28 replies to this topic

[Righty007]

Which James Bond films do you think Felix Leiter could have been in? Also, how do you feel about George Lazenby and Pierce Brosnan being the only actors to never get a Felix Leiter moment?

From Russia with Love

No

You Only Live Twice

Yes - The United States' space capsule was stolen therefore Leiter (Rik Van Nutter) should have partnered with Bond in Japan.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Maybe - Leiter (Rik Van Nutter) should have at least been at Bond's wedding.

The Man with the Golden Gun

No

The Spy Who Loved Me

No

Moonraker

Maybe - Leiter (David Hedison) could have met up with Bond in California at some point but I understand Holly Goodhead was assigned to the case instead.

For Your Eyes Only

No

Octopussy

No

A View to a Kill

Maybe - Leiter (John Terry) could have replaced Chuck Lee, however, Lee was worked well as a "regional" CIA contact.

GoldenEye

Yes - Replacement for Jack Wade.

Tomorrow Never Dies

Yes - Replacement for Jack Wade.

The World Is Not Enough

No

Die Another Day

Yes - NSA should have been CIA and Leiter should have replaced Falco as a Senior CIA Officer or something like that.

[DamnCoffee]

Well, first of all, Leiter should replace that awful Jack Wade in GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies. Other than that, I'm cool.

[Qwerty]

GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies were the first two I thought of - both as a replacement for Jack Wade as well.

[Conlazmoodalbrocra]

Which James Bond films do you think Felix Leiter could have been in? Also, how do you feel about George Lazenby and Pierce Brosnan being the only actors to never get a Felix Leiter moment?

From Russia with Love

No

You Only Live Twice

Yes - The United States' space capsule was stolen therefore Leiter (Rik Van Nutter) should have partnered with Bond in Japan.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Maybe - Leiter (Rik Van Nutter) should have at least been at Bond's wedding.

The Man with the Golden Gun

No

The Spy Who Loved Me

No

Moonraker

Maybe - Leiter (David Hedison) could have met up with Bond in California at some point but I understand Holly Goodhead was assigned to the case instead.

For Your Eyes Only

No

Octopussy

No

A View to a Kill

Maybe - Leiter (John Terry) could have replaced Chuck Lee, however, Lee was worked well as a "regional" CIA contact.

GoldenEye

Yes - Replacement for Jack Wade.

Tomorrow Never Dies

Yes - Replacement for Jack Wade.

The World Is Not Enough

No

Die Another Day

Yes - NSA should have been CIA and Leiter should have replaced Falco as a Senior CIA Officer or something like that.

From Russia With Love: No
You Only Live Twice: No
On Her Majesty's Secret Service: Yes, a wedding appearance
Diamonds Are Forever: DIFFERENT ACTOR!!!
The Man With The Golden Gun: Maybe, David Hedison was a great Felix Leiter, and I would've like to have seen him make an immediate re-appearance
The Spy Who Loved Me: No
Moonraker: Yes, a brief appearance in California would've been nice
For Your Eyes Only: No
Octopussy: No
A View To A Kill: Yes, instead of Chuck Lee
The Living Daylights: HEDISON!!!
Goldeneye: No, I like Wade!
Tommorrow Never Dies: No
The Worlds Is Not Enough: No
Die Another Day: No

Remember: Leiter's crippled after Licence To Kill, so unless he carries on working with one and a half legs, appearances in the four films after Licence To Kill would not work very well.

[00Twelve]

The films in which I'd have liked to have seen Leiter:

TMWTGG - Worked right alongside Bond in the novel, and would have worked just fine in the movie, with a little bit of rewriting (which wouldn't have hurt anyway).

GE/TND - He was basically there in middle-aged, pudgy form anyway; Might as well have had the real guy with his prosthetic leg. After all, Wade didn't exactly see any action in either film, and the literary Felix spent more time crippled than not.

DAD - Would have worked much better than what we got, as far as the U.S. involvement went.

[DaveBond21]

Yes, it would have been good to have seen Leiter in GE and TND. Also he could have replaced Falco in DAD - Falco wasn't a great character.

[BoogieBond]

Yes, agree with most, especially TMWGG, would have been great to see him there, undercover as Travis as in the novel. Everything else agree with, could have been instead of the other felix substitutes(like Wade, although I thought he was OK)

[DaveBond21]

The problem in the past with Felix is that the actors were always changing and weren't always up to scratch.

Felix is much better in DN, TB and LALD/LTK than he is in GF, DAF and TLD.

[Qwerty]

Falco wasn't a great character.

Can say that again. Useless, really.

[Righty007]

Falco wasn't a great character.

Can say that again. Useless, really.

He did a great job at illustrating the "arrogant American" stereotype though.

[Qwerty]

He's one of the few characters in the series I seem to dislike more and more with each viewing of the film.

His only point seems to be to inject unneeded sarcasm and, as you said, silly arrogance.

[Righty007]

He's one of the few characters in the series I seem to dislike more and more with each viewing of the film.

His only point seems to be to inject unneeded sarcasm and, as you said, silly arrogance.

You get your house in order or WE'RE GONNA DO IT FOR YOU!

[Single-O-Seven]

The problem in the past with Felix is that the actors were always changing and weren't always up to scratch.

Felix is much better in DN, TB and LALD/LTK than he is in GF, DAF and TLD.

You're so right on the Leiter actors from GF, DAF, and TLD. All were terrible. I understand they had difficulty in getting Lord back for GF, but why go to a much older actor that shattered the character's continuity completely? A younger actor couldn't be found? The Leiter in DAF seemed so out-of-place in the role, while the one in TLD looked more like a university student hoping to get into the CIA, let alone the seasoned pro he was supposed to be. Van Nutter and Hedison were the best, IMO, and though I liked Lord he seemed a little too dark and cynical at times, and completely opposite to Fleming's Leiter.

[DaveBond21]

The problem in the past with Felix is that the actors were always changing and weren't always up to scratch.

Felix is much better in DN, TB and LALD/LTK than he is in GF, DAF and TLD.

You're so right on the Leiter actors from GF, DAF, and TLD. All were terrible. I understand they had difficulty in getting Lord back for GF, but why go to a much older actor that shattered the character's continuity completely? A younger actor couldn't be found? The Leiter in DAF seemed so out-of-place in the role, while the one in TLD looked more like a university student hoping to get into the CIA, let alone the seasoned pro he was supposed to be. Van Nutter and Hedison were the best, IMO, and though I liked Lord he seemed a little too dark and cynical at times, and completely opposite to Fleming's Leiter.

I think their problem was that they needed to find an actor who wasn't going to be like Jack Lord and demand equal billing etc., and also they couldn't pick someone who was more charismatic or good-looking than the actor playing 007, and so they went with extremes.

[Righty007]

It's a shame Lord's ego got in the way of his return.

[freemo]

To be honest, while I liked Lord in DR. NO, I wouldn't have wanted him as a recurring Felix. I've never seen him in anything other than DR. NO, but he looks more like a lead than a sidekick or a buddy or an ally, and two leads just doesn't work. I think his Felix would have detracted from Bond, rather than played off him. The warmer "you did WHAT?!" buddy-type Felix of David Hedison or even the guy in DAF worked better in the films, IMO.

[Qwerty]

Now that I think about it, Felix could have made an appearance in 1967's Casino Royale. They could have thrown him at the end with the cowboys and bubbles and Woody Allen and clapping seals ... or anywhere in the film really--wouldn't have made any diffence to the plot.

He's one of the few characters in the series I seem to dislike more and more with each viewing of the film.

His only point seems to be to inject unneeded sarcasm and, as you said, silly arrogance.

You get your house in order or WE'RE GONNA DO IT FOR YOU!

Quite.

[DaveBond21]

It's a shame Lord's ego got in the way of his return.

I agree. He was my favourite Felix. It would have been good to have at least seen him in Goldfinger.

[Mr. Blofeld]

Now that I think about it, Felix could have made an appearance in 1967's Casino Royale. They could have thrown him at the end with the cowboys and bubbles and Woody Allen and clapping seals ... or anywhere in the film really--wouldn't have made any diffence to the plot.

Actually, William Holden played an American CIA-type whom, while not being the Texan contemporary of the original novel, could have been christened Leiter...

[Aris007]

He should have definitely been in Jake Wade's position in his two apperances. I also think that Falco's character wasn't a great choice. How did he talk to M in their conversation in the beggining? Who do you think you're talking to?

Edited by aris007, 18 April 2008 - 04:54 PM.

[Qwerty]

Now that I think about it, Felix could have made an appearance in 1967's Casino Royale. They could have thrown him at the end with the cowboys and bubbles and Woody Allen and clapping seals ... or anywhere in the film really--wouldn't have made any diffence to the plot.

Actually, William Holden played an American CIA-type whom, while not being the Texan contemporary of the original novel, could have been christened Leiter...

Yup. Still wouldn't have made a difference in that film.

[Shadow Syndicate]

Rik, Jack and Jeffery were the only decent felix's in my opinion. Goldfinger, too old and too gentle looking, DAF same story, and Hendison waaay too cheery and didn't seem to have an edge at all, same story for all of the above. Sure Fleming's Felix was cheery and a little light hearted, but there was no edge at all to Hendison or any of those guys. Even the cat in TLD had more of an edge than them, but was just waaay too young and had crappy lines...IMO

[sidspappy]

I'm not up to date here. Why exactly was Leiter missing from the Brosnan era? Legal issues? Wade and Falco really did suck.

As a whole, Felix Leiter embarrasses me, being an American. Can't the guy do any real intelligence work without Bond? Granted, yes, he's a sidekick to the main British character, yet I still cringe when I spend any time thinking about it.

Maybe EON should consider a Felix Leiter spinoff with their new deal with Columbia. Give him some real missions, with a serious actor, to do some real secret agent stuff. If Jeffrey Wright wants a go at it, I say give him a shot.

The guy will definitely have to work on his poker game, though. And don't get me started on his eventual loss of limb. Maybe they can give him a Secret Agent Bionic Man prosthetic leg, with hidden pistol holster (a la Robocop). Each movie will show him popping out a new gadget from the leg!

Edited by sidspappy, 23 April 2008 - 08:22 PM.

[Righty007]

I'm not up to date here. Why exactly was Leiter missing from the Brosnan era? Legal issues? Wade and Falco really did suck.

As a whole, Felix Leiter embarrasses me, being an American. Can't the guy do any real intelligence work without Bond? Granted, yes, he's a sidekick to the main British character, yet I still cringe when I spend any time thinking about it.

Maybe EON should consider a Felix Leiter spinoff with their new deal with Columbia. Give him some real missions, with a serious actor, to do some real secret agent stuff. If Jeffrey Wright wants a go at it, I say give him a shot.

There were no legal issues surrounding the character. Fans speculate that it was due to EON's desire not to show a disabled Felix Leiter. Had they had a "normal" Leiter, fans would have complained about the lack of continuity. So, I guess it was a lose lose situation for the producers during the Brosnan Era.

I love the Leiter character! He's the American version of James Bond and I can related to that. He doesn't get a lot to do because it's Bond's movie. I think Jeffrey Wright should play the character in a spin-off. That would be awesome!

Check out this thread!

[Mister Asterix]

• On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – Wedding scene only
• Tomorrow Never Dies – Instead of Wade here. (Would’ve kept Wade in GoldenEye, but just in Russia)
• Die Another Day – Merging the characters of Falco and Robinson

I also think Felix needed to be somewhere in the mid-Moore years but nothing sticks out for me.

[col_007]

Felix should definitely of attended bond's wedding maybe he's meant to be one of the background characters we see briefly ???

[George Lazenby]

I have alway's hated Jack Wade, i would of loved Leiter to replace him.
Also i think he should of had a slight role in DAD, he should of replaced Mr Chang (the hotel boss)

[Righty007]

I have alway's hated Jack Wade, i would of loved Leiter to replace him.
Also i think he should of had a slight role in DAD, he should of replaced Mr Chang (the hotel boss)

Why would a CIA agent be working under cover in a hotel in Hong Kong?

[George Lazenby]

I have alway's hated Jack Wade, i would of loved Leiter to replace him.
Also i think he should of had a slight role in DAD, he should of replaced Mr Chang (the hotel boss)

Why would a CIA agent be working under cover in a hotel in Hong Kong?

He would of replaced the scene in the hotel entirely.