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105-452: The Living Daylights is a 1987 spy film , the fifteenth entry in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions , and the first of two to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond . Directed by John Glen , the film's title is taken from Ian Fleming 's short story " The Living Daylights ", the plot of which also forms the basis of the first act of the film. It

210-624: A private detective by Pinkerton Detective Agency , although he was on the reserve of the CIA and was recalled for Goldfinger , Thunderball and The Man with the Golden Gun . Fleming had flown to the US in August 1954 to research the background to Diamonds Are Forever ; his friend Ernest Cuneo introduced him to a rich socialite, William Woodward Jr. , who drove a Studillac —a Studebaker with

315-460: A Black actor as Leiter might make the character more memorable. Smith and Lavington consider Casey to be "the most compelling Felix Leiter since Jack Lord", although again there was little in the script for him to do. In the 2012 game 007 Legends , Canadian-American actor Demetri Goritsas provided his likeness and voice for the character of Leiter. Felix Leiter has made several appearances in multiple comic strips as well as comic books as

420-405: A Bond I'd never seen on the screen, a quite extraordinary man, a man I really wanted to play, a man of contradictions and opposites." — Timothy Dalton In autumn 1985, following the financial and critical disappointment of A View to a Kill , work began on scripts for the next Bond film, with the intention that Roger Moore would not reprise the role of James Bond. Moore, who by the time of

525-458: A Bond different from Moore's, feeling he would have declined the project if he were asked to imitate Moore. In contrast to Moore's more jocular approach, Dalton found his creative muse from the original books: "I definitely wanted to recapture the essence and flavour of the books, and play it less flippantly. After all, Bond's essential quality is that he's a man who lives on the edge. He could get killed at any moment, and that stress and danger factor

630-634: A James Bond film. Morten Harket , the lead vocalist of the Norwegian rock group a-ha (who performed the film's title song), was offered a minor role as a henchman but declined, because of lack of time and because he felt they wanted to cast him due to his popularity rather than his acting. Joe Don Baker was hired based on his performance in Edge of Darkness , which was helmed by future Bond director Martin Campbell . Director John Glen decided to include

735-525: A Kill . Barbara Broccoli included d'Abo in the audition for playing Kara, which she later passed. Originally, the KGB general set up by Koskov was to be General Gogol ; however, Walter Gotell was too sick to handle the major role, and the character of Leonid Pushkin replaced Gogol, who appears briefly at the end of the film, having transferred to the Soviet diplomatic service. This was Gogol's final appearance in

840-716: A Rococo Theme to rapturous applause. The Prince and Princess of Wales attended the film's premiere on 29 June 1987 at the Odeon Leicester Square in London. In the three days following the premiere, the film grossed £52,656 in Leicester Square and £13,049 at the Odeon Marble Arch before expanding to 18 screens where it grossed £136,503 for the weekend, finishing third at the UK box office for

945-605: A boyish look which closer examination contradicted". Leiter is Bond's saviour in Casino Royale , providing him with 32 million francs when Bond has been cleaned out by SMERSH paymaster Le Chiffre , calling it " Marshall aid ". Media historian James Chapman notes that Bond's relationship with Leiter represented the Special Relationship between Britain and America, although the American Leiter

1050-509: A bridge, blowing it up and helping Shah and his men escape the Soviets. The plane subsequently crashes, destroying the drugs, while Bond and Kara escape. Bond returns to Tangier to kill Whitaker, infiltrating his estate with the help of Felix Leiter . Pushkin arrests Koskov, ordering him to be sent back to Moscow "in the diplomatic bag ". Sometime later, Kara is the solo cellist in a Vienna performance. Kamran Shah and his men jostle in during

1155-426: A combination of exciting escapism , technological thrills, and exotic locales, many spy films combine the action and science fiction genres, presenting clearly delineated heroes for audiences to root for and villains they want to see defeated. They may also involve elements of political thrillers . However, there are many that are comedic (mostly action comedy films if they fall under that genre). James Bond

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1260-427: A departure from previous Bond films, The Living Daylights was the first to use different songs over the opening and end credits. The song heard over the end credits, "If There Was A Man" (which also acts as the "love theme" of the film), was one of two songs performed for the film by The Pretenders , with Chrissie Hynde on lead vocals. The other song, " Where Has Everybody Gone? ", is heard from Necros's Walkman in

1365-524: A few pieces on Dixieland jazz for the New York Amsterdam News . He is kidnapped by the novel's villain, Mr. Big, who feeds him to a great white shark . Bond scholar John Griswold notes that in the original draft of the story, Fleming killed Leiter off in the shark attack; when Naomi Burton, Fleming's US agent with Curtis Brown , protested about the death of the character, Fleming relented and Leiter lived, albeit missing an arm and half

1470-456: A great Bond girl , a great villain or a hero with a sense of humor, The Living Daylights belongs somewhere on the lower rungs of the Bond ladder. But there are some nice stunts." Gene Siskel of The Chicago Tribune also gave the film two stars out of four, commending Dalton as superior to Roger Moore but feeling he "simply doesn't have the manliness or the charm of Sean Connery." He criticised

1575-497: A leg and a hand to a shark attack, Leiter joined the Pinkerton Detective Agency . The name "Felix" comes from the middle name of Fleming's friend Ivar Bryce , while the name "Leiter" was the surname of Fleming's friend Marion Oates Leiter Charles, the then wife of Thomas Leiter. Leiter also appeared in novels by continuation authors, as well as ten films and one television episode, " Casino Royale ", in which

1680-557: A leg. Espionage scholar Rupert Allason , writing as Nigel West, noted that Leiter's involvement in a domestic U.S. matter was a breach of the CIA's charter, as laid out in the National Security Act of 1947 . After the shark attack, Leiter returned in Diamonds Are Forever with a hook for his missing hand and a prosthetic leg ; as he had lost his gun hand, he was no longer with the CIA, but employed as

1785-471: A massive shipment of opium from the Mujahideen, intending to keep the profits with enough left over to supply the Soviets with their arms and buy Western arms from Whitaker. With the Mujahideen's help, Bond plants a bomb aboard the cargo plane carrying the opium but is discovered and has no choice but to barricade himself in the plane. Meanwhile, the Mujahideen attack the air base on horseback and engage

1890-514: A more proactive role in Thunderball and Van Nutter was "an inspired choice for the role". Smith and Lavington agree and consider that Van Nutter's "relaxed and charming performance works well." Benson also concurs, but complains that although Van Nutter is a piece of successful casting, "the script ... does not give the character any real depth". For the 1971 instalment, Diamonds Are Forever , Eon chose Norman Burton . Burton's Leiter

1995-608: A nonentity as a piece of characterization ... he, the American, takes orders from Bond, the Britisher, and that Bond is constantly doing better than he". Bond scholars Bennett and Woollacott note that although the two men share adventures, it is Bond who leads, not Leiter. Leiter's role is to "suppl[y] Bond with technical support and hardware, add ... muscle where needed and money". Fleming's second novel, Live and Let Die , reveals that in his early twenties, Leiter wrote

2100-405: A number, and the beautiful foreign agent who comes to love the hero. Lang's Dr. Mabuse films from the period also contain elements of spy thrillers, though the central character is a criminal mastermind only interested in espionage for profit. Additionally, several of Lang's American films, such as Hangmen Also Die , deal with spies during World War II. Alfred Hitchcock did much to popularize

2205-679: A part in six of the Fleming novels; he is introduced in Casino Royale as being thin, tall, about 35 years old and a former U.S. Marine who was working with the Joint Intelligence Staff of NATO . Kerstin Jütting describes Leiter as "a cool and quiet no-nonsense character who knows 007's strengths and weaknesses well". Physically, Fleming describes Leiter in Casino Royale : "a mop of straw-coloured hair lent his face

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2310-458: A powerful Cadillac engine. According to Bond scholar Henry Chancellor, "the speed and comfort of it impressed Ian, and he shamelessly appropriated this car" for Leiter to drive in the novel. For the post-Fleming continuation Bond authors, Leiter has also appeared on a periodic basis. After John Gardner took over writing the James Bond novel series, Leiter made an occasional appearance and

2415-420: A remake of his 1934 film of the same name . He followed this up in 1959 with North by Northwest (1959), widely considered one of the most influential works within the spy genre. The peak of popularity of spy films is often considered to be the 1960s when Cold War fears meshed with a desire by audiences to see exciting and suspenseful films. The espionage film developed in two directions at this time. On

2520-421: A retrospective review for The Guardian , called the film his favourite Bond film, praising Dalton for "bringing a more nuanced interpretation to the role, with his relationships evolving in a way never seen before in previous Bond films." In a poll involving Bond experts and fans of the franchise, The Living Daylights was ranked the sixth-best Bond film. The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives

2625-705: A supporting character aiding Bond on joint assignments, some of them being adaptations of the novels and the films, while others maintaining original storylines. He briefly makes an appearance in Permission to Die (1989), later returning in A Silent Armageddon (1992), playing a rather large role in The Quasimodo Gambit (1995), a brief comeback in Eidolon (2016), and at the latest, in Black Box (2017). In January 2017, Dynamite Comics published

2730-602: A surge in interest in the series, which led to NBC exercising (less than three days prior to expiry) a 60-day option in Brosnan's contract to make a further season of the series. NBC's action caused drastic repercussions, as a result of which Broccoli withdrew the offer given to Brosnan, citing that he did not want the character associated with a contemporary television series. This led to a drop in interest in Remington Steele , and only five new episodes were filmed before

2835-558: A wall towards the sea, the location mostly used the same short stretch of road at the very top of the Rock, shot from numerous different angles. The beach defences seen at the foot of the Rock in the initial shot were also added solely for the film, to an otherwise non-military area. The action involving the Land Rover switched from Gibraltar to Beachy Head in the UK for the shot showing the vehicle actually getting airborne. Trial runs of

2940-547: Is Charlotte Gray , based on the novel by Sebastian Faulks . Also during the period, there were many detective films ( The Thin Man Goes Home and Charlie Chan in the Secret Service for example) in which the mystery involved who stole the secret blue-prints, or who kidnapped the famous scientist. In the mid-1950s, Alfred Hitchcock returned to the spy genre with The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 film) ,

3045-459: Is "extraneous to the dramatic action". Jeremy Black agrees, although points out that the inclusion of Leiter was a sign of American influence in the Caribbean. Lord played Leiter in a "swaggering" fashion, according to Smith and Lavington, and they considered him "excellent, an effective American version of James Bond." Bond scholars Pfeiffer and Worrall agree, stating that Lord's was "one of

3150-561: Is a friend of Koskov's and persuades her to accompany him to Vienna , supposedly to be reunited with him. They escape Bratislava while being pursued by the KGB and Czech police, crossing over the border into Austria . Meanwhile, Pushkin meets with arms dealer Brad Whitaker in Tangier, informing him that the KGB is cancelling an arms deal previously arranged between Koskov and Whitaker. During his brief journey with Kara in Vienna, Bond visits

3255-462: Is actually a KGB agent and convinces her to drug him so that he can be captured. Koskov, Necros, Kara, and the drugged Bond fly to a Soviet air base in Afghanistan , where Koskov betrays Kara and imprisons her, along with Bond. The pair escape, and in doing so, free a condemned prisoner, Kamran Shah, leader of the local Mujahideen . Bond and Kara discover that Koskov is using Soviet funds to buy

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3360-621: Is assigned to help KGB General Georgi Koskov defect to the West , acting as a counter-sniper covering his escape from a concert hall in Bratislava , Czechoslovakia . During the mission, Bond notices that the KGB sniper assigned to "protect" Koskov is a female cellist from the orchestra. Disobeying his orders to kill the sniper, he shoots the rifle from the cellist, then uses the Trans-Siberian Pipeline to smuggle Koskov across

3465-632: Is in the subordinate position to the British Bond. Academic Jeremy Black agrees, although points out that the Bond and Leiter relationship suggested "a far smoother working of the Anglo-American alliance than was in fact the case." Academic and writer Kingsley Amis , in his exploration of Bond in The James Bond Dossier , considered that this view of Leiter was partly because of Fleming's writing, noting that "Leiter, such

3570-679: Is next to perform Alexander Borodin 's String Quartet in D major, and the finale to Act II of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro (in Vienna) also features. When arriving in Vienna, an orchestra outside the hotel in playing a movement from the Wein, Weib und Gesang waltz by Johann Strauss . Before Bond is drugged by Kara, she is practicing the Cello solo from the first movement of Dvořák's cello concerto in B minor ., Kara and an orchestra (conducted onscreen by John Barry) perform Tchaikovsky 's Variations on

3675-434: Is reflected in the way he lives, chain-smoking, drinking, fast cars and fast women." Moore declined to watch The Living Daylights in cinema as he did not wish to demonstrate any negative opinions about the project. Broccoli enjoyed the change of tone, feeling that Brosnan would have been too similar to Moore. Neill thought Dalton performed well in the role, and Brosnan called Dalton a good choice in 1987, but felt it too near

3780-702: Is the most famous of film spies, but there were also more serious, probing works like le Carré's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold that also emerged from the Cold War . As the Cold War ended, the newest villain became terrorism and more often involved the Middle East . The spy film genre began in the silent era , with the paranoia of invasion literature and the onset of the Great War . These fears produced

3885-402: The James Bond novels by Ian Fleming were adapted into an increasingly fantastical series of tongue-in-cheek adventure films by producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli , with Sean Connery as the star. They featured secretive and flamboyant supervillains, an archetype that would later become a staple of the explosion of spy movies in the mid-to-late 1960s. The phenomenal success of

3990-629: The Reader's Digest and catch an episode of Moonlighting ". Derek Malcolm of The Guardian wrote Dalton "hasn't the natural authority of Connery nor the facile charm of Moore, but George Lazenby he is not. He is, in fact, four-square on the Balham Line — decent, daring, not above unorthodoxy but unlikely to ask Q for a fool-proof condom for the Aids era." Overall, he felt the film was "a slightly more sensible Bond than before, allowing for glasnost —

4095-642: The Bond series leads to a deluge of imitators, such as the eurospy genre and several from America. Notable examples include the two Derek Flint films starring James Coburn , The Quiller Memorandum (1966) with George Segal , and the Matt Helm series with Dean Martin . Television also got into the act with series like The Man from U.N.C.L.E and I Spy in the U.S., and Danger Man and The Avengers in Britain. Spies have remained popular on TV to

4200-576: The Czechoslovakia scenes, a hard-top non-Volante V8 saloon badged to look like the Volante. The Volante was a production model owned by then Aston Martin Lagonda chairman, Victor Gauntlett . The Living Daylights was the final Bond film to be scored by composer John Barry . The soundtrack is notable for its introduction of sequenced electronic rhythm tracks overdubbed with the orchestra—at

4305-524: The DEA , is central to the plot of Licence to Kill . He and Bond work together to capture the drug lord Franz Sanchez on the way to Leiter's wedding, at which Bond serves as best man. After Sanchez escapes, he orders his men to rape and murder Della and torture Leiter by lowering him into a tank containing a great white shark — an event transferred from the original plot of Live and Let Die . Bond finds Leiter maimed but alive, and seeks revenge on Sanchez, paving

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4410-618: The Mr. Moto series, based on the books of John P. Marquand . In the 1940s and early 1950s, several films were made about the exploits of Allied agents in occupied Europe, which could be considered a subgenre. 13 Rue Madeleine and O.S.S. were fictional stories about American agents in German-occupied France. There were several films based on the stories of real-life British S.O.E. agents, including Odette and Carve Her Name With Pride . A more recent fictional example

4515-687: The Prater to meet his MI6 ally, Saunders, who discovers a history of financial dealings between Koskov and Whitaker. As he leaves their meeting, Saunders is killed by Koskov's henchman Necros, who again leaves the message "Smert' Shpionam". Bond and Kara promptly leave for Tangier. There, Bond confronts Pushkin, who denies any knowledge of "Smert' Shpionam" and reveals that Koskov is evading arrest for embezzlement of government funds. Bond and Pushkin then join forces, and Bond fakes Pushkin's assassination, causing Whitaker and Koskov to progress with their scheme. Meanwhile, Kara contacts Koskov, who tells her that Bond

4620-530: The gun barrel and opening sequence of the film as well as the jailbreak sequence, and the bombing of the bridge. Additionally, the film featured a number of pieces of classical music, as the main Bond girl , Kara Milovy, is a cellist. Mozart 's 40th Symphony in G minor (1st movement) is performed by the orchestra at the Conservatoire in Bratislava when Koskov flees. As Moneypenny tells Bond, Kara

4725-623: The macaw from For Your Eyes Only . It can be seen squawking in the kitchen of Blayden House when Necros attacks MI6's officers. The film was shot at Pinewood Studios at its 007 Stage in the United Kingdom, as well as Weissensee in Austria. The pre-title sequence was filmed on the Rock of Gibraltar and although the sequence shows a hijacked Land Rover careening down various sections of road for several minutes before bursting through

4830-646: The Bond franchise introduced a new main lead, Roger Moore , who played Bond for the next 12 years in seven films. David Hedison , an old friend of Moore's, was cast as Leiter in Live and Let Die . Pfeiffer and Worrall consider that this friendship comes through, with "genuine chemistry" between the two actors. Raymond Benson thought Hedison miscast, but acknowledged that "he's the best Leiter next to Rik Van Nutter." Hedison returned to play Leiter 16 years later in Licence to Kill and after another actor had also been in

4935-559: The British 1914 The German Spy Peril , centered on a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament , and 1913's O.H.M.S. , standing for "Our Helpless Millions Saved" as well as On His Majesty's Service (and introducing for the first time a strong female character who helps the hero). In 1928, Fritz Lang made the film Spies which contained many tropes that became popular in later spy dramas, including secret headquarters, an agent known by

5040-519: The British agent, Clarence Leiter; "thus was the Anglo-American relationship depicted in the book reversed for American consumption", according to Jeremy Black. Leiter, who was an agent for Station S, was a combination of the novel's Felix Leiter and René Mathis and was played by the Australian actor Michael Pate . Jack Lord was the first Felix Leiter, appointed into the role for the first Bond film, Dr. No . Eon Productions started filming

5145-480: The Leiter character was in the 1954 CBS one-hour television adventure Casino Royale , broadcast as part of the dramatic anthology series Climax Mystery Theater , which ran between October 1954 and June 1958. For the American audience the Bond character from Casino Royale was re-cast as an American agent—"Card Sense" Jimmy Bond, played by Barry Nelson—described as working for "Combined Intelligence", supported by

5250-610: The Ruskies aren't all bad — and suggesting 007 has at least grown less like a predatory little boy." Jay Boyar of the Orlando Sentinel noted: "Dalton shows a serious side that's been missing from the role since Sean Connery's earliest 007 days. And as a whole, the new picture is less of a special-effects affair than most of Roger Moore's Bond films. There's no shortage of action in The Living Daylights , but

5355-568: The Soviet Union and the West. Bond agrees to carry out the mission when he learns that the assassin who killed 004 in Gibraltar (as depicted in the pre-title sequence) left a note reading "Smiert Spionam". Bond returns to Bratislava to track down the cellist, Kara Milovy. He finds out that Koskov's defection was faked, and that Kara is actually Koskov's girlfriend. Bond convinces Kara that he

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5460-408: The Soviets in a gun battle. During the battle, Kara drives a jeep into the cargo hold of the plane as Bond takes off, and Necros also jumps onboard at the last second from a jeep driven by Koskov. After a fight, Bond sends Necros falling to his death and deactivates the bomb. Bond then notices Shah and his men being pursued by Soviet forces. He re-activates the bomb and drops it out of the plane and onto

5565-399: The UK. On the film's opening weekend in the US, it grossed $ 11 million, surpassing the $ 5.2 million grossed by The Lost Boys that was released on the same day, and setting a record 3-day opening for a Bond film, beating Octopussy 's (1983) $ 8.9 million. However, it did not beat the 4-day record of $ 13.3 million set by A View to a Kill (1985). It went on to gross $ 51.2 million in

5670-701: The United States and Canada. The Living Daylights grossed the equivalent of $ 191.2 million worldwide. Other large international grosses include $ 19.5 million in Germany, $ 12.6 million in Japan and $ 11.4 million in France. In the film, Koskov and Whitaker repeatedly use vehicles and drug packets marked with the Red Cross . This action angered a number of Red Cross Societies, which sent letters of protest regarding

5775-416: The band can be heard on the a-ha album Stay on These Roads , released in 1988. However, in 2006, Waaktaar complimented Barry's contributions: "I loved the stuff he added to the track, I mean it gave it this really cool string arrangement. That's when for me it started to sound like a Bond thing". The title song is one of the few 007 title songs not performed or written by a British or American performer. In

5880-550: The bone to watch the finished film. He would win the role in 1994, based on his filmed audition from 1986. Sean Connery endorsed Dalton in an interview with the Daily Mail , and Desmond Llewelyn enjoyed working with a fellow stage actor. The English actress Maryam d'Abo , a former model, was cast as the Czechoslovak cellist Kara Milovy . In 1984, d'Abo had attended auditions for the role of Pola Ivanova in A View to

5985-584: The border to the West. In his post-defection debriefing, Koskov informs MI6 that the KGB's old policy of " Smert Shpionam ", meaning "Death to Spies", has been reactivated by General Leonid Pushkin, the new head of the KGB. Koskov is later abducted from the Blayden estate safe-house and is assumed to have been taken back to Moscow . Bond is ordered to track down Pushkin in Tangier and kill him, to stop further killings of agents and escalation of tensions between

6090-434: The camera then zooms out to reveal that it is, in fact, inside an aircraft. Although marked as a Royal Air Force aircraft, the one in shot belonged to the Spanish Air Force and was used again later in the film for the Afghanistan sequences, this time in Soviet markings. During this later chapter, a fight breaks out on the open ramp of the aircraft in flight between Bond and Necros, before Necros falls to his death. Although

6195-485: The character became a British agent, Clarence Leiter , played by Michael Pate . In the Eon Productions series of films , Leiter has been portrayed by Jack Lord , Cec Linder , Rik Van Nutter , Norman Burton , David Hedison , John Terry , and Jeffrey Wright ; in the independent production Never Say Never Again , the part was played by Bernie Casey . Leiter has also appeared in the video game 007 Legends . Felix Leiter, James Bond 's CIA ally and friend, played

6300-425: The cleft in his chin, no one is likely to confuse [him] with the blandness that was George Lazenby or the corseted stiffness that was Roger Moore, two prior Bonds. And unlike Sean Connery's cooly sadistic agent, Dalton's 007 has exquisite manners — both of the bedside and roadside variety." Jay Scott of The Globe and Mail wrote of Dalton's Bond that "you get the feeling that on his off nights, he might curl up with

6405-411: The colorful but perfunctory style that goes with the territory, and it's adequate if uninspired." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave The Living Daylights two stars out of four, criticising the lack of humour in the protagonist and feeling General Whitaker was "not one of the great Bond villains. He's a kooky phony general who plays with toy soldiers and never seems truly diabolical. Without

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6510-494: The end of the film, M mentions that Beam has been fired and Leiter has replaced him. Early script drafts for Quantum of Solace gave Wright a larger role, but his screen time was restricted by on-set rewrites. Bond mentions Leiter in Spectre as a friend he has called upon for help in hiding the widow of a SPECTRE agent whom the terrorist group is trying to assassinate. The character (as portrayed by Wright) makes his final appearance in No Time to Die , in which he asks

6615-410: The film a grade "A" on scale of A to F. Retrospective reviews have been critical of the portrayal of the mujahideen in the film, with The Atlantic writing that the film failed to capture "the complexities of their historical moment". Others have said that the film "sidesteps more problematic aspects of mujahideen activities" and that "any critical reading of the film in light of modern Afghanistan, and

6720-430: The film an approval rating of 73% based on 59 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Newcomer Timothy Dalton plays James Bond with more seriousness than preceding installments, and the result is exciting and colorful but occasionally humorless." On Metacritic it has a score of 59 based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave

6825-429: The film as "graciously paced, though overplotted, so some seat-shifting sets in about 30 minutes before the end." Janet Maslin of The New York Times complimented Dalton's performance, feeling that he had "enough presence, the right debonair looks and the kind of energy that the Bond series has lately been lacking." While praising the supporting characters, she criticised the long runtime and noted Glen's direction "has

6930-439: The film as the fourth best Bond movie, praising the tough, nervy edge Dalton brought to the franchise. Dalton himself has said he preferred The Living Daylights over Licence to Kill . Dalton's predecessor, Roger Moore, discussing the Bond series in 2012, called the film a "bloody good movie". IGN lauded the film for bringing back realism and espionage to the film series, and showing James Bond's dark side. Les Roopanarine, in

7035-407: The film for its perceived tentativeness, writing that the "filmmakers were trying to strike a middle ground between the glamor of the Connery Bond films and the dubious humor of the Moore Bonds. The result is a film that is not so much bad as mechanical and uptight." Carrie Rickey of The Philadelphia Inquirer felt Dalton "makes for an appealing Bond, and with his distinctive bow-shaped mouth and

7140-545: The film. In addition, the British Red Cross attempted to prosecute the filmmakers and distributors. However, no legal action was taken. As a result, a disclaimer was added at the start of the film and some DVD releases. Rita Kempley, reviewing for The Washington Post , praised Dalton's performance, naming him: The best Bond ever. He's as classy as the trademark tuxedo, as sleek as the Aston Martin. Like Bond's notorious martini, women who encounter his carved-granite good looks are shaken, not stirred. Furthermore, she praised

7245-603: The film—the melody of the song is subsequently used in the score to announce Necros whenever he attacks. The Pretenders were originally considered to perform the title song. However, the producers had been pleased with the commercial success of Duran Duran 's "A View to a Kill", and felt that a-ha would be more likely to make an impact on the charts. The original soundtrack was released on LP and CD by Warner Bros. and featured only 12 tracks. Later re-releases by Rykodisc and EMI added nine additional tracks, including alternate instrumental end credits music. Rykodisc's version included

7350-677: The first scene Jeroen Krabbé filmed. There was also location work outside the United Kingdom, in Morocco and Austria. d'Abo recalled we were "[o]ne big and happy family traveling and filming together for five months." The film reunites Bond with the car maker Aston Martin . Following Bond's use of the Aston Martin DBS in On Her Majesty's Secret Service , the filmmakers then turned to the brand new Lotus Esprit in 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me , which reappeared four years later in For Your Eyes Only . Aston Martin then returned with their Aston Martin V8 . Two different Aston Martin models were used in filming—a V8 Volante convertible, and later for

7455-512: The intermission and are introduced to now-diplomat General Gogol (Pushkin's predecessor at the KGB), and the Soviets. After her performance, Bond surprises Kara in her dressing room, and they embrace. Originally the film was proposed to be a prequel in the series, an idea that eventually resurfaced with the reboot of the series in 2006, Casino Royale . SMERSH, the fictionalised Soviet counterintelligence agency that featured in Fleming's Casino Royale and several other early James Bond novels,

7560-526: The last minute, Cec Linder switched roles with Willis, who was recast as one of Auric Goldfinger 's opponents in a card game. Linder was the only actor actually on location in Miami. Raymond Benson considers that Linder was "miscast" as Leiter because he looked too old: "he looks like Bond's uncle rather than his best friend." The fourth film in the Eon series, Thunderball , was the third to portray Leiter and

7665-412: The main unit travelled to Vienna. Almost two weeks after the second unit filming on Gibraltar, the first unit started shooting with Andreas Wisniewski and stunt man Bill Weston. During the course of the three days it took to film this fight, Weston fractured a finger and Wisniewski knocked him out once. The next day found the crew on location at Stonor House , Oxfordshire, doubling for Blayden's Safe House,

7770-409: The moment of truth was fast approaching as to whether I'd say yes or no. And that's where I said yes. I picked up the phone from the hotel room in the Miami airport and called them and said, "Yep, you're on: I'll do it." Dalton's take was very different from that of Moore, regarded as more in line of Ian Fleming's character: a reluctant hero who is often uncomfortable in his job. Dalton wished to create

7875-481: The most popular films include: Movie series ( franchises ) One-shots, sequels and remakes Some of the most popular television series include: Classic era Modern era Felix Leiter Felix Leiter {pronounced Fee-Lex Lighter} is a fictional character created by Ian Fleming in the James Bond books, films, and other media. The character is an operative for the CIA and Bond's friend. After losing

7980-457: The most satisfying portrayals of Leiter". When the role of Leiter was brought back for the third Bond film, Goldfinger , in 1964, Lord was again approached to play Leiter; according to screenwriter Richard Maibaum , Lord demanded co-star billing with Connery, a bigger role and more money to reprise the role. The producers instead decided to recast the role, initially with Austin Willis . At

8085-441: The movie adds up to a real adventure." Richard Corliss of Time magazine gave the film a positive review, stating Dalton "finds some of the lethal charm of Sean Connery, along with a touch of crabby Harrison Ford . This Bond is as fast on his feet as with his wits; an ironic scowl creases his face; he's battle ready yet war-weary." Retrospective reviews of the film have been considerably more positive. The Independent placed

8190-444: The novel For Special Services introduces his daughter, Cedar Leiter, who is also a CIA officer (and briefly Bond's romantic conquest). Raymond Benson also included Leiter's character in some of his novels, including The Facts of Death and Doubleshot . The 2008 Sebastian Faulks novel Devil May Care and the 2011 novel Carte Blanche by Jeffery Deaver both contain the character. The first screen interpretation of

8295-422: The novel Thunderball , produced Never Say Never Again , a re-make of the 1965 film Thunderball . McClory's rights to the film were held separate to those of Eon Productions, although he had been the producer for the first Thunderball adaptation. The film marked the return of Sean Connery to the Bond role; he spoke with Bernie Casey , saying that as the Leiter role was never remembered by audiences, casting

8400-584: The novel, he goes undercover to a high-stakes card game with Bond and Le Chiffre, but quickly loses his money. He prevents Bond from killing Le Chiffre, and offers to stake Bond back- in, in exchange for letting the CIA take custody of Le Chiffre. He appeared again in Quantum of Solace , in which he reluctantly helps his corrupt superior Gregg Beam pursue Bond at the behest of Quantum leader Dominic Greene; he redeems himself, however, by helping Bond locate Greene and foil his plan to steal Bolivia's water rights. At

8505-481: The one hand, the realistic spy novels of Len Deighton and John le Carré were adapted into relatively serious Cold War thrillers that dealt with some of the realities of the espionage world. Some of these films included The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), The Deadly Affair (1966), Torn Curtain (1966), and the Harry Palmer series, based on the novels of Len Deighton . In another direction,

8610-502: The plot and preceding shots suggest the aircraft is a C-130, the shot of Necros falling away from the aircraft show a twin engine cargo plane, a Fairchild C-123 Provider . Worth and Lombard also doubled for Bond and Necros in the scenes where they are hanging and fighting on a bag in a plane's open cargo door, with the exterior shots filmed over the Mojave Desert. The press would not meet Dalton and d'Abo until 5 October 1986, when

8715-622: The post-Soviet incarnations/evolution of the Mujahedeen, I lock securely in the box marked 'Let’s Not Go There.'" Spy film Spy films show the espionage activities of government agents and their risk of being discovered by their enemies. From the Nazi espionage thrillers of the 1940s to the James Bond films of the 1960s and to the high-tech blockbusters of today, the spy film has always been popular with audiences worldwide. Offering

8820-459: The pre-credits parachute jump. Both the terrain and wind were unfavourable. Consideration was given to the stunt being done using cranes but aerial stunts arranger B. J. Worth stuck to skydiving and completed the scenes in a day. The aircraft used for the jump was a Lockheed C-130 Hercules , which in the film had M's office installed in the aircraft cabin. The initial point of view for the scene shows M in what appears to be his usual London office, but

8925-613: The present day with series such as Callan , Alias and Spooks . Spy films also enjoyed something of a revival in the late 1990s, although these were often action films with espionage elements or comedies like Austin Powers . Some critics identify a trend away from fantasy in favor of realism, as observed in Syriana , the Bourne film series and the James Bond films starring Daniel Craig since Casino Royale (2006). Some of

9030-526: The producers chose a third actor to play the role, Rik Van Nutter . Van Nutter was married to Swedish actress Anita Ekberg at the time and the couple had dined with Albert and Dana Broccoli after Ekberg had appeared in the Eon-produced Call Me Bwana . Van Nutter was subsequently offered the Leiter role without an audition, although he did have screen tests with some of the Bond girls . According to Pfeiffer and Worrall, Leiter had

9135-423: The producers wanted to persuade Dalton to take the role by telling him they were still auditioning other actors. Dalton agreed to the film while travelling between airports: "Without anything to do, I decided to start thinking about whether I really, really should or should not do James Bond. Although obviously we'd moved some way along in that process, I just wasn't set on whether I should do it or shan't I do it. But

9240-425: The relationship between them, "it is too fleeting to have any impact". Pfeiffer and Worrall agree on the briefness of Leiter's role in the film, although they consider that Terry has "virtually no chemistry with Dalton". Casino Royale rebooted the series, which allowed Leiter to re-appear; he and Bond meet for the first time in the film. This version of the character is revealed to be from Milwaukee . As in

9345-404: The release of The Living Daylights would have been 59 years old, chose to retire from the role after 12 years and seven films. Albert Broccoli, however, claimed that he let Moore go from the role. During an extensive search for a new actor to play Bond, a number of actors, including New Zealander Sam Neill , Irish-born Pierce Brosnan , and Welsh-born stage actor Timothy Dalton , auditioned for

9450-465: The retired Bond's help in finding a missing MI6 scientist who was kidnapped by terrorist Lyutsifer Safin's men. Bond agrees, but he and Leiter are betrayed by Leiter's CIA colleague Logan Ash, a double agent working for Safin. Ash shoots and mortally wounds Leiter, who dies in Bond's arms. Later on in the film, Bond avenges Leiter by killing Ash. In 1983, Kevin McClory , one of the original writers of

9555-437: The role in 1986. Bond co-producer Michael G. Wilson, director John Glen, Dana and Barbara Broccoli "were impressed with Sam Neill and very much wanted to use him." However, Albert Broccoli was not sold on the actor. In 2022, Neill stated that he had never wanted the role. Meanwhile, Jerry Weintraub , the chairman of MGM/UA Communications , suggested hiring Mel Gibson for a two-picture deal valued at $ 10 million, but Broccoli

9660-519: The role. Hedison did not expect to return to the role, saying "I was sure that ... [ Live and Let Die ] would be my first – and last" and Glen was reluctant to cast the 61-year-old actor for the physically demanding role, which even included a parachuting scene. Hedison was the only actor to play Leiter in multiple films until Jeffrey Wright appeared in Casino Royale , Quantum of Solace and No Time to Die Leiter, now working with

9765-449: The series out of the order written by Fleming (Fleming had started with Casino Royale , with Dr. No being the sixth novel). Leiter was not present in the Fleming novel, but the writers added the character to the film. Bond scholars Smith and Lavington consider Leiter to offer negligible help to Bond, largely because there is no role for him in the novel, a point with which continuation Bond author Raymond Benson agrees, noting that he

9870-451: The series was finally cancelled. The edict from Broccoli was that " Remington Steele would not be James Bond." Dana Broccoli suggested Timothy Dalton. Albert Broccoli was initially reluctant given Dalton's public lack of interest in the role, but at his wife's urging agreed to meet the actor. However, Dalton would soon begin filming Brenda Starr and so would be unavailable. In the intervening period, having completed Brenda Starr , Dalton

9975-584: The spy film in the 1930s with his influential thrillers The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935), Sabotage (1937) and The Lady Vanishes (1938). These often involved innocent civilians being caught up in international conspiracies or webs of saboteurs on the home front, as in Saboteur (1942). Some, however, dealt with professional spies, as in Hitchcock's Secret Agent (1936), based on W. Somerset Maugham 's Ashenden stories, or

10080-713: The stunt with the Land Rover , during which Bond escapes by parachute from the tumbling vehicle, were filmed in the Mojave Desert in the southwestern United States , although the final cut of the film uses a shot achieved using a dummy. Bratislavan sequences were filmed in Vienna. The outside shots of the Bratislavan concert hall show the Volksoper , while the interior were shot in Sofiensäle . The tram scene

10185-422: The time, a relatively new innovation. The title song of the film, " The Living Daylights ", was co-written with Pål Waaktaar of the Norwegian pop-music group a-ha and recorded by the band. The group and Barry did not collaborate well, resulting in two versions of the theme song. Barry's film mix is heard on the soundtrack (and on a-ha's later compilation album Headlines and Deadlines ). The version preferred by

10290-495: The way for the rest of the film's plot. At the film's end, Leiter is shown recovering in the hospital. Following Hedison's first outing in 1973 in Live and Let Die , the Leiter role did not appear again until the 1987 film The Living Daylights , by which time Bond was being played by Timothy Dalton ; the role was taken up by John Terry . Smith and Lavington consider that, although the scene between Bond and Leiter sees warmth in

10395-473: The weekend and second for the week behind The Secret of My Success . The following week it expanded to 60 screens and grossed £252,940 for the weekend, finishing second to Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol . A week later it expanded to 116 screens but remained in second place for the weekend with a gross of £523,264 however finally reached number one for the week with a gross of £1,072,420 from 131 screens. It went on to gross £8.2 million ($ 19 million) in

10500-479: Was an acronym for 'Smiert Shpionam' —'Death to Spies'. "I felt it would be wrong to pluck the character out of thin air, or to base him on any of my predecessors' interpretations. Instead, I went to the man who created him, and I was astonished. I'd read a couple of the books years ago, and I thought I'd find them trivial now, but I thoroughly enjoyed every one. It's not just that they've a terrific sense of adventure and you get very involved. On those pages I discovered

10605-680: Was filmed in Währing, Vienna and the border chase was filmed in Carinthia , also in Austria. Other locations included Germany, the United States, and Italy, while the desert scenes were shot in Ouarzazate , Morocco. The conclusion of the film was shot at the Schönbrunn Palace , Vienna and Elveden Hall , Suffolk. Principal photography commenced at Gibraltar on 17 September 1986. Aerial stuntmen B. J. Worth and Jake Lombard performed

10710-441: Was more amusing and more exasperated than the previous incarnations of the role. Raymond Benson again considers that the Leiter role was miscast and considered Burton to be "overweight and too old for the role". Smith and Lavington describe him as "an elderly, portly man in a government-issue suit ... anonymous, orthodox". Pfeiffer and Worrall agree, thinking that Burton was "the least likely incarnation" of Leiter. In 1973

10815-479: Was not interested. Other actors touted in the press included Bryan Brown , Michael Nader , Andrew Clarke , and Finlay Light . The producers eventually offered the role to Brosnan after a three-day screen-test. At the time, he was contracted to the television series Remington Steele , which had been cancelled by the NBC network due to falling ratings. The announcement that he would be chosen to play James Bond caused

10920-460: Was offered the role once again, which he accepted. For a period, the filmmakers had Dalton, but he had not signed a contract. A casting director persuaded Robert Bathurst —an English actor who would become known for his roles in Joking Apart , Cold Feet , and Downton Abbey —to audition for Bond. Bathurst believes that his "ludicrous audition" was only "an arm-twisting exercise" because

11025-406: Was the last film to use the title of an Ian Fleming story until the 2006 instalment Casino Royale . It is also the first film to have Caroline Bliss as Miss Moneypenny , replacing Lois Maxwell . The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli , his stepson Michael G. Wilson , and co-produced by his daughter, Barbara Broccoli . The Living Daylights grossed $ 191.2 million worldwide. James Bond

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