|
ALLIES
THAT
C.I.A. GUY, WHAT'S-HIS-NAME
Blonde,
tall, thin and southern in the books (and named after a friend Fleming's), Felix
Leiter was mangled by a shark in Live And Let Die. After that the CIA let him
go. He then found work with Pinkerton's Detective Agency, until he was again placed
on the CIA reserve list. Kingsley Amis speculated that Leiter appears in the books
solely to show a Brit out-do an overshadow an American counterpart. Leiter has
appeared in many of the films:
|
FILM | FELIX |
|
Jack Lord (not blonde or southern) |
|
Cec Linder (not blonde or southern... or interesting) |
|
Rick Van Nutter (blonde but not southern) |
|
Norman Burton (squat, dark-haired) |
|
David Hedison (dark haired, not southern) |
|
Bernie Casey (African-American, not southern, and obviously not blonde) |
| John Terry
(not blonde, not southern, not needed in the movie) |
| David Hedison again
(still dark haired, not southern, and now with a bad toupee) | | Jeffrey Wright (African-American, with great acting credentials, and still nothing to do) |
|
Felix was replaced
in GoldenEye and Tomorrow
Never Dies by a CIA guy named Jack Wade. He was named after one of the
uncredited screenwriters on the project (Kevin Wade) and ended up being about
as noticable in the production as his namesake.
|
...AND THE REST...
If
there's any one character that illustrates the difference between the Bond books
and films, it's Sir James Maloney, the resident psychiatrist attached to the Secret
Service. Named after Fleming's dental surgeon, he counsels Bond, acts as his friend,
and helps to keep Bond healthy and sane after the mental and physical tortures
he endures on his cases. Bond has spent months in his care to recover from difficult
missions. He does not appear in the films, as 007 is never really hurt or distraught
enough to need him. After having to endure some of the films, however, the audience
members could probably use his services.
Another character missing in the
films is May - Bond's housekeeper in the novels, and based on the real-life maid
of Fleming's friend Ivar Bryce. She was never portrayed in the films, although
in the spec script Warhead she has been replaced by a temp. In John Gardner's
book Nobody Lives Forever, May is kidnapped by SPECTRE.
Then there's
Bill Tanner, Chief of Staff - Fleming repeatedly calls him Bond's best friend
in the Service. That's not saying much, however, since Bond doesn't seem to have
any good friends anywhere. Tanner's position is similar Fleming's job in British
Intelligence during World War II. We barely see Tanner in the Fleming books, but
in Kingsley Amis' Colonel Sun he does play golf and have some drinks with
007. He was portrayed by James Villiers in the film For Your Eyes Only
as a real stiff who treated Bond very condescendingly. But considering Bond was
being played by Roger Moore at the time, it's hard to blame him. Tanner returns
in GoldenEye, as a harried office drone.
Fredericka "Flicka" von Grusse makes her first appearance in Gardner's Never Send Flowers. An agent for Swiss Intelligence, she is 5'11", slim, athletic, with shoulder-length black hair. She then made a return appearance in Seafire, assisting Bond and Felix Leiter. She's never been in the films, unless you count My Friend Flicka, in which there is no James Bond, and she's played by a horse.
Back
to Profile Page
Return
to COMEDY ON TAP
|