73 replies to this topic

[Dell Deaton]

Over the last couple of months, I've spent a lot of time in and around Timothy Dalton's two outings as James Bond. And let me say from the outset that I think he's one of the best 007's of the lot, and the closest to Ian Fleming's literary creation.

This was reportedly his goal, too. Hence this Thread.

In reading Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli and John Glen autobiographies, for example, they report how dedicated Dalton was to reading and re-reading the Fleming books for detail and characterization. Michael G. Wilson alluded to this also in a September 1987 STARLOG interview. So I thought it would be interesting to "test" this, large and small, looking for consistencies and inconsistencies - from any point of view on Timothy Dalton as James Bond.

My first comment will be on the relationship between Bond and Kara Milovy (Maryam d'Abo). Dalton's approach here seemed far less mature, less sophisticated than any prior Bond. And that very much reminded me of what Ian Fleming wrote of the literary Bond's relationship with Gala Brand in Moonraker. Almost a schoolboy fantasy that got ahead of reality. Now compare this to the "pillow fight" with Kara in The Living Daylights, Bond struggling to process her anger at his mission-dedication (and risk), translate her calling the "back end of horse."

To my mind, this would have been a great risk for any actor coming after Connery and Moore. Surely it was based in a well-reasoned view of how James Bond should be played, as opposed to how the character had been played.

Other thoughts, examples?

[Jim]

Over the last couple of months, I've spent a lot of time in and around Timothy Dalton's two outings as James Bond.

Sorry, are you claiming that you were in one of them?

This aside, there's more of Fleming's Bond in five minutes of Bond meeting Andrea Anders for the first time in The Man with the Golden Gun than there is in four hours or so of Timothy Dalton's Bond.

[Dell Deaton]

Over the last couple of months, I've spent a lot of time in and around Timothy Dalton's two outings as James Bond.

Sorry, are you claiming that you were in one of them? ....

Are you saying I wasn't--?

(Next thing you know, someone here is going to start making Posts insisting we acknowledge that "James Bond" is a fictional character!)

[Mr_Wint]

Ironically, a horse's may be closer to Fleming's creation than Dalton was.

[jaguar007]

This aside, there's more of Fleming's Bond in five minutes of Bond meeting Andrea Anders for the first time in The Man with the Golden Gun than there is in four hours or so of Timothy Dalton's Bond.

I can't picture Fleming's Bond saying "a water pistol?"

Seriously, the firs 5 minutes of TLD in Czechoslovakia are some of the most Fleminingesque moments in the entire series.

[The Shark]

This aside, there's more of Fleming's Bond in five minutes of Bond meeting Andrea Anders for the first time in The Man with the Golden Gun than there is in four hours or so of Timothy Dalton's Bond.

I can't picture Fleming's Bond saying "a water pistol?"

I can, but particularly the dialogue that follows.

Very un-PC, un-Dalton-like, but pure Fleming Bond.

[O.H.M.S.S.]

Seriously, the firs 5 minutes of TLD in Czechoslovakia are some of the most Fleminingesque moments in the entire series.

I agree. For me, Timothy Dalton captured Ian Fleming's Bond pefectly and like no one has ever done. That said, I like to point out that I believe TMWTGG was pretty Flemingesque as well.

[Dell Deaton]

Speaking first to my intent here, it certainly was not to suggest that some other Bond was "bad" as a means of suggesting this Bond was so, very, very "good." As a matter of fact, I think somewhere on CBn right now there's a Thread that asks if it isn't possible to like multiple, if not all, Bonds.

The Man with the Golden Gun is not only in my opinion a great 007 film, but also among the most under-rated.

But this Thread isn't about that.

The opening sniper and defection scene from The Living Daylights is not only pure Fleming, but, in fact, is (as we know) very true to the Ian Fleming short story by that same name. I'm looking at its publication as a short story in the June 1962 ARGOSY magazine, where it was titled, "Berlin Escape."

Right down to the close, where James Bond didn't kill her, as discussed in debrief. Might cost him his Double-O (with any luck). "Scared the living daylights out of her."

Classic!

[PrinceKamalKhan]

The Man with the Golden Gun is not only in my opinion a great 007 film, but also among the most under-rated.

Agreed.

The opening sniper and defection scene from The Living Daylights is not only pure Fleming, but, in fact, is (as we know) very true to the Ian Fleming short story by that same name. I'm looking at its publication as a short story in the June 1962 ARGOSY magazine, where it was titled, "Berlin Escape."

Right down to the close, where James Bond didn't kill her, as discussed in debrief. Might cost him his Double-O (with any luck). "Scared the living daylights out of her."

Classic!

Agreed as well. That first 20 minutes of TLD are among the most "Flemingesque" cinema that exists. Certainly the most "Flemingesque" of the 1980s Bond films and a very nice refresher that Fleming's Bond was indeed back after the tired AVTAK(I love Sir Rog but he stayed for 1 film too many). Dalton is the most underrated Bond actor of the franchise.

[Guy Haines]

Yes, Timothy Dalton did aspire to play Bond as Fleming intended him. All that preparation, all those hours spent reading the original novels, to me at least it is obvious.

I remember seeing TLD at the flicks and coming away very impressed with his performance. This is a bit more like it, I thought at the time.

TLD and LTK remain in the upper half of my own personal Bond movie league table.

However, he had one or two things working against him. First, a production team who were geared to making a type of Bond film which had strayed from the style of the books and the earlier films. If I'm wrong, then why was that infamous "magic carpet ride" scene ever filmed for TLD? (Even though they had the good sense to drop it before the film was released.) On reflection, a new director and new screenwriters should have been brought in more in tune with Dalton's interpretation of the role.

Secondly, consider the era in which the two Dalton movies were produced. Yes, AIDS was about. Of course it hasn't gone away since, but I can remember just what a big issue it was in the 1980s. Quite understandably, and laudably, the film producers felt they had to "ration" Bond's amourous encounters. Unfortunately, the impression got around (assisted no end by one or two lazy film reviewers who couldn't accept a Bond whose surname wasn't Connery or Moore) that Dalton's Bond was some sort of PC wimp.

Thirdly, the hatchet job the UK censors did on LTK. Even after that it was still deemed too adult to rate at anything less than a "15". All those pre-teens excluded from seeing it, although I dare say some managed it! Curious, isn't it, how CR got away with a "12" certificate in the UK, despite that torture scene. How times have changed!

Finally, there was the mistake of releasing LTK in the US just in time to collide with Indiana Jones and Batman. Consider - the sixteenth Bond film up against the third "Indy" film (with Connery in a starring role) and the hype surrounding the first Batman film. Given the choice, too many film goers went for novelty rather than the tried and tested Bond series.

Against all that it is a wonder the Dalton movies were so successful and so fondly recalled by many, but not all, Bond fans.

His portrayal served one very good purpose, though. It set the pattern for his successors, particularly Daniel Craig.

[Lachesis]

I am a big fan of Dalton as Bond and I believe his intention was to revist the source material for inspiration in his performance....however he did face an obstacle in that John Glen was slow to accomodate a different take on the character imo.... I just wish he'd have been given a vehicle like Goldeneye or Casino Royale and a director like Martin Cambell to inpsire him further.

That said it has to be remmebered that film and the written word are diffeent mediums, the perfect realisation of one is not automatically the perfect reapresentation in the other. Equally the nature of a book is the fuel and freedom it allows you own imagination - the Bond we see in our minds eye is likely very differnt from one person to another making that translation even more difficult.

[dinovelvet]

My first comment will be on the relationship between Bond and Kara Milovy (Maryam d'Abo). Dalton's approach here seemed far less mature, less sophisticated than any prior Bond. And that very much reminded me of what Ian Fleming wrote of the literary Bond's relationship with Gala Brand in Moonraker. Almost a schoolboy fantasy that got ahead of reality. Now compare this to the "pillow fight" with Kara in The Living Daylights, Bond struggling to process her anger at his mission-dedication (and risk), translate her calling the "back end of horse."

This is the big problem with Dalton, he doesn't actually seem to like any of the women he comes into contact with, and seems downright angry that he has to deal with Kara and Pam Bouvier. All of the other Bond actors gave the impression that their Bond enjoys women, whether its Connery or Craig's rogueish charm, Rog's innuendo-laden schoolboy antics, or Broz's, er, shoulder biting, whereas Dalton sort of looks down his nose at them. In LTK when he escapes from the Barrelhead bar with Pam and their boat breaks down, its the most ridiculous seduction moment in the entire series, how they go from screaming at each other to getting it on within 30 seconds.

[PrinceKamalKhan]

My first comment will be on the relationship between Bond and Kara Milovy (Maryam d'Abo). Dalton's approach here seemed far less mature, less sophisticated than any prior Bond. And that very much reminded me of what Ian Fleming wrote of the literary Bond's relationship with Gala Brand in Moonraker. Almost a schoolboy fantasy that got ahead of reality. Now compare this to the "pillow fight" with Kara in The Living Daylights, Bond struggling to process her anger at his mission-dedication (and risk), translate her calling the "back end of horse."

This is the big problem with Dalton, he doesn't actually seem to like any of the women he comes into contact with, and seems downright angry that he has to deal with Kara and Pam Bouvier. All of the other Bond actors gave the impression that their Bond enjoys women, whether its Connery or Craig's rogueish charm, Rog's innuendo-laden schoolboy antics, or Broz's, er, shoulder biting, whereas Dalton sort of looks down his nose at them.

That was probably more due to the scriptwriting than to Dalton. Although in TLD he does make a Roger Moore-type quip about the "lovely girl with the cello"(reminiscent of Bond's reaction the first time he saw Stacy Sutton in the previous film) and later seems quite smitten by Kara when he sees her perform at the concert hall prior to meeting her. And in LTK he does seem to enjoy flirting(over-flirting in fact considering she just married his best friend) with the happy Mrs. Leiter. But after Leiter's maiming and Della's death, his Bond is so consumed with rage and the desire to destroy Sanchez he barely seems interested in Lupe and Pam who both initiate their first kisses with him.

In LTK when he escapes from the Barrelhead bar with Pam and their boat breaks down, its the most ridiculous seduction moment in the entire series, how they go from screaming at each other to getting it on within 30 seconds.

Absolutely agree there. It was even faster than Bond/Aki in YOLT. It would've been more effective if they followed either the Bond/Anya approach from TSWLM or Bond/Holly approach from MR where Bond/Pam initially don't trust each other but their relationship mutually and gradually develops over the course of the film. But as before, was that Dalton's fault or Maibaum & Wilson's fault?

[Dell Deaton]

Wow--

Gotta start out by saying how nice it is to have a few folks here who can also speak to these films when they were first run in the theatres. Nothing wrong with those who came after, of course. Just a nice addition to the discussion.

Personally, I remember taking my girlfriend out to the movies and having to reassure her that "this new guy" was still a safe bet (she thought Robocop safer).

To respond to the point about production momentum, I guess we'd also have to note that things really changed as Mr. Broccoli's health took such a serious downturn in the years between Licence to Kill and GoldenEye. Isn't he famous for the words of advice against screwing up a proven formula? That had to have been a strong disincentive to go too far out of line.

In terms of the women, again, I can see Dalton's read of Fleming throughout. Yes, I recall the cigar boat escape; and I think of him rolling his eyes in The Living Daylights when Kara can't seem to read him on driving into the back of the plane he is piloting down the runway. But can't we find this in any number of Ian Fleming stories, where women were to be for fun and distraction, but that they mess up missions?

Surely the carriage ride in Vienna showed that fun. So, when it was Kara as a girl, I think he very much enjoyed her. Same with Pam, although maybe not so much so (but don't we all have a "range" of how we interact with others?).

[PrinceKamalKhan]

In terms of the women, again, I can see Dalton's read of Fleming throughout. Yes, I recall the cigar boat escape; and I think of him rolling his eyes in The Living Daylights when Kara can't seem to read him on driving into the back of the plane he is piloting down the runway. But can't we find this in any number of Ian Fleming stories, where women were to be for fun and distraction, but that they mess up missions?

Good point. Just think back to Bond's frustration with Vesper after she's kidnapped in the CR novel.

Surely the carriage ride in Vienna showed that fun. So, when it was Kara as a girl, I think he very much enjoyed her. Same with Pam, although maybe not so much so (but don't we all have a "range" of how we interact with others?).

I think in TLD, the Bond/Bond girl relationship was more important whereas in LTK, the Bond/villain relationship was more important hence his chemistry was stronger with Kara.

[Dell Deaton]

Okay, so now I'd like to stretch the envelope a little (as intended) to include some other things beyond Dalton's control. I mean, we've been talking about the "Berlin Escape" sequence just after the opening credits; but, now matter how well he played that, it clearly wasn't his decision to include that sequence,* nor hinge so much upon it.

The Aston Martin was "right" in a way that it's rarely been in the past handful of films. Again, talking Fleming. James Bond's personal car was a Bentley, not, as we've seen implied in several of the Brosnan films and Craig's first, his personal choice.

In The Living Daylights, it was refreshingly appropriate as his company car. And to me, when it was being "winterized," this allowed for a more subtle suggestion that it was gonna do something, but maybe not so much of a preview as we got in Goldfinger, Die Another Day, et cetera.

__________
* But this does give me an idea for another Thread. Not to be anything less than respectful, but what about classic Ian Fleming scenes that were not done as well as they could, should have been on the screen? Alas, another time, another place.

[Royal Dalton]

This aside, there's more of Fleming's Bond in five minutes of Bond meeting Andrea Anders for the first time in The Man with the Golden Gun than there is in four hours or so of Timothy Dalton's Bond.

I can't picture Fleming's Bond saying "a water pistol?"

I can, but particularly the dialogue that follows.

Very un-PC, un-Dalton-like, but pure Fleming Bond.

That bit was quite Flemingesque. It's just a shame Bond spent much of the next hour-and-a-half giving sumo wrestlers wedgies and the like...

[David Schofield]

I don't think there's much doubt that even with Moore as Bond, there were attempts to work in Flemingesque moments.

The forementioned TMWGG scene, the walk through the Harlem bar in LALD, the face-off with Anya over Sergei in Spy.

But these were only fanboy sops, I venture, to counter the whole Moore portrayal. I think Moore has honestly admitted he never tried play Fleming's Bond because he found the whole thing ludicrous. (Not in my book the wisest opinion and one of the reasons I have less regard than others on these boards for Rog).

However, of all the Bonds, Tim did the homework, knew the minutiae, put that over. Knew the value of Fleming-Bond.

[Dell Deaton]

... Tim did the homework, knew the minutiae, put that over. Knew the value of Fleming-Bond.

This quote nails it for me.

There may be "moments," and there may even be efforts to graft Fleming onto this film or that. But I just haven't seen any other actor state and demonstrate, to the degree of Timothy Dalton, a dedication to the Ian Fleming original as a starting point.

Again, I don't see this so much as a "my guy can beat up your guy" Thread as it is a place to capture those moments.

In another example that no-doubt dates me, I rather like the fact that Dalton smokes as Bond. Yeah, I know: Not PC. But if you think not only of the references in the books, but also the "why?" of smoking, I think Dalton captured that very well. Think, for example, of his working through efforts to ID the cello player he'd shot in the area overlooking the Q Branch lab. It wasn't gratuitous, nor "an homage," but a real situation in which a smoker would turn to cigarettes to process.

Now, before we condemn this as "bad," I'm not sure it's worse than exercising one's "license to kill." And, as my wife reminds me, monogamy is preferable to the James Bond lifestyle as regards relationships!

[David Schofield]

Yes, Dalton did - I would suspect - the most homework. I think his formal acting training, general ambivalence to taking the part - if I get it, I do it my way, the Fleming way, right or wrong - put him in the strongest position to tackle the Fleming character.

Connery indicated he had read Bond as a fan before taking on the role but he was as much Fleming's Bond as Terence Young, Cubby and Harry would allow him: not so if it interfered with their cinematic version.

Lazenby, ditto: just substitute Peter Hunt for Young.

Roger has mentioned his read the first chapter of Goldfinger to prepare, and got the vibe Bond didn't like killing people but was good at it. (Then smiled as his unbelievable good luck at getting the part, lit a Monte Cristo and started to practise his self-depricating comedy routine).

Brosnan has - IIRCC - indicated he prepared for the part by reading Casino Royale.... and then just about ignored every thing he had read in his on screen portrayal.

DC - I believe - gave up reading Casino Royale because he couldn't find the Fleming description as a blonde-haired shortarse who ran through walls.

[Trident]

I think since YOLT, at the latest since DAF, the cinematic version of Bond has become for the most part independent from Fleming. The films used elements of the books to varying degrees, but their general aim as well as audiences' expectations on what they would see on screen differed wider with each new film. I suppose a greater degree of Fleming during the 70's and 80's would not have been competitive on the market. So to get Moore on board may actually have been the best decision at that time.

Likewise needed the 90's a version of Bond able to compete with a number of generic action flicks in a genre that defined itself merely by explosions-per-minute and casualties-per-scene. Under these circumstances there wasn't exactly much room for development of character, neither within the film, nor from film to next film. Surely, that's a shame, but cannot really be helped. Brosnan's aspirations certainly might have been higher, but actual circumstances didn't suggest a need for that. And experience teaches us that industries tend to become ludicrously conservative if they aren't forced into creativity by either the competition or the circumstances under which they operate. So I wouldn't blame Brosnan for what was in effect what the majority of audiences apparently were readily accepting.

Dalton as the actor between these two tried to reintroduce what he felt was the essence of Fleming, but my feeling today is he was too far ahead of his time. I would love to hear one day what Dalton had in mind for a third film and what he would have shown if he had had the entire artistic freedom. Come to think of it, I'd like to see a Bond film directed by Dalton (ignoring completely here that Dalton, to the best of my knowledge, doesn't direct ).

[LTK_(1989)]

If one is looking for analysis on Dalton's Flemingesque 007 portrayal, this article (from www.hmss.com) is the most comprehensive and insightful piece I've seen yet:

By Paul Sparrow-Clarke

Timothy Dalton took over the part of James Bond at a time when the EON film series had veered far away from their literary source, and approached the role with the Ian Fleming novels and stories as the essence and foundation. In the press conference that officially introduced Timothy Dalton as the new James Bond, the actor noted that "I approached this project [the film The Living Daylights] with a sense of responsibility to the work of Ian Fleming."

He went on to discuss his interpretation of the Bond role further: "The essential quality of James Bond is a man who lives on the edge…he never knows when, at any moment, he might be killed. Therefore, I think some of the qualities we might associate with Bond, the qualities we´ve seen in this series of movies, the qualities that Ian Fleming wrote so well about, reflect that sense of danger in his own life…the qualities of the man are very much the qualities of someone who lives on the edge of his life." In the novel Moonraker, Fleming describes Bond´s "ambition to have as little as possible in his banking account when he was killed, as, when he was depressed, he knew he would be, before the statutory age of forty-five."

In Live and Let Die, Ian Fleming writes that there are times when a secret agent "takes refuge in good living to efface the memory of danger and the shadow of death." Dalton captures this idea of somebody who lives in "the shadow of death." Within the parameters of the scripts he was given, in his two cinematic appearances as James Bond, Timothy Dalton brought a welcome course correction to the film series, porting the core essence of Ian Fleming´s immortal secret agent to the screen.<&l

In Fleming´s writing, James Bond is vulnerable to the sheer tension that the danger of his job inspires. Fleming writes of this in "The Living Daylights," the short story that inspired the first Dalton 007 film, with Bond returning to the apartment in Berlin where he must assassinate a KGB sniper, and gives "a light hearted account of his day while an artery near his solar plexus began thumping gently as tension build up inside him like a watch-spring tightening."

While on the job and building up to a potentially deadly situation, Fleming´s Bond is a curt, focused professional. Dalton portrays this best in the introductory sections of The Living Daylights, often in smaller movements or gestures. As Bond and Saunders ("Head of Station V, Vienna") are about to step into the door of the building where 007 must kill the sniper, Dalton coolly glances both ways down the street, scanning for threats, and does the same briefly when they enter the ground floor room. "Turn off the lights," he almost snaps to Saunders, capturing some of the displeasure Bond feels in Fleming´s short story, where 007 notes the sight of Captain Paul Sender´s tie (the Saunders equivalent in the short story) and his "spirits, already low, sank another degree…He knew the type: backbone of the civil service; over-crammed and under-loved at Winchester…" His opinion of Saunders as an officious bureaucrat is revealed in Dalton´s contemptuous glance at him and curt tone as he counters Saunder´s assumption of ammunition type with "No, the steel-tipped. KGB snipers usually wear body armour."

Dalton shows the mild contempt through his clipped responses to Saunders, while allowing the buried coilsprings of tension to surface, in sometimes subtle ways. There is a small, almost imperceptible moment, where Dalton sits on the bed, preparing his sniper rifle, and his fingers slip as he loads the bullets into the rifle cartridge. Perhaps my favourite moment where Dalton portrays this subsurface tension is where he, sniper rifle in hand and ready for the kill, turns to Saunders, exhales distinctly, and quietly asks him to "Bring the chair." Compare that moment with Fleming´s Daylights: "Bond said, ‘Yes.´ He said it softly. The scent of the enemy, the need to take care, already had him by the nerves."

Fleming´s Bond takes brief refuge in sensual, carnal pleasures to help steel his nerves for the coming confrontation. In the beginning of the film version, which follows the basic plot of the short story, Dalton scans the crowd at a music recital, looking for the defector Koskov, and casually notes the "lovely girl with the cello." His expression while he says the line is a small, tight-lipped smile, an indication of the underlying tension as he gratefully takes in the beauty of Kara Milovy.

An underlying distaste and loathing for his profession also manifests in Fleming´s Bond stories, and this is another facet that Dalton brings to the screen. After Saunders expresses his anger at Bond´s commandeering of Koskov´s rescue and threatens to report to M that he deliberately missed shooting Kara, Dalton snaps back "Stuff my orders. I only kill professionals…Go ahead, tell him what you want. If he fires me, I´ll thank him for it." Dalton´s forceful delivery of this dialogue, tinged with an edge of cruelty and contempt, brings out James Bond´s uneasy relationship with the hard, soul-eroding surfaces of his double-o status.

Dalton is helped by similarities to some lines from the Fleming original: "‘Look, my friend," said Bond wearily, ‘"I´ve got to commit a murder tonight. Not you. Me. So be a good chap and stuff it, would you? You can tell Tanqueray anything you like when it´s over. Think I like this job? Having a Double-O number and so on? I´d be quite happy for you to get me sacked from the Double-O Section. Then I could settle down and make a snug nest of papers as an ordinary Staffer. Right?" (Sidenote: It´s amazingly easy to imagine Dalton delivering those lines exactly as written by Ian Fleming.)

Fleming´s Bond has an uneasy relationship with the killing that is a necessary part of the job of a double-o. In Chapter I of Goldfinger, Fleming details Bond´s self-reflection after completing a kill for Her Majesty´s Secret Service: "It was part of his profession to kill people. He had never liked doing it and when he had to kill he did it as well as he knew how and forgot about it." Though it is "his duty to be as cool about death as a surgeon," James Bond finds himself running the death over and over in his head, a signal that a part of the secret agent is uncomfortable with executing his licence to kill. Dalton´s performance in the opening of The Living Daylights captures this weariness, this tense introspectiveness, and brings it out through his clipped, almost cynical line delivery, quietly bringing to the surface the Bond that has an inner struggle between professional killer and the regret that lingers in his soul.

Even though there is an element of self-loathing at his profession, Fleming´s Bond was tough, ruthless, and cunning when his job demanded it. One of the key sequences from The Living Daylights illustrates Dalton´s strength at bringing this facet to the 007 film series. In this sequence, Bond has been assigned to assassinate Russian General Pushkin (John Rhys Davies), who MI6 suspects is behind a plot to kill British agents. He finds Pushkin in Tangiers, and stakes out Pushkin and his bodyguard to find the right moment to make the kill. Bond follows Pushkin to a hotel, where he sees him meet his mistress at the front, obviously for a romantic rendezvous in one of the rooms. As Bond notes this opportunity, Dalton gives a satisfied smile, obviously preparing the trap in his mind.

Pushkin enters the trap when he steps through his mistress´s hotel room door. Dalton slowly pushes the door closed, drawing the steel teeth of the trap together, and with gun extended with dead steadiness steps forward and says quietly, but with deadly assurance, "Don´t make any sudden moves, General." As he frisks Pushkin and circles him like a predator, Dalton never allows the gun to waver for a second. "I take it this is not a social call, 007," Pushkin notes wryly, to which Dalton grimly responds, "Correct. You should have brought lilies." As Pushkin and Bond talk, there is a point where Dalton lifts the gun up off its deadly focus on the General, subtly indicating that Bond is reconsidering whether killing Pushkin is justified. As in the novels, Bond kills professionally, and never without reason. When he briefly points the gun away from Pushkin, he also glances at the frightened mistress sitting watching them, aware that if he shoots the General, it will be in front of this innocent woman. It´s a beautifully subtle touch of humanity, one that Fleming´s Bond would be capable of.

Dalton segues seamlessly from the humanistic to the ruthless professional—his cold, forceful delivery of the line "Stay where you are. Get down on your knees. Hands behind your back." as he is apparently about to execute Pushkin is utterly believable.

Though Fleming´s Bond may sometimes loathe his professional requirement to kill, when personal vengeance is at stake, he does not hesitate. For revenge, he is as lethal and unhesitant as a cobra.

Revenge is the key theme of Dalton´s second appearance as 007 in Licence to Kill, and it is mirrored in Fleming´s Live and Let Die, which also provides the source material for several of the film´s plot elements. In the novel, criminal mastermind Mr. Big has Bond´s ally Felix Leiter fed to a shark, leaving him mutilated and barely alive. James Bond quietly prepares to hit back at Mr. Big; at the end of Chapter XIV Fleming writes that "Bond took out his gun and cleaned it, waiting for the night."

The same incident incites 007 to revenge in Licence to Kill, though it takes place in the setup of the story, not towards the end as in the novel, and the act of revenge is directed at drug baron Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi). As in Fleming´s writing, Dalton never allows revenge to take 007 to histrionics; he does a forceful, deadly, slow burn.

When Bond discovers the bodies of Della and Felix, in a key scene Dalton effectively projects the grief 007 feels. After finding Della´s lifeless body, Dalton walks into the next room looking almost stunned. He lets out a breath as he catches sight of a body bag laying on a couch—notice how good the actor is at using breathing to indicate underlying emotion—then slowly transforms Bond´s face into a grim expression, then to outright anger as he reads the note placed next to Leiter´s body. In this scene, Dalton brings from the page to the screen the bitter anger Bond feels at the attack and mutilation of a good friend, straight from Fleming´s Live and Let Die.

Dalton also pays tribute to the Bond – Leiter friendship that Fleming wrote of extensively in one of Licence to Kill´s key turning points: the confrontation with M at the Hemingway House in the Florida Keys. M, played by Robert Brown, chides 007 for getting involved in a mess that doesn´t concern him, and Dalton, with clear emotion, almost pleads "Sir, they´re not going to do anything. I owe it to Leiter. [breath] He´s put his life on the line for me many times." After M dismissingly notes that Leiter "knew the risks," Dalton turns Bond to anger once more as he snaps in response, "And his wife?" By allowing the undercurrent of anger to bubble up so quickly in response to M, Dalton shows the depth of feeling that is driving Bond on this personal quest to avenge a friend.

As an agent of vengeance, Dalton´s Bond is merciless. To the DEA agent´s remark of the chances of capturing Sanchez "We can´t even get an extradition order", Dalton coolly replies "There are other ways." That the actor delivers this line not with overt anger but with quite, determined forcefulness only adds to its effectiveness, plus the look on Dalton´s face is reminiscent of "the look of controlled venom" that Fleming describes on Bond´s face in You Only Live Twice as he learns that the villain he is pursuing is in fact Blofeld, the killer of his wife.

Dalton displays this same quiet venom in the later nighttime sequence set in Milton Krest´s warehouse, which offers the added pleasure of watching something inspired directly from a Fleming novel. The book Live and Let Die offers a similar scene with Bond dodging gunmen in a dark building filled with aquariums. Further along in the same sequence, when Bond gets the drop on Kellifer, he shows no compassion or emotion as he watches sharks attack and begin to devour the crooked agent who was responsible, albeit indirectly, for the murder of his friend´s wife.

As a final example of this deadly, barely submerged anger, consider the scene where Bond confronts Sanchez´ girlfriend aboard the Wavekrest, and watches from the cabin window as a boat approaches carrying the corpse of Sharkey, an ally cruelly killed by the villain´s henchmen. As Dalton turns away from the window, he pauses, staring into the distance as if imagining a cathartic future moment of vengeance, and stoicly mutters to the woman "You´d better find yourself a new lover." Dalton makes us believe that, from this moment on, Sanchez is doomed.

Another noteworthy reference to Fleming in License to Kill is a brief scene as Bond takes his leave of newlyweds Leiter and Della on their wedding night. Della removes the garter from her stocking to give it to Bond, hinting that he will be the next one to be married. In a clear connection to Bond´s murdered wife Tracy from Fleming´s On Her Majesty´s Secret Service, Dalton projects Bond´s painful memories as he suddenly seems uncomfortable, remarking "No. No." (the second "No" is almost inaudible) "Thanks Della. It´s time I left." Dalton quickly turns away to walk to his car, hinting that Bond wants to escape from the revisiting of old wounds.

Overall, in the two Bond films that he starred in, there is a sense that Dalton fought for the words of Ian Fleming to return to their place as the inspiration behind the films, and that this fight was a difficult struggle, a fact that has been confirmed in interviews Timothy Dalton gave to promote the release of Hot Fuzz in 2007. Scenes and snippets of scenes influenced directly from Fleming´s writing sit uneasily aside the usual Bond-lite moments that the film series had become comfortable with. It is this schizophrenia, this lack of complete conviction, that stop the Dalton 007 films from reaching the pinnacle of success. However, the Fleming tone is there in key moments and is indelibly imbrued upon the films through the powerful performance of Timothy Dalton.

To paraphrase Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli at that initial 1987 press conference, the privilege of the actor is their interpretation. And Timothy Dalton´s interpretation, assimilating as it did the literary 007 of Ian Fleming and bringing so much of it to the screen, often in very subtle ways, stands as one of the very best.

I´ll close with the words of Cubby Broccoli: "We´ve always liked him. We liked his work; we liked his style. And we´re sure his interpretation of James Bond will be one that we´ll be happy with."

Amen. And thank you, Mr. Dalton.

Fine analysis - and one that I agree with on all counts.

[Messervy]

I've just been re-reading Fleming's novels, and I find that what Dalton delivered came as close as possible to the spirit of the books: a cold, dangerous Bond who means business. Watching Dalton, one gets the taste of danger of this trade.

Sure, Bond loves women and good living, but only once the job is done (how many times have I read something along the lines of "that bloody woman will interfere with my mission and ruin it"), so I wouldn't blame Dalton for, supposedly, not liking women. Some may have forgotten, but it just so happens that Bond's job is not to date women; he's a counter-intelligence agent trained to protect Queen and Country and to kill if needs be.

In that regard, I think Dalton was the best Fleming-Bond we had. Actually, the only Fleming-Bond we had. I don't mean to say he was the only "good" Bond, as I also really enjoy Moore's Bond for instance. But replying to the topic "Dalton wanted to be Fleming's Bond", I would say that he indeed managed to be precisely that.

[Dell Deaton]

Yes, Dalton did - I would suspect - the most homework. I think his formal acting training, general ambivalence to taking the part - if I get it, I do it my way, the Fleming way, right or wrong - put him in the strongest position to tackle the Fleming character.

Connery indicated he had read Bond as a fan before taking on the role but he was as much Fleming's Bond as Terence Young, Cubby and Harry would allow him: not so if it interfered with their cinematic version.

Lazenby, ditto: just substitute Peter Hunt for Young.

Roger has mentioned his read the first chapter of Goldfinger to prepare, and got the vibe Bond didn't like killing people but was good at it. (Then smiled as his unbelievable good luck at getting the part, lit a Monte Cristo and started to practise his self-depricating comedy routine).

Brosnan has - IIRCC - indicated he prepared for the part by reading Casino Royale.... and then just about ignored every thing he had read in his on screen portrayal.

DC - I believe - gave up reading Casino Royale because he couldn't find the Fleming description as a blonde-haired shortarse who ran through walls.

When I read what you wrote here, David, I at first laughed out loud (and thank you for that). Then I thought, "my God, is reading anything really that hard?"

Maybe it is. Reminds me of a classic line from one of the novels by the late Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.: If you can do a half- -ed job of anything, you're a one-eyed man in the kingdom of the blind (not an exact quote: But I can dig out my copy of Player Piano if desired).

[DAN LIGHTER]

Always had a soft spot for Dalton after hearing he was seen on set reading the Fleming novels. As has been said, I cant say I think he was Flemings Bond as that only exists in the readers head. I cant see Flemings Bond at all in actual fact. Yes there are elements of Bond, but it never is the complete picture as with book to film.

Didnt Desmond Llewelyn also say he thought Dalton was most like the Book Bond?

I thought I read that Craig even went as far as trying to source a First Edition of Casino Royale and backed off when given the price tag in some London book dealers. Thats sort of dedication. Almost.

[spynovelfan]

Why not test out the theory with Quantum of Fleming?

[DAN LIGHTER]

Thanks for the link. Did the outcome of that thread ever get published spynovelfan? Interesting theory, applying data to come out with a solution. They call it 6 stigma in industry terms I believe.

[spynovelfan]

Published? No, just a bit of fun. I think that coming after Moore, Dalton presented a very radical shift, and coupled with his talk of going back to Fleming, I think this was partly responsible for the idea that he is the closest to Fleming's Bond. In extremis, I think this simply means he was darker and more ruthless than Moore. But Fleming's Bond could also be rather Roger Moore-like. The definition changed. So this was an attempt to make people see outside their preconceptions and look at a slightly more nuanced definition of the character. What are the character traits of Fleming's Bond, and how are those shown in the actors? Ie more than just dark and ruthless. Fleming's Bond was sometimes rather ruthful. As you can see from the thread, most people would rather stick to a very narrow interpretation of the character that allows them to continue to see their chosen actor as the closest to Bond. An attempt to look at more than the one or two characteristics that confirms what they already believe resulted in people questioning all the other characteristics, and even shifting the debate to physical attributes. Dalton probably did look more like Fleming's character than Daniel Craig, but that's hardly the same as being the closest interpretation of the character.

Anyway, I think if you try the experiment without trying to game it to your own result, bear in mind that it is only a rough set of indicators that make up Fleming's character (but still offers a lot more nuance than is usually given in this debate), and do it very fast... you might be surprised at the results.

[Dell Deaton]

... What are the character traits of Fleming's Bond, and how are those shown in the actors? Ie more than just dark and ruthless. Fleming's Bond was sometimes rather ruthful. As you can see from the thread, most people would rather stick to a very narrow interpretation of the character that allows them to continue to see their chosen actor as the closest to Bond. An attempt to look at more than the one or two characteristics that confirms what they already believe resulted in people questioning all the other characteristics, and even shifting the debate to physical attributes. Dalton probably did look more like Fleming's character than Daniel Craig, but that's hardly the same as being the closest interpretation of the character.

Anyway, I think if you try the experiment without trying to game it to your own result, bear in mind that it is only a rough set of indicators that make up Fleming's character (but still offers a lot more nuance than is usually given in this debate), and do it very fast... you might be surprised at the results.

You make some very good points here.

I don't know that I'd count myself among those who see Fleming's Bond along some "very narrow interpretation of the character," particularly as it relates to the "darker" side. Hence my mention, for example, of the Bond-Kara romance.

Admittedly, this Thread has an inherent bias in that it's in the Dalton sub-Forum and presents the question as it does. Long before I got here, however, I started out with an overview of Connery-through-Craig and thus narrowed it from that. So I'm fascinated by and interested in hearing more about your theory that an arm's-length view of the questions, sans glasses, would somehow surprise one.

Looking forward to reading more from you on this.

[Tybre]

Looking at that thread that was linked and thinking on it, while I still hold the position that Dalton comes nearest to the literary incarnation, even if we take up the position that he doesn't, he does come very close to Connery and Lazenby, who in several places throughout that thread scored higher. Additionally, while Moore embodies certain aspects of Bond, he certainly embodies less than his predecessors. Add onto this that Dalton brought to his portrayal certain facets of the character which had not been portrayed on screen before, coupled with his superior training and talent, and you have something of a recipe for success, as it were.

Anyway this has probably all been said already but just figured I'd chime in.