Licence To Kill

Bond is in Florida, attending the wedding of his good friend Felix Leiter, but first they have to finish a little business: capturing reputed drug lord Franz Sanchez. That done, the men parachute in on the wedding of Della Churchill and Leiter. As the wedding goes on, a corrupt DEA agent named Killifer gets Sanchez out, and then later kills Della on her wedding night, leaving Leiter grievously wounded. Bond finds them both the next day, and vows revenge.

M: Leave it to the Americans. It’s their mess.
Bond: I owe it to Leiter. He’s put his life on the line for me many times.
M: Oh spare me this sentimental rubbish! He knew the risks.
Bond: And his wife?

Killifer is the first to go, soon followed by Bond’s license to kill, when the Commander disobeys a direct order from M to pursue another matter. On his own, Bond teams up with Pam Bouvier, a DEA pilot, and follows Sanchez to Isthmus City. Bond assumes the cover of a wealthy gun for hire, and soon “befriends” Sanchez while bedding Sanchez' girlfriend Lupe.

When his planned attempt on Sanchez' life is aborted, Bond finds Pam speaking with Heller, an associate of Sanchez. Bond thinks Pam is the traitor, but before he can confront Pam, Bond is taken hostage by Hong Kong operatives who think Bond is working for Sanchez. The mistakes proves somewhat beneficial because it leads Sanchez to fully trust Bond and he sends men to get Bond away from the Hong Kong agents.

James Bond: Compliments of Sharkey!

Once free, Bond returns to the hotel, and confronts Pam who in turn confronts Bond with the seriousness of his mistaken thinking: Heller was given immunity by the US if he could bring back the stinger missiles that Sanchez had stolen (and Bond knew nothing about). With the attempt on Sanchez' life, Heller got spooked, and sent Pam packing. Bond realizes the extent of the damage of his vendetta and rethinks his plans.

Perez: What about the money?
Franz Sanchez: Launder it.

With Pam first distracting the money men behind the drug / arms smuggling scheme, and then flying cover above him, Bond returns to the drug processing plant, eliminates Sanchez' right-hand man Dario, in a bloody fashion, and then chases Sanchez out into the dessert, where the two men fight mercilessly until Bond sets a gasoline coated Sanchez on fire with the lighter given to him by Felix and Della.

• James Bond - Timothy Dalton

• Pam Bouvier - Carey Lowell

• Franz Sanchez - Robert Davi

• Felix Leiter - David Hedison

• Lupe Lamora - Talisa Soto

• Milton Krest - Anthony Zerbe

• Professor Joe Butcher - Wayne Newton

• Dario - Benicio Del Toro

• Truman-Lodge - Anthony Starke

• President Hector Lopez - Pedro Armendariz, Jr.

• Sharkey - Frank McRae

• M - Robert Brown

• Miss Moneypenny - Caroline Bliss

• Q - Desmond Llewelyn

• Della Churchill-Leiter - Pricilla Barnes

• Colonel Heller - Don Stroud

• Ed Killifer - Everett McGill

• Hawkins - Grand L. Bush

• Full Licence To Kill Cast List Here

• Director - John Glen

• Producers - Albert R. Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson

• Screenplay - Richard Maibaum, Michael G. Wilson

• Production Designer - Peter Lamont

• Main Title Designer - Maurice Binder

• Costume Designer - Jodie Lynn Tillen

• Casting - Janet Hirshenson, Jane Jenkins

• Editor - John Grover

• Director of Photography - Alec Mills

• Second Unit Director - Arthur Wooster

• Music - Michael Kamen

• Title Song “Licence To Kill” Lyrics by Narada Michael Walden, Jeffrey Cohen, Walter Afanasieff, Sung by Gladys Knight

• Art Direction - Dennis Bosher, Michael Lamont

• Special Effects Supervisor - Chris Corbould

• Full Licence To Kill Crew List Here

• World Premiere: 13 June 1989
• US Television Premiere: 24 February 1993 (Fox)
• Total Running Time: 135 minutes
• Poster Tagline: His Bad Side Is A Dangerous Place To Be.
• Poster Tagline: James Bond Is Out On His Own And Out For Revenge.
• Locations: Cray Key, Bahamas; London, UK; Key West, Florida, USA; Isthmus City (Fictional)
• Academy Awards: None
• Film Title: Spoken by M to Bond when taking away his licence
• James Bond Will Return In: GoldenEye

You can read all about the gadgets of Licence To Kill here.

• Walther PPK
• Exploding Alarm Clock
• Dentonite Toothpaste
• Receiver
• Laser Camera
• Signature Camera Gun

M: We’re not a country club, 007. Effective immediately your license to kill is revoked, and I require you to hand over your weapon. Now.
Bond: Well I guess it’s, er, a farewell to arms.

You can read more quotes from Licence To Kill here.

• Michael G. Wilson Cameo: *VOICE ONLY* In the very beginning of the film, Wilson gets the lines: “He’s landing at Cray Key,” and “If they hurry, they just might be able to grab the bastard.” [DVD Freeze—00:00:59 - Region 1]

• John Glen Trademark: When James Bond lands on the balcony outside Sanchez’s office at the casino, he’s startled by a white pigeon flying in his face.

• The original title was set to be Licence Revoked.

• The “He disagreed with something that ate him” note was originally from Ian Fleming’s Live And Let Die.

• Licence to Kill is the last film to feature the character of Felix Leiter.

• The location of Isthmus City is fake, and also marked the second time such a location was featured so prominently in the Eon series of 007 films. The first time was San Monique in Live And Let Die.

• The line “Well, I guess it’s a farewell to arms” was related to the fact that the crew was shooting at the Ernest Hemingway house.

• The film was originally to be set in China.

• Licence To Kill was the first film in the series with a title that had no direct connection with the title of one of Ian Fleming’s novels or short stories.

• It is possible to see a cord going from Bond’s sleeve to the lighter he receives from Felix and Della.

• David Hedison returned as Felix Leiter, the only actor to portray the character twice - he was previously in Live And Let Die.

• This was the last Bond film to be produced by Albert R. Broccoli.

• Licence To Kill was the final film for Robert Brown as M and Caroline Bliss as Miss Moneypenny.

• Licence To Kill also marked the final time that Maurice Binder (Main-title designer) and Richard Maibaum (Screenwriter) would be involved with the series.

• The Pedro Armendariz who appears in Licence To Kill is the son of the Pedro Armendariz who played Kerim Bey in From Russia with Love.

• In the final chase sequence just after James Bond lands on the tanker, Sanchez fires at Bond hitting the truck’s fuel tanks and sides. The sound of the bullets ricocheting off the tanks plays the James Bond theme.

• This was the first James Bond film to be turned into a novelization by author John Gardner.

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• CBn Timothy Dalton Forum
• FOUND! Sanchez' Escape Plane from Licence To Kill
• 'Licence To Kill' - A Look Back at the Royal World Premiere
• Licence To Kill Poster Artwork

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