Fleming]]
|gender      = Male
|affiliation = [[SPECTRE]]
|lbl21       = Classification
|data21      = [[List of James Bond villains|Villain]]
|lbl22       = Henchmen
|data22      = {{Plainlist|
*[[Fiona Volpe]]
*Vargas
*Janni
*Count Lippe
*Ladislav Kutze
*Angelo Palazzi
*Quist
}}
}}
'''Emilio Largo''' is a fictional character and the main [[antagonist]] from the 1961 [[James Bond]] novel ''[[Thunderball (novel)|Thunderball]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last =Rovin |first =Jeff |title =The Encyclopedia of Supervillains |publisher =Facts on File |date =1987 |location =New York |isbn = 0-8160-1356-X |page=119}}</ref> He appears in the [[Thunderball (film)|1965 film adaptation]], again as the main antagonist, with [[Italy|Italian]] actor [[Adolfo Celi]] filling the role. Largo is also the main antagonist in the 1983 unofficial James Bond movie ''[[Never Say Never Again]]'', a remake of ''Thunderball''. In ''Never Say Never Again'', the character's name, however, was changed to '''Maximillian Largo''' and he was portrayed by the [[Austria]]n actor [[Klaus Maria Brandauer]].

==Biography==
[[Ian Fleming]] describes Largo in the 1961 novel ''[[Thunderball (novel)|Thunderball]]'' as a ruthless Neapolitan [[black market]]eer and [[Fence (criminal)|fence]] who moved to riskier and more profitable ventures on the international crime scene after five years smuggling from [[Tangiers]] and five years of masterminding big jewel robberies on the [[French Riviera]].<ref name="Black2005">{{cite book|last=Black|first=Jeremy|title=The Politics Of James Bond: From Fleming's Novels To The Big Screen|url=https://archive.org/details/politicsofjamesb0000blac|url-access=registration|access-date=12 December 2012|year=2005|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|isbn=978-0-8032-6240-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/politicsofjamesb0000blac/page/53 53]}}</ref> He is supposedly the last survivor of a once famous [[Rome|Roman]] family whose legacy he inherited. Largo eventually became the second-in-command of the [[terrorist]] organisation [[SPECTRE]]. In the 1965 film ''[[Thunderball (film)|Thunderball]]'', Largo ([[Adolfo Celi]]) is "No. 2" and head of [[extortion]] operations. In the novel, Largo is "No. 1"; however, the numbers are rotated every month as a security precaution, although Largo is the successor to [[Ernst Stavro Blofeld]] (played in the film by [[Anthony Dawson]] and voiced by [[Eric Pohlmann]]) and the Supreme Commander of "Plan Omega".

Largo's two main headquarters are located in the [[Bahamas]]. The first is his estate, called Palmyra, which houses a giant swimming pool filled with sharks; [[James Bond (literary character)|James Bond]] ([[Sean Connery]]) is thrown into this pool but he is able to escape.<ref name="DougallStewart2000">{{cite book|last1=Dougall|first1=Alastair|last2=Stewart|first2=Roger|title=James Bond: the secret world of 007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dhMNAQAAMAAJ|access-date=12 December 2012|date=1 October 2000|publisher=Dorling Kindersley Pub.|isbn=978-0-7894-6691-4}}</ref> The second is Largo's private yacht, the ''Disco Volante''. The yacht is a [[hydrofoil]] craft purchased with SPECTRE funds for [[£]]200,000.<ref name="Griswold2006">{{cite book|last=Griswold|first=John|title=Ian Fleming's James Bond: Annotations And Chronologies for Ian Fleming's Bond Stories|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uariyzldrJwC&pg=PA313|access-date=12 December 2012|date=30 June 2006|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=978-1-4259-3100-1|page=313}}</ref> The craft plays a pivotal role in the seizure and transportation of the two [[nuclear weapon]]s.

To Largo, failure is punishable by death. When Quist (Bill Cummings), one of Largo's henchmen, fails to kill Bond, Largo has him thrown into his pool of sharks. Largo also has little consideration even for those closest to him, going so far as to [[torture]] his own mistress, [[Domino Vitali]] ([[Claudine Auger]]), when he finds out she is betraying him.

One of Largo's henchmen, Ladislav Kutze ([[George Pravda]]), helps Domino get free, allowing Domino to do what she wanted Bond to do: kill Largo. When Largo gets the upper hand over Bond, Domino shoots him in the back with a [[spear gun]]. Largo dies and collapses onto the controls of the ''Disco Volante'', jamming them. Bond, Domino, and Kutze all evacuate the ''Disco Volante'' seconds before the ship collides with rocks and explodes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jamesbondmm.co.uk/bond-villains/adolfo-celi |title=Adolfo Celi (Emilio Largo) |publisher=Jamesbondmm.co.uk |access-date=12 December 2012}}</ref>

==Scheme==
Largo's scheme in ''Thunderball'' involves the theft of two nuclear weapons from [[NATO]] at sea to which he would then use to hold the world hostage by threatening to detonate the two devices in [[United Kingdom|Britain]] or the [[United States]] unless they paid the ransom of £100 million [[British pound]]s.<ref name="Institute1997">{{cite book|author=American Film Institute|title=The American Film Institute Catalog: Feature Films, 1961–1970|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s1k1RsGvFwwC&pg=PA1107|access-date=12 December 2012|year=1997|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-20970-1|page=1107}}</ref> This scheme has been used countless times since ''Thunderball'' and is even a joke in the ''[[Austin Powers]]'' series of movies.

The basic concept of Largo's scheme in ''Thunderball'' is held over in the 1983 remake ''[[Never Say Never Again]]'' where he is renamed Maximillian Largo and played by [[Klaus Maria Brandauer]]. As in ''Thunderball'', the scheme involves obtaining two nuclear warheads, this time stealing them directly from a [[United States Air Force]] base in the UK and holding the world hostage.

==Appearance and personality==
In the novel, Largo is depicted as a large, muscular, olive-skinned, powerful man exuding animal charm, with the profile of a Roman emperor, hooked nose, long sideburns and hairy hands which are likened to crawling tarantulas. Indeed, Emilio Largo's surname means "play slowly and broadly".<ref name="Simpson2002">{{cite book|last=Simpson|first=Paul|title=The Rough Guide to James Bond: The Films, the Novels, the Villains|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BikCz7XZijEC&pg=RA1-PA78|access-date=12 December 2012|year=2002|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=978-1-84353-142-5|page=1}}</ref> Adolfo Celi strongly resembles his literary counterpart in the film adaptation. However, his white hair contrasts with the pomaded black hair that Fleming specified in the novel, and he wears a black [[eye patch]] over his left eye for reasons that remain unexplained. His powerful influence and command is exhibited at the beginning of the film when a traffic warden begins to protest against Largo's parking in Paris but quickly corrects himself when he sees Largo step out of his [[Ford Thunderbird (fourth generation)|Ford Thunderbird]] on the way to a SPECTRE meeting.<ref name="Tting2007">{{cite book|last=Tting|first=Kerstin J|title="Grow Up, 007!" – James Bond Over the Decades: Formula Vs. Innovation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MzuVat9N7bQC&pg=PA71|access-date=12 December 2012|date=November 2007|publisher=GRIN Verlag|isbn=978-3-638-85372-9|page=71}}</ref> Like Count Lippe ([[Guy Doleman]]), [[Umberto Eco]] describes Largo as handsome and personable, but also vulgar and cruel.<ref name="Eco1979">{{cite book|last=Eco|first=Umberto|title=The Role of the Reader: Explorations in the Semiotics of Texts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KlJNp_hUmEIC&pg=PA150|access-date=12 December 2012|year=1979|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-20318-2|page=150}}</ref> Christoph Lindner describes Largo as a "vicarious figure".<ref name="Lindner2003">{{cite book|last=Lindner|first=Christoph|title=The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x9-1QY5boUsC&pg=PA43|access-date=12 December 2012|date=19 December 2003|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-6541-5|page=43}}</ref>

Celi's voice was dubbed by [[Robert Rietty]] (who previously dubbed the voice of [[Timothy Moxon]]'s character John Strangways in ''[[Dr. No (film)|Dr. No]]'' and later a man played by [[John Hollis]] resembling Ernst Stavro Blofeld, in ''[[For Your Eyes Only (film)|For Your Eyes Only]]''). Rietty also played an Italian Minister in ''Never Say Never Again''.<ref name="Fairclough2002">{{cite book|last=Fairclough|first=Robert|title=The Prisoner: The Official Companion to the Classic TV Series|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zIOFAAAAIAAJ|access-date=12 December 2012|date=1 October 2002|publisher=I Books|isbn=978-0-7434-5256-4|page=32}}</ref>

==Legacy==
With his status as SPECTRE's second in command, Largo and his appearance inspired [[Robert Wagner]]'s character Number Two in the ''Austin Powers'' films.

==See also==
*[[List of James Bond villains]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
|title=James Bond Villain
|before=[[Auric Goldfinger]]
|after=[[Ernst Stavro Blofeld]]
|years=[[Thunderball (novel)|Thunderball]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{James Bond characters}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Largo, Emilio}}
[[Category:Bond villains]]
[[Category:Fictional Italian people in literature]]
[[Category:Male literary villains]]
[[Category:Male film villains]]
[[Category:Thunderball (film)]]
[[Category:Fictional gangsters]]
[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1961]]
[[Category:Characters in British novels of the 20th century]]
[[Category:Fictional Italian people]]
[[Category:Fictional terrorists]]
[[Category:Action film villains]]
[[Category:Fictional characters missing an eye]]
[[Category:Film supervillains]]
[[Category:Fictional eyepatch wearers]]