James Bond: The Living Daylights 1987 starring Timothy Dalton as James Bond

A View To A Kill was received with a little less enthusiasm than usual for the Bond films. It was still successful but the reviews were not as positive as before and so it was clear for EON Productions that Roger Moore’s time as Bond was over and the hunt for a new James Bond was on.

A good number of actors were asked to audition and one very good candidate was Sam Neill (whose audition is shown on the special features of the dvd and blu ray release of this film). Dana Broccoli, Michael Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and John Glen were very positive about the actor who had previously been seen as REILLY on television but unfortunately, Cubby Broccoli was not convinced and he said no. During the preparations for Octopussy, James Brolin had also auditioned but an American Bond would not have been a good choice to begin with. After a while the actors Pierce Brosnan and Timothy Dalton were the final choices. 

 

However due to circumstances with his REMINGTON STEELE television show in the USA, Pierce Brosnan was unable to take the role. (Originally the show was to have been cancelled but at the very moment it was announced Brosnan could next be starring as Bond, the television producers wanted more episodes and Brosnan was bound by contract to do these. It was no surprise that Brosnan was very disappointed.) 

"I am sorry for Pierce but obviously the producers chose well!"

Timothy Dalton was chosen, even though Cubby Broccoli was not too enthusiastic about Dalton at first. Dalton however won him over pretty quickly when he expressed his wish for the Bond films to return to the more serious thriller fare that had been more and more discarded in Roger Moore’s tenure. Dalton said he went back to the Fleming novels to find out who Bond was and found him not the same chap that Roger had been playing all this time.

Timothy Dalton as Bond in his opening sequence at Gibraltar

THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS again starts a new trend with more serious storytelling. However, the humor element would not be deleted entirely and a rather comical escape from behind the iron curtain sequence reflected this. (In my opinion this sequence is too Roger Moore-ishly silly to be consistent with the rest of the film.)

The original Poster design for The Living Daylights

THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS also is one of the last times that an Ian Fleming title would be used (until the Casino Royale 2006 reboot, that is). Ian Fleming’s short story in which Bond acts as a sniper to safeguard the defection of a Russian official (played in the film with much humor by Dutch actor Jeroen Krabbe) was used as the introduction to the new Bond, with the line  “I must’ve scared the living daylights out of her” being his validation of the title.

Maryam d'Abo starred as Kara Milovy, the one single love interest for this film. (The producers had found it sensible not to have Bond go around bedding women all over in an age where AIDS was an upcoming disease and so only gave Bond one love interest here.) Jeroen Krabbe (as Georgie Koskov) was joined by Joe Don Bake (as Brad Whitaker, arms dealer) and Andreas Wisniewski (as the muscle) as the villains of this film.

Wisniewski, Don Baker and Krabbe

Thanks in great measure to the serious nature of the story, The Living Daylights, directed again by John Glen,  was celebrated as a return to form for the Bond films and was very successful. 

JB: "You see, Ms. Moneypenny, I was the right choice !"   MsM: "Yes, and you're full of it !!!!"

THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS was also John Barry’s last score for a Bond film and represents one of his finest hours of music in the Bond series. (John Barry is also briefly seen in the film as the conductor of the orchestra at the end of the film where Kara is performing.) Barry scored 11 Bond films in all, (From Russia With Love, 1983, Goldfinger, 1964, Thunderball, 1965, You Only Live Twice, 1967, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, 1969, Diamonds Are Forever, 1971, The Man With The Golden Gun, 1974, Moonraker, 1979, Octopussy, 1983, A View To A Kill, 1985 and The Living Daylights, 1987) leaving a huge musical influence behind him. Even today, John Barry, who passed away in 2011, is sorely missed from the Bond films.

John Barry in the early 1960s

Roger Moore had been driving around in a Lotus Esprit in his films The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only but for this film, Aston Martin provided Bond with a new car: the Aston Martin Vantage V8 Volante .

The vehicle was also packed with extra's but did not survive the film because it was destroyed in the escape from behind the iron curtain sequence. Still the name of Aston Martin will always be remembered together with James Bond (Daniel Craig had an Aston Martin DB5 again in Casino Royale 2006 and Skyfall 2012).

Publicity Shot for the film

Although the film scored well all over the world, the American Audiences felt Timothy Dalton was a little dry and said he lacked humor. This would return with the American box office reaction to the next film License to Kill. But overall, the reception of THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS was very positive and the next title would be in pre-production pretty soon afterwards.

Timothy Dalton and Jeroen Krabbe promoting the film.

For me personally, Timothy Dalton was a fantastic James Bond. Dalton portrayed Bond as a human being with all the good and bad things included. In one sequence, Bond's colleague is killed and Bond gets mad and wants revenge. This also shows Bond as a human being, with all the frailties and the anger of a man living on the edge. Something Roger Moore hadn't been doing for a long time.

Timothy Dalton would be back as Bond in 1989's Licence To Kill. Next time, on this blogsite !!!