Now pay attention, 007. The latest edition of Infinity, the UK’s popular nostalgia, sci-fi and cult films and TV magazine, has a great article on the various interpretations on the big screen of James Bond’s close CIA ally, Felix Leiter. Entitled ‘The Leiter Side of Bond’, and written by Jonathon Dabell, the glossy 5-page article takes the reader through the history of Felix Leiter on the screen, a character who also, of course, appeared in six of the original Ian Fleming James Bond novels.
As Dabell points out, Leiter is probably the most inconsistent recurring character in the 007 cinematic universe. Other regulars, like M, Q and Moneypenny, and 007 himself, did not deviate much from type during the first 20 or so Bond movies. However, due to the multiple number of actors who played Leiter, there was considerable variation in the interpretations of Felix Leiter.
Apart from a first screen appearance of the character in the live TV version of Casino Royale in the 1950s, where he was played by Michael Pate (and for some strange reason renamed as ‘Clarence’ Leiter!), the first big-screen version of the CIA operative came in EON’s first 007 adventure Dr. No (1962), where Leiter was played by Jack Lord (of TV’s Hawaii Five-O fame).
When Lord apparently wanted a much larger pay-packet to resume the role, he was replaced in Goldfinger (1964) by the seemingly older actor Cec Linder (even though Linder was actually a year younger than Lord). But, for Thunderball (1965), it was all change again, with Rik Van Nutter in the role. This time around, though, the character was given more screen time with Connery’s Bond.
The character would not be seen again until Diamonds Are Forever (1971), where he was played by Norman Burton. Then, for Live and Let Die (1973), and Roger Moore’s debut as 007, the role of Felix was expanded again, and placed in the skilful hands of David Hedison (Hedison and Moore were close real-life friends off-screen). Hedison would return again for Timothy Dalton’s Licence to Kill (1989), of course, but this time would meet a near-death in a shark sequence based on the one described in Fleming’s original novel Live and Let Die (which particularly pleased dedicated Fleming aficionados). In the meantime, for Dalton’s first Bond movie, The Living Daylights (1987), Leiter had been played by John Terry, but with much more limited screentime. The character of Leiter had also played a part in the non-EON unofficial 007 Connery comeback movie Never Say Never Again in 1983, where he was played by black actor Bernie Casey, who had been personally selected by Sean.
The final EON screen version of Felix Leiter, of course, came in three Daniel Craig 007 movies, Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008) and No Time To Die (2021), where the role was taken by the highly-praised black actor Geoffrey Wright. While the character had a key role in Craig’s debut Bond movie, Leiter had less screentime in Quantum. But there was considerable excitement when it became apparent that Felix was back for Craig’s farewell appearance as 007. In a controversial decision, however (and in a film which also saw the deaths of Blofeld and even James Bond), Felix finally met his death in Craig’s swan song 007 movie. On the other hand, though, one suspects that, if a big reinvention of the EON series really does goes ahead (as Barbara Broccoli seems to be hinting), there is every possibility that we have not quite seen the last of Bond’s CIA buddy.
The Infinity article is illustrated with some nicely colourful stills of Bond and Leiter from the 007 movies and, if you still like to get your Bond fix from hard-copy magazines, then this is a must-buy purchase. Infinity has given Bond fans some excellent Bond coverage in recent times, and this article generously maintains that high standard.
Infinity no.79 is on sale now, priced GBP £4.99, US $12.00 or Can $15.99. You know the name, and you know the number.