SPECTRE Irma Bunt, Blofeld's assistant, in his short story "Blast From the Past", which is a sequel to "You Only Live Twice". In the Eon Productions James Bond series, which began in 1962 with "Dr. No", SPECTRE plays a more prominent role. The organisation is first mentioned in "Dr. No" as the organisation for which Dr. No works. This was changed from Fleming's novels, which had Dr. No working for the USSR. In the films, SPECTRE usually replaced SMERSH as the main villains, although there is a brief reference to SMERSH in the second Eon Bond film, "From Russia with Love"
James Bond in film The writers eventually decided on a setting in a tropical country while Broccoli negotiated to film in Mexico, at the Estudios Churubusco in Mexico City. In 1985 the Films Act was passed, removing the Eady Levy, which resulted in foreign artists being taxed more heavily. The associated rising costs to Eon Productions meant no part of "Licence to Kill" was filmed in the UK, the first Bond film not to do so. Pinewood Studios, used in every "Bond" film that far, housed only the post-production and sound re-recording. The initial outline of what would become "Licence to Kill" was drawn