 As an in-joke, he returned in similar appearances in another two Bond films shot in Italy, "Moonraker" (the Venice gondola sequence) and "For Your Eyes Only" (during the ski chase).Given the relatively poor financial returns and generally unfavourable response of critics to its predecessor, "The Man with the Golden Gun" (1974), "The Spy Who Loved Me" was a pivotal film for the Bond franchise.The project was plagued with difficulties from the outset, the first being the departure of Bond producer Harry Saltzman, who was forced to sell his half of the Bond film franchise in 1975 for £20 million.