Miss Caruso – A Minor but Impactful Bond girl
Miss Caruso is a minor character in the James Bond film franchise, portrayed by Madeline Smith in the 1973 film Live and Let Die. Played by Madeline Smith, she’s an Italian agent who becomes romantically involved with James Bond after he returns from a mission in Rome.
Despite her relatively short appearance in the film, Miss Caruso has become a popular and memorable character in the Bond universe. Her charm, beauty, and seeming innocence have captured the attention of fans for decades, and being the first Bond girl in the Roger Moore era has earned the character some prestige
Miss Caruso
Miss Caruso is James Bond’s Italian contact after returning from a mission in Rome. She has gone AWOL and the Italian Secret Service have contacted MI6 to enquire.
She is first seen in bed with James Bond, but their intimate moment is interrupted when Bond’s superior, M, arrives for an early morning briefing. During the conversation, M reveals that Miss Caruso, an Italian agent, is missing.
Miss Moneypenny unexpectedly arrives and finds a half-naked Miss Caruso retrieving her clothes. Caruso hides in the hall closet, putting her finger on her lips to gesture to Moneypenny not to tell anyone and blow her cover.
As they leave, Moneypenny bids farewell and adds a flirtatious “ciao, bello”. Bond then gets a now fully dressed Miss Caruso out of the closet and the two start kissing again.
Bond then tries his new magnetic wristwatch to discreetly unzip Caruso’s dress. She tells Bond he has ‘such a delicate touch’, to which Bond replies, ‘Sheer magnetism, darling.’
Miss Caruso’s whereabouts are not known after this.
Madeline Smith
Born on August 2, 1949, Madeline Smith is an English actress and former model. She briefly worked at Biba, a popular boutique in Kensington High Street, London, where she was introduced to modeling by Barbara Hulanicki, the founder of Biba.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Madeline was a frequent subject of J Edward Oliver’s cartoons, which appeared in the British music magazine Disc. She made her screen debut in 1968 with a small part in the film Escalation, followed by a role in The Mini-Affair.
Smith played a part in several Hammer Film Productions, inlcuding Taste the Blood of Dracula in 1969, The Vampire Lovers (1970), Tam-Lin (1970), Theatre of Blood (1973) and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974).
Madeline Smith is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Miss Caruso in the 1973 Bond film Live and Let Die. Although her role was brief, her performance in the scene where Bond unzips her blue dress with a magnet gadget left a lasting impression on the franchise.
Madeline’s television credits are equally impressive, with appearances on shows such as Doctor at Large, The Two Ronnies, Clochemerle, Steptoe and Son, and The Howerd Confessions among many others.
Although she slowed down her acting after the birth of her child in 1984, she still works. Her most recent appearance was in the TV film The Amazing Mr. Blunden (2021).
