Rosa Klebb
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2008) |
| Rosa Klebb | |
|---|---|
| James Bond character | |
 Lotte Lenya as Rosa Klebb | |
| First appearance | From Russia, with Love (1957) |
| Created by | Ian Fleming |
| Portrayed by | Lotte Lenya |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Affiliation | |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Classification | Villain |
Colonel Rosa Klebb is a fictional character, the main antagonist in the James Bond 1957 novel and 1963 film From Russia with Love, in which she is played by Lotte Lenya. She was a Soviet counter-intelligence operative until being discharged and joining SPECTRE.
Her name is a pun on the popular
Novel biography
Colonel Klebb is a high-ranking member of the feared
Klebb is assigned by SMERSH leader General Grubozaboyschikov to spearhead an operation to get revenge on James Bond for his involvement in the deaths of three SMERSH operatives,
Bond tracks Klebb to the hotel in Paris where she was to rendezvous with Grant at the conclusion of his mission. He finds her there dressed as a wealthy widow. After failing to kill him with a gun hidden in a telephone, she successfully poisons him by means of a
Film biography
In the film, Klebb is depicted as the former SMERSH head who has defected to become a member of
For the screen, Klebb's sexuality was made less obvious;[2] a few hints remain throughout the film, such as her reaction to when SPECTRE henchman Morzeny (Walter Gotell) touches her arm at the SPECTRE Island training facility, and when she appraises Romanova's figure during their first meeting and touches her leg.
Legacy
Along with
Rosa Klebb's shoe blade has been featured in other films. It is used by Jade Fox in
A pair of Rosa Klebb's shoes can also be seen in Q's underground headquarters in the 2002 Bond film Die Another Day, along with other historic gadgets from Bond films, marking the 40th anniversary of the series. It is also included in the video for Madonna's "Die Another Day", the title track of the film, in which two versions of Madonna fight and kill each other, and the "Good Madonna" uses her shoe blade to disarm the "Bad Madonna".
In the 2010 reimagining of the video game GoldenEye 007, the weapon that was named "Klobb" in the original game (originally named after designer Ken Lobb) has had its name changed to "Klebb". Klebb herself is also a playable character in the game's multiplayer component.
Reception
Klebb was also included in a list of the top ten Bond villains by The Times in 2008.[1][failed verification] Lisa Funnell described her as one of "the most dangerous female villains of the decade".[3]
Elisabeth Ladenson wrote that she is one of "two memorable lesbians" from Fleming's Bond novels (the other being Pussy Galore). Ladenson notes that Klebb's character, a butch and unattractive design, whom Fleming's himself characterized in the novel as "the oldest and ugliest whore in the world", can be seen as "dig at Iron Curtain femininity, the sort of joke that endured until recently in digs at Eastern European female athletes". She also notes that her portrayal in the novel is more feminine than in the film. Lastly, using Melanie Klein's object relations theory, Ladenson suggests that Klebb's can be seen as the "bad mother" type of associative character.[4]
Lauren Spungen criticized the portrayal of homosexuality in the characters of Klebb and Galore, arguing that the "battle between heterosexuality and homosexuality" is a metaphor for the battle of "good and evil". Her unwanted advances towards Bond's love interest, Tatiana Romanova and other characterization make Klebb "foreign and not relatable, allowing further dehumanization".[5]
References
- ^ a b Plant, Brendan (1 April 2008). "Top 10 Bond villains". The Times. London, England. Retrieved 3 April 2008.
- TheGuardian.com. 23 December 2014.
- ISBN 978-0-230-30197-9, retrieved 29 May 2021
- S2CID 144609937.
- .