Bradley Ruzicka

The fourth post in my “James Bond at 60” series focuses on the Timothy Dalton Years.

Dalton’s portrayal of Bond is admittedly hard to gauge as, through no fault of his own, he only starred in two films. Producer Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli once said that it took three films for Sean Connery to make the character his own. In those two films, Dalton’s Bond, while much closer to the character originally envisioned by creator Ian Fleming than Roger Moore, was too dark and humorless for many longtime fans. Unfortunately, due to legal troubles that shut down production for almost five years, we’ll never know if Dalton could have made Bond his own.

With Moore’s retirement in 1985, the search for a new actor to play Bond saw a number of candidates, including Sam Neill, Pierce Brosnan, and Dalton, audition for the role. Co-Producer Michael G. Wilson, Director John Glen, Dana and Barbara Broccoli “were impressed with Sam Neill and very much wanted to use him”, although Albert Broccoli was not sold on the actor. Neill, a New Zealander, insists that Bond was a role he never wanted. “My agent shoved me into a really embarrassing test,” he told ABC News in 2019. “It was one of the most mortifying times of my life, because I really didn’t want to play James Bond.”

Dalton first discussed playing Bond with Broccoli in 1968 after Connery’s departure. But, in only his mid-20s, Dalton felt he was too young to accept the role. He thought Bond should be played by an actor between 35 and 40 years old. In a 1987 interview, Dalton said, “Originally I did not want to take over from Sean Connery. He was far too good, he was wonderful. When you’ve seen Bond from the beginning, you don’t take over from Connery.” Around 1980, Dalton was again approached when Moore first considered retiring, but he didn’t favor the direction the films were taking, nor did he think the producers were seriously looking for a new 007.

By 1986, Dalton was again being considered for the role after Moore retired for good. Once Neill was eliminated and Brosnan eventually ruled out because of his Remington Steele contract, Dalton was hired in August at a salary of $3M. Dalton, a green-eyed, dark haired, slender, 6’2″ classically trained Shakespearean actor, was keen to portray the character as accurately as possible. He did extensive research, reading all of Fleming’s books, in preparing for 1987’s The Living Daylights. Unlike Moore, who had played Bond as more of a light-hearted playboy, Dalton’s Bond would be a serious one with little time for fun and indulgence.

Dalton’s interpretation of the character came from a “desire to see a darker Bond”; one that was cold, emotionally stern, ruthless, showing little humor, less of a womanizer, and focused as a killer. He pushed for renewed emphasis on the gritty realism of Fleming’s novels instead of fantasy plots and humor. In a 1989 interview, Dalton stated, “I think Roger was fine as Bond, but the films had become too much techno-pop and had lost track of their sense of story. I mean, every film seemed to have a villain who had to rule or destroy the world.”

“If you want to believe in the fantasy on screen, then you have to believe in the characters and use them as a stepping-stone to lead you into this fantasy world. That’s a demand I made, and Albert Broccoli agreed with me.” Dalton saw the character as a “man, not a superhuman; a man who is beset with moral confusions and apathies and uncertainties, and who is often very frightened and nervous and tense”. Critic James Chapman considered Dalton to be closer to Fleming’s Bond than previous actors, writing he was “clearly less comfortable … with the witty asides and one-liners … so he becomes something closer to the Bond of the books”.

Similarly, Bond author Raymond Benson noted that Dalton “purposely played Bond as a ruthless and serious man with very little of the wit displayed by Connery, [George] Lazenby, or Moore”. He considers Dalton’s incarnation to be “the most accurate and literal interpretation of the role … ever seen on screen”. Screenwriter Richard Maibaum said Dalton was the best actor of the four Bonds he’d worked with. John Glen believed Dalton to be the best actor to ever play the role, but that he was ahead of his time. Glen felt Dalton’s portrayal was closer to that of the critically acclaimed Daniel Craig.

Iain Johnstone of The Sunday Times, when reviewing License To Kill, had a different take, declaring that “any vestiges of the gentleman spy … by Ian Fleming” was now gone. He went on to say that “this character is remarkably close both in deed and action to the eponymous hero of the new Batman film”. Clearly, not all were approving of Dalton’s interpretation. Canadian film critic Jay Scott of the Globe and Mail was entirely dismissive. “The new Bond has been widely described in feature stories as a throwback to the Ian Fleming original and that may be true, if the Fleming original lacked charm, sex appeal and wit.”

Scott continued, “Timothy Dalton’s Bond is a serious bloke who swallows his words and approaches his job with responsibility and humanity and eschews promiscuity – Dirtless Harry. You get the feeling that on his off nights he might curl up with the Reader’s Digest and catch an episode of Moonlighting – he’d try to memorize the jokes – before nodding off under the influence of Ovaltine. The British reviews of The Living Daylights have been laudatory, perhaps because this Bond is the most British of all, if British is to be understood as a synonym for reserved.” Critics such as Smith and Lavington were also harsh in their assessment.

Again using the example of Dalton’s portrayal of Bond in License to Kill, the pair observed that he appeared “self-absorbed… reckless, brutal, prone to nervous laughter and … probably insane, or at least seriously disturbed”. In contrast to previous incarnations, Smith and Lavington identified Dalton’s humor as “brooding rather than flippant”. Similarly, one academic, Martin Willis, referred to Dalton’s Bond as a “muscular vigilante”. Critic Steven Jay Rubin acknowledged that Dalton’s films had “a hard-edged reality and some unflinching violent episodes” that “were better suited to Dalton’s more realistic approach to the character.”

However, Rubin generally agreed with Benson’s and Chapman’s assessment, believing Dalton’s Bond was closer to the Fleming character. He considered Dalton to be “Fleming’s Bond… the suffering Bond”. When combined with his character’s heavy smoking, he considered Dalton “an effective leading man”. Critically and financially, Dalton’s films ranked average to good compared to previous Bond entries. Yet, commentators such as Screen International wondered if the franchise had run its course in an age of series such as Indiana Jones and Lethal Weapon. Edward P. Comentale had a similar observation.

Said Comentale, “Dalton, for all his occasional flat northern vowels, was probably too much the stage actor to be convincing as an action hero in the age of Willis, Stallone, and Schwarzenegger”. The relatively disappointing box office returns for License to Kill led to Broccoli questioning his own leadership of the series. He subsequently put Danjaq, Eon’s parent company and holders of the Bond film copyright, up for sale. Dalton was quoted at the time as saying, “My feeling is this will be the last one. I don’t mean my last one, I mean the end of the whole lot. I don’t speak with any real authority, but it’s sort of a feeling I have.”

In 1990, the situation was further complicated when United Artists, recently acquired by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, was sold to Qintex, which wanted to then merge with Pathe Communications. The Bond catalogue was leased to Pathé at a lower-than-market value by UA/MGM without consulting Danjaq. Danjaq, which was itself the target of a failed takeover bid by Pathé, subsequently sued UA/MGM Communications. In August, Broccoli appointed his daughter Barbara along with his stepson, Michael Wilson, as producers at Eon while he concentrated on matters at Danjaq.

As Dalton was contracted for a total of three Bond films, pre-production on his next movie began despite the uncertainty, with a targeted release date of 1991. What was confirmed was that the story would deal with the destruction of a chemical weapons laboratory in Scotland and the events would take place in London, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. However, the dispute between Danjaq and MGM/UA was more protracted than expected, delaying production of the film for another three years. A settlement between the parties was finally reached in 1993. Even though his six-year contract had expired by then, Dalton was still expected to return to the role.

Negotiations to renew his contract were begun early in the year. In an August interview with the Daily Mail, Dalton said that Michael France was writing the screenplay for the new movie and production would begin in January or February of 1994. When that deadline passed, Dalton surprised everyone on April 12 with the announcement he wouldn’t return as James Bond. Instead, he took the role of Rhett Butler in Scarlett, a CBS miniseries. “I was supposed to make one more, but it was cancelled because MGM and the film’s producers got into a lawsuit which lasted for five years. After that, I didn’t want to do it anymore.”

Of his time as Bond, Dalton recalled, “No one, no matter how well someone can communicate, can tell you … what it is like to be the actor playing James Bond. The only actors who can are the other actors who’ve played the part.” He further commented, “You are in kind of a bubble. It’s real, it’s valuable, it’s exciting, and it can give great pleasure. And yet it’s somehow unreal. No, forget the “unreal” bit. But it’s somehow outside the normal course of what we all share in … A fantastic experience.” After his Bond career, Dalton divided his work between stage, television and films, diversifying the characters he played. He continues acting through present day.

Following is a brief description of each of Dalton’s Bond films.

— The Living Daylights (Released June 29, 1987): Bond aids the defection of KGB General Georgi Koskov (Jeroen Krabbe), wounding an assumed female sniper, Kara Milovy (Maryam d’Abo). During his debriefing, Koskov alleges his agency’s old policy of Smert Spionam, meaning Death to Spies, has been revived by General Leonid Pushkin (John Rhys-Davies), the new head of the KGB. Koskov is subsequently abducted from an MI6 safehouse. Assuming the KGB was behind the abduction, Bond is ordered to kill Pushkin. But first, Bond tracks down the sniper he wounded, Milovy, determining she’s a cellist, not a KGB agent, as well as Koskov’s girlfriend.

Thinking Bond is Koskov’s friend, she reveals that he staged the defection, including her involvement. Bond also discovers that Koskov is a friend of arms dealer Brad Whitaker (Joe Don Baker). He establishes the two are in business together to defraud the Soviet government. Bond confronts Pushkin with this information. They decide to fake Pushkin’s assassination in order to investigate Koskov and Whitaker’s scheme. Bond and Pushkin determine the pair are using KGB funds to buy drugs, sell them at a profit, and then supply the Soviet military with lower priced arms purchased from Whitaker.

Meanwhile, Milovy contacts Koskov, who convinces her that Bond is a KGB agent sent to kill him. She drugs Bond and the two are taken to Afghanistan. Koskov then imprisons both Bond and Milovy. The two escape along with local Mujahideen leader Kamran Shah (Art Malik). Shah helps Bond and Milovy destroy the drugs after Koskov purchases them but before they can be resold. Bond and Pushkin subsequently travel to Tangier to confront Whitaker and Koskov, infiltrating Whitaker’s estate with the help of CIA contact Felix Leiter (John Terry). Bond is forced to kill Whitaker while Pushkin arrests Koskov, deporting him back to the Soviet Union.

The Living Daylights was the fourth consecutive film directed by Glen. It was generally well received by most critics. The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 74% based on 57 reviews, better than all of the Moore films with the exception of The Spy Who Loved Me. The site’s consensus states, “Newcomer Timothy Dalton plays James Bond with more seriousness than preceding installments, and the result is exciting and colorful but occasionally humorless.” Imagine Games Network (IGN) lauded the film for bringing back realism and espionage to the series while showing Bond’s dark side.

Many critics praised Dalton, particularly his performing most of the stunts himself. For example, Janet Maslin of The New York Times complimented his portrayal, saying he had “enough presence, the right debonair looks and the kind of energy that the Bond series has lately been lacking”. In 2012, Moore described The Living Daylights as a “bloody good movie.” Dalton himself has said he preferred it over his second film, License to Kill. The movie was considered a financial success, grossing $191.2M worldwide on a budget of $40M. The Living Daylights would also be the last Bond film to use the title of a Fleming novel until 2006’s Casino Royale.

— License To Kill (Released June 13, 1989): Bond aids his friend and CIA agent Felix Leiter (David Hedison) in the capture of drug lord Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi). Sanchez escapes, kills Leiter’s wife Della (Priscilla Barnes) on their wedding day, and maims Leiter. Bond swears revenge but is ordered to return to duty by M (Robert Brown). Bond refuses and M revokes his license to kill, causing Bond to become a rogue agent. Although officially stripped of his status, he’s unofficially assisted by Q (Desmond Llewelyn). Bond recruits ex-CIA agent Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell), whom he rescues from Sanchez’s personal henchman, Dario (Benicio del Toro).

He journeys with Bouvier to Sanchez’s home in the Republic of Isthmus. Bond bluffs his way onto Sanchez’s staff where he manages to raise his boss’s suspicions about a number of his own employees. When Bond is taken to Sanchez’s main base and drug refinery, he’s recognized by Dario and captured. He escapes with the help of Bouvier and kills Dario, destroying the refinery in the process. Bond and Bouvier pursue Sanchez and, during the course of a stunt-filled chase through the desert, destroy three of the four tankers containing the drugs in liquified form.

Bond gains control of the remaining tanker but is attacked by Sanchez. As they struggle for possession of the truck, Bond is unable to keep it on the narrow highway. The tanker veers off the road and rolls down a hillside. Both escape before the crash but have serious injuries and are soaked in petrol from the leaking tanker. Sanchez corners Bond before he can get away. As he prepares to kill him, Sanchez pauses when Bond offers to reveal the reason for his betrayal. He then shows Sanchez his cigarette lighter – the Leiter’s gift for being the best man at their wedding – and sets him on fire. Sanchez stumbles into the wrecked tanker, blowing it up and killing himself. Bond is subsequently rescued by Bouvier.

License To Kill was the fifth and final Bond film to be directed by Glen. It was also the first not to use the title of a Fleming story, instead using elements of two of his short stories and a novel, interwoven with aspects from Japanese Ronin tales. Originally titled License Revoked in line with the plot, the name was changed to License To Kill during post-production. The film earned $156.2M worldwide on a budget of $42M, including $5M for Dalton’s salary. It was the least amount of money a Bond film had made since Moore’s final entry, 1985’s A View To A Kill.

Reviews at the time were mixed but improved over the years. Initially, it attracted criticism for Dalton’s interpretation of Bond and the fact that the movie was significantly darker and more violent than its predecessors. Today, Rotten Tomatoes lists the film with a positive 78% rating from 59 reviews, higher than The Living Daylights. The site’s consensus states, “License to Kill is darker than many of the other Bond entries, with Timothy Dalton playing the character with intensity, but it still has some solid chases and fight scenes.” Derek Malcolm in The Guardian was broadly approving of License to Kill, liking the “harder edge of the earlier Bonds” that the movie emulated, but wishing “it was written and directed with a bit more flair.”

A side note. License To Kill was the final film for Robert Brown, who had played the character M, head of MI6, since 1983’s Octopussy. Brown was originally hired to portray M on Moore’s recommendation. Critics Pfeiffer and Worrall considered that, whilst Brown looked perfect, the role had been softened from that of Bernard Lee. Lee had played the role of M to critical acclaim from 1962 to 1979. The two considered Brown “far too avuncular”, although in License To Kill they remarked that he came across as being very effective when he revoked Bond’s 00 license.

Raymond Benson agreed, noting that the M role was “once again underwritten, and Brown is not allowed the opportunity to explore and reveal his character traits.” In addition, he considered the character to be “too nice.” During the long period between License to Kill and GoldenEye, producers decided to bring in Dame Judi Dench to take over as the first female M. License to Kill also marked the end of the line for a number of long-term crew members, including Glen, designer Maurice Binder, Richard Maibaum, and cinematographer Alec Mills.

Lastly, a sad note. Due to advancing age, this would be the last film produced by the man who had become synonymous with James Bond, Albert Broccoli. It would be up to his successors, Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, to continue the franchise. As a result of the legal battle between MGM/UA and Eon over control of the franchise, Bond would not be seen on the screen for six years. By the time all the legal issues were resolved, and production could begin again, Dalton had decided to move on. Once again, a new Bond needed to be found. Assuming the right person was available, the question remained, was a 1990’s audience still interested in James Bond in the post-cold war era?

To end this post, I’ve included a compilation video showing Dalton’s “25 Great James Bond Quotes” including Bond’s famous introduction; “Bond, James Bond”.

Enjoy!

As always, your feedback is appreciated!