Felix Leiter
Encyclopedia
Felix Leiter is a fictional CIA agent created by Ian Fleming
in the James Bond
series of novels and films. In both, Leiter works for the CIA
and assists Bond in his various adventures as well as being his best friend. In further novels Leiter joins the Pinkerton Detective Agency
and in the film Licence to Kill
he transfers to the DEA
. The name "Felix" comes from the middle name of Fleming's friend Ivor Bryce while the name "Leiter" was the surname of Fleming's friend Marion Oates Leiter Charles, then wife of Thomas Leiter.
In the 1954 Climax! television adaptation
of Casino Royale
, which featured Barry Nelson
as CIA officer Jimmy Bond, his opposite number became British secret agent Clarence Leiter rather than Felix, played by Australia
n actor Michael Pate
.
in the first Bond novel, Casino Royale
. He is a former member of the U.S. Marine Corps as a Major, now working for the CIA and stationed in Paris
. He is characterized as a tall, lanky, blond Texan
. He quickly befriends Bond, and provides some much needed backup at a crucial moment during Bond's secret mission to bankrupt SMERSH
paymaster Le Chiffre
by beating him at a game of Baccarat
. When Bond loses a decisive hand and is "cleaned-out", Leiter provides Bond with additional capital, allowing him to complete his mission.
In Live and Let Die
, the second Bond novel, Leiter teams once again with Bond early on in the story, this time to crack down on the illegal operations of Mr. Big, a master criminal and known member of SMERSH
who is smuggling gold coins into the U.S. After escaping Mr. Big's kidnapping together, Leiter goes alone to investigate a warehouse in Florida
, where Mr. Big's henchman "The Robber" feeds him to a shark
. By the time Bond finds him, he has lost his right arm and half of his left leg and suffered facial injuries. He is taken to a hospital and does not appear for the rest of the novel.
After a brief absence in Moonraker, Leiter returns once more in Diamonds Are Forever
. He is wearing a hook for his missing hand and a prosthetic leg
that causes him to walk with a limp, and has had extensive skin grafts to repair the injuries to his face. Leiter is no longer with the CIA, since he could only take a desk job after losing his gun hand; now he is employed as a private detective by Pinkertons Detective Agency
. With the aid of Leiter and his ally Ernie Cureo, Bond tackles diamond
smuggling in Las Vegas
and brings down The Spangled Mob
.
He returns in Goldfinger, where he leads an Army contingent in foiling Auric Goldfinger
's attempt to rob Fort Knox
after getting an S.O.S. note Bond leaves in the plane that takes him down to Kentucky.
By the time of Thunderball, Leiter is called back to the CIA. He and Bond research Emilio Largo
in The Bahamas
and fight an underwater battle under his yacht. Leiter suffers minor injuries during the battle, which ends when Largo is killed by his mistress, Domino
.
Leiter makes his last appearance in Fleming's final novel, The Man with the Golden Gun
. Leiter has apparently continued working for the CIA, and helps Bond in Jamaica
, this time around to tackle Francisco Scaramanga
. Posing as a hotel clerk, Leiter infiltrates Scaramanga's train and plants a bomb to blow up a bridge on which it is traveling; he and Bond jump clear just before the bomb explodes, destroying the train. Leiter is last seen visiting Bond while he recuperates in a hospital.
After John Gardner
took over writing the James Bond novel series, Leiter made an occasional appearance. The novel For Special Services
introduces his daughter, Cedar Leiter, who is also a CIA officer (and briefly Bond's romantic conquest), while in Win, Lose or Die
, U.S. President George H. W. Bush
(making a cameo appearance in the novel) mentions working with Leiter in his previous capacity as CIA director.
Leiter also makes appearances in Raymond Benson
's continuation Bond novels, The Facts of Death
, in which he helps Bond substantially with a mission in Texas
, and Doubleshot
. Benson has Leiter sometimes making use of an electric wheelchair, in reference to the deterioration of his legs following the shark attack, but Leiter is still capable of walking with the aid of a cane. In later novels, Leiter has also found a Hispanic
girlfriend, Manuela.
In 2008, Sebastian Faulks
included a crippled Felix Leiter in his new Bond novel Devil May Care
. In the story, Bond is captured in Iran
by Dr. Julius Gorner, who plans on using his secret weapon, an ekranoplan, to start a nuclear war between the United Kingdom
and the Soviet Union
. Leiter drops his work at Pinkerton's and helps Bond and MI6 contact Darius send a message back to London to order an airstrike on Gorner's ekranoplan. In a shoot-out with double agent
JD Silver, Darius successfully calls in the airstrike at the cost of his own life, and Leiter survives only thanks to the timely arrival of Hamid, his taxi driver.
In the 2011 novel, Carte Blanche
by Jeffery Deaver
, Leiter assists Bond in tracking down the villainous Severan Hydt in Dubai.
, in which he works alongside the Drug Enforcement Administration
.
The cinematic Bond and Leiter meet for the first time in Dr. No
, the first Bond film. EON Productions had originally planned to film Thunderball
, where Leiter featured prominently, as the first film in the series. However, the controversy over Thunderball led the filmmakers to film Dr. No instead and so the character of Leiter was added to the novel's plot.
The film version of Live and Let Die
does not contain the sequence with the shark, and Leiter survives intact to help Bond again. Leiter's confrontation with the shark would later be used in Licence to Kill
where he is fed to a shark by the villain Franz Sanchez
in revenge for Leiter's role in temporarily capturing him. The film version of Leiter loses only one leg at the knee to the shark, although one arm is seriously injured. Although severely mutilated, Leiter would still remain alive. His new wife, Della, is rape
d and murdered by Sanchez's henchmen. These atrocities would send Bond on a quest for revenge
, which forms the film's central plot.
In the Pierce Brosnan
Bond films, the character Jack Wade appeared as the regular representative of the CIA, ostensibly because the producers did not want to feature a disabled Leiter. It is hinted in GoldenEye
that he is friends with Leiter, though Leiter is never mentioned by name. Leiter appeared in the 2006 adaptation of Casino Royale
. As the film is a reboot, Leiter once again works for the CIA with no mention of the shark encounter.
There is no visual continuity between Leiter's film appearances. In Dr. No he is depicted as being somewhat suave and mysterious and roughly the same age as Bond; the very next appearance of the character in Goldfinger depicted him as middle-aged and grey-haired and a more typical American policeman type or an American counterpart of M; in the very next film, he was once again depicted as being about Bond's age and more physically active than the Goldfinger Leiter. Also, while usually portrayed by white actors, Leiter has on three occasions (one in a non-EON production, twice in EON productions) been portrayed by African American
actors.
According to screenwriter Richard Maibaum
, it was Jack Lord's demand for co-star billing, a bigger role and more money to reprise the Felix Leiter role in Goldfinger
that led the producers to recast the role.
Dr. No
Felix Leiter is sent to Jamaica
to work with British agent John Strangways to investigate radio jamming of NASA
rockets. Strangways is murdered by henchmen of the mysterious and secretive Dr. No and Leiter enlists the aid of Jamaican fisherman Quarrel to investigage Dr. No's island, Crab Key. When Bond arrives in Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of Strangways, Leiter and Quarrel assist him in his pursuit of Dr. No.
Goldfinger
Leiter is sent to tell James Bond not only about Auric Goldfinger
, but also what M
wants Bond to do with Goldfinger. Felix interrupts Bond while he is being massaged by Dink. They arrange to have dinner for a better briefing, but Bond reschedules to breakfast as he is enjoying time with Goldfinger's moll Jill Masterson
. When she is killed, Leiter is asked to come to Bond's room.
Leiter calls M, telling him Bond is going to Kentucky
. M asks him to follow and keep an eye on Bond but not to "drop" in on him. Leiter and one of his allies tail Bond (using the homing device in Bond's shoe) to a farm, where they spy on him. When Bond takes his homer out and puts it in the car of Oddjob and Mr. Solo, Leiter follows. Oddjob destroys the car and Mr. Solo and the homer device and Leiter must return to the farm, fearing Bond is dead. After spying on the farm, he sees that Bond is in apparent control of the situation, but does not know that Bond is actually being held captive.
On the day of "Operation Grand Slam", Leiter is warned in advance by a reformed Pussy Galore of Goldfinger's plan, and the CIA changes the contents of the gas canisters in Pussy's airplanes from nerve agent to a harmless gas. Felix then waits for Goldfinger to arrive at Fort Knox, faking death along with the stationed garrison and, when the plot is put into action, these forces and Bond manage to stop Goldfinger. Leiter is last seen waving his friend off on a private plane to Washington
, to receive by the President (and then noting in alarm that the plane is crashing).
Thunderball
Felix Leiter is sent to the Bahamas to investigate two stolen nuclear missiles with Ml6 agent and old friend James Bond. Felix follows Bond several times without him noticing, and when he goes to Bond’s room, Bond opens the door and punches him. Bond quickly brings him inside and tells him to be quiet while he deals with an intruder in his house. Bond later apologises for punching him. Felix and Bond investigate Emilio Largo
, who has stolen the weapons. Felix later saves Bond when he is trapped and helps him find the missing plane.
Diamonds Are Forever
Felix Leiter appears, undercover, as a customs inspector who enables Bond to smuggle in a cache of diamonds, using the corpse of Peter Franks (a smuggler who had died while battling Bond in an earlier sequence). When James arranges for the exchange of diamonds to Tiffany Case (hidden in a stuffed animal), Leiter and his men lose her in a parking lot. Leiter later escorts James to a remote hideout where hotel magnate Willard Whyte is being kept. Leiter grows flustered when James subdues Whyte's two bodyguards, 'Bambi' and 'Thumper' (two athletic women who attack their opponents with kicks), by dunking them in a pool, complaining about Bond "giving breast-stroke lessons" while trying to find Whyte. Leiter then assists Bond and Whyte in tracking down the satellite operating center and makes another appearance on one of the helicopters leading the assault on the center. He is finally seen with Whyte bidding farewell to Bond and Tiffany on their cruise at the end of the film.
Live and Let Die
Leiter acts as the CIA liaison as Bond operates in New York City
, investigating the deaths of British agents who were the victims of Mr. Big. When Bond arrives in New York, Leiter wants some information about Big's henchman Whisper, who had killed Bond's taxi
driver. In this film, Leiter and other CIA officers also operate out of a hotel room overlooking the residence of Dr. Kananga, the dictator
of a small island called San Monique. Leiter, while investigating Kananga for corruption in the United States, goes with Bond to a Fillet of Soul restaurant, under the guise of finding out more information about Mr. Big, a notorious drug dealer. However, Bond is removed from the restaurant and captured by Mr. Big by a descending floor, and Leiter appears to have no idea what happened to Bond. When Bond later escapes, Leiter assists him in handing him a series of bombs to explode the poppy
fields that Mr. Big/Kananga is growing. He's last seen in the film escorting Bond and Solitaire
to their train.
Never Say Never Again
In this non-Eon Productions
remake
of Thunderball
, Leiter aids Bond in an attack on the underground fortress of villain Maximillian Largo. In this film, the character was played by Bernie Casey
, which marks the only time Leiter was portrayed as an African-American until the relaunch of the franchise with Casino Royale
in 2006.
The Living Daylights
Felix Leiter is investigating Brad Whitaker
in Tangier
, trying to determine why Whitaker had not made any arms deals after receiving a huge sum of money from General Leonid Pushkin. He sets up cameras around Whitaker's estate to spy on him. When Bond comes to Tangier, and after Bond (with Pushkin's connivance) fakes Pushkin's assassination
, Leiter captures Bond using two girls to seduce him; they hold him at gunpoint until he realizes they are working for Leiter. Bond and Felix discuss Pushkin and Whitaker. Later he is seen when Bond was breaking into Whitaker's house; Leiter helps Bond enter the house undetected. Unlike most recent interpretations of Leiter (and the one to follow), Leiter is depicted here as young and something of a ladies man, more in keeping with the youth-oriented portrayal of the character in Dr. No and Thunderball.
Licence to Kill
Felix Leiter is going to be married, to Della Churchill, but on the way his friends from the DEA catch up with him. They tell him that drug lord Franz Sanchez
is nearby. Felix insists that they go despite his wedding. Felix and Bond, leaving Sharkey to explain to Della, go by helicopter to a house in the Bahamas. When they land, Felix tells Bond to stay in the helicopter, while he and several DEA officers find Sanchez. Sanchez's men try and distract Felix by shooting at him and his officers. Bond is brought in the action, saying "if I don't get you back to the wedding, I am a dead man for sure." Felix and Bond can’t find Sanchez but realize he is escaping in an airplane, so quickly get in the helicopter and chase. Bond helps Leiter get Sanchez and both parachute down to the wedding, where Leiter and Della wed.
Later, when Sanchez is traveling from the Bahamas
to a prison, Ed Killifer, an agent, betrays his friend Felix and helps allow Sanchez to escape for US$
2 million. This indirectly allows Sanchez to find Leiter.
Leiter and Della are enjoying their post-wedding party, cutting the cake, opening presents and giving Bond a present (a lighter which becomes crucial at the end of the film). Leiter and Della say good-bye to Bond and go inside. When they enter their bedroom, Perez and Braun are waiting for them. Leiter insists they let Della go but is knocked out from behind by Dario. The three then (it is implied) rape
Della before killing her, they then bring Leiter to Sanchez at Milton Krest's marine lab. Leiter realises that Killifer has betrayed them and thinks that Sanchez is going to kill him. Sanchez then feeds Leiter to the shark. He is brought back to his house for James Bond to find with a note reading, "He disagreed with something that ate him" (Note: this is all from Ian Fleming
's Live and Let Die
). Leiter is rushed to hospital and, after weeks in intensive care, recovers with his damaged arm saved, though he has lost his left leg.
Bond goes after Sanchez, nominally losing his licence to kill
in the process when he resigns from MI6 rather than follow M's orders to drop the matter. Much of the plot of the film is based around 007's dogged pursuit of and revenge on Sanchez, whom he tricks into distrusting his own people and eventually kills, after destroying the drug lord's empire and, finally, revealing the reason for his vengeance. Leiter is last seen at the end of a telephone conversation with Bond, who promises to come and see him soon. He looks grave, but forces a smile when a nurse plumps his pillows, signing off by telling Bond that M wants him back.
Casino Royale
In the reboot of the James Bond series, Felix Leiter is re-introduced after 17 years as working for the CIA against Le Chiffre
. He is entered in the major poker game that Le Chiffre must win in order to recoup his clients' funds.
When Bond is knocked out of the tournament, Felix reveals himself to him on a stairwell as "a brother from Langley
," and proposes a plan for Bond to win against Le Chiffre. He says that he is "bleeding chips" and will not last much longer against Le Chiffre. Felix stops Bond's attempt to assassinate Le Chiffre and gives him $5 million to buy back into the tournament. In exchange, Felix wants the CIA to take Le Chiffre in if Bond wins. Bond agrees.
Leiter is knocked out of the poker game not too long after, but Bond wins the final hand (and with it a $115 million pot). It is stated later that Leiter makes contact with Le Chiffre and plans to extract him at dawn, but this is revealed to be a plot by Le Chiffre to kidnap Vesper Lynd
.
, Greggory Beam. Leiter and Beam are tasked with working with the film's villain, Dominic Greene
, to secure oil
sources in South America for the United States. Leiter disagrees with the agency's decision to work with Greene, and secretly meets with Bond in a bar in Bolivia
to warn him about a CIA black ops team coming to kill him. As Bond escapes the bar, Leiter gives him Greene's rendezvous point with his Bolivian clients, allowing him to intercept Greene and put a stop to his plans. After meeting Bond, however, Leiter talks to Beam and confirms that he passed along the message he was assigned to (though whether he actually did is left ambiguous). It is revealed at the end of the film, after Greene's death and the collapse of Greene Planet, that Beam was fired and Leiter has become the CIA's Section Chief of South America, a significant promotion.
, Q
and Miss Moneypenny
. Leiter appears in nine official films, one unofficial film, and one unofficial television production, played by nine different actors, who vary dramatically in age, physical characteristics and even race, with Jeffrey Wright and Bernie Casey being notable as the only two black actors to play the role.
David Hedison
and Jeffrey Wright are the only actors to play Leiter more than once; Hedison was recast in Licence to Kill having previously played the role in Live and Let Die. The producers decided that due to the events of LTK, with the entire plot being driven by Leiter's crippling and Bond's resultant quest for revenge, the producers would need someone who was already established in the role to resonate with the audience, even though Hedison had last played the part 16 years earlier. Wright became the first actor to play Leiter in consecutive films when he appeared in Casino Royale and its direct sequel, Quantum of Solace.
Actors who have played Felix Leiter in the films (in order of appearance):
compared Leiter's relationship with Bond to that of Sherlock Holmes
and Dr. Watson
, the Lone Ranger
and Tonto
, and Leo Gorcey
and Huntz Hall
.
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
in the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
series of novels and films. In both, Leiter works for the CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
and assists Bond in his various adventures as well as being his best friend. In further novels Leiter joins the Pinkerton Detective Agency
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...
and in the film Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill, released in 1989, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions James Bond series and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming novel. It marks Timothy Dalton's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond...
he transfers to the DEA
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
. The name "Felix" comes from the middle name of Fleming's friend Ivor Bryce while the name "Leiter" was the surname of Fleming's friend Marion Oates Leiter Charles, then wife of Thomas Leiter.
In the 1954 Climax! television adaptation
Casino Royale (Climax!)
Casino Royale is a 1954 television adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The show is the first screen adaptation of a James Bond novel and stars Barry Nelson and Peter Lorre...
of Casino Royale
Casino Royale (novel)
Casino Royale is Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel. It paved the way for a further eleven novels by Fleming himself, in addition to two short story collections, followed by many "continuation" Bond novels by other authors....
, which featured Barry Nelson
Barry Nelson
Barry Nelson was an American actor, noted as the first actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond.-Early life:...
as CIA officer Jimmy Bond, his opposite number became British secret agent Clarence Leiter rather than Felix, played by Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n actor Michael Pate
Michael Pate
Michael Pate was an Australian actor, writer and director.-Early life:He was born Edward John Pate in Drummoyne, Sydney...
.
Novel biography
Felix Leiter makes his first appearance and introduction to James BondJames Bond (character)
Royal Navy Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a fictional character created by journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He is the main protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games...
in the first Bond novel, Casino Royale
Casino Royale (novel)
Casino Royale is Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel. It paved the way for a further eleven novels by Fleming himself, in addition to two short story collections, followed by many "continuation" Bond novels by other authors....
. He is a former member of the U.S. Marine Corps as a Major, now working for the CIA and stationed in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He is characterized as a tall, lanky, blond Texan
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He quickly befriends Bond, and provides some much needed backup at a crucial moment during Bond's secret mission to bankrupt SMERSH
SMERSH
SMERSH was the counter-intelligence agency in the Red Army formed in late 1942 or even earlier, but officially founded on April 14, 1943. The name SMERSH was coined by Joseph Stalin...
paymaster Le Chiffre
Le Chiffre
Le Chiffre is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale. On screen Le Chiffre has been portrayed by Peter Lorre in the 1954 television adaptation of the novel for CBS's Climax! television series, by Orson Welles in the 1967 spoof of the novel and...
by beating him at a game of Baccarat
Baccarat
Baccarat is a card game, played at casinos and by gamblers. It is believed to have been introduced into France from Italy during the reign of King Charles VIII , and it is similar to Faro and Basset...
. When Bond loses a decisive hand and is "cleaned-out", Leiter provides Bond with additional capital, allowing him to complete his mission.
In Live and Let Die
Live and Let Die (novel)
Live and Let Die is the second novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 5 April 1954, where the initial print run of 7,500 copies quickly sold out. As with Fleming's first novel, Casino Royale, Live and Let Die was broadly well received by the critics...
, the second Bond novel, Leiter teams once again with Bond early on in the story, this time to crack down on the illegal operations of Mr. Big, a master criminal and known member of SMERSH
SMERSH
SMERSH was the counter-intelligence agency in the Red Army formed in late 1942 or even earlier, but officially founded on April 14, 1943. The name SMERSH was coined by Joseph Stalin...
who is smuggling gold coins into the U.S. After escaping Mr. Big's kidnapping together, Leiter goes alone to investigate a warehouse in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, where Mr. Big's henchman "The Robber" feeds him to a shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
. By the time Bond finds him, he has lost his right arm and half of his left leg and suffered facial injuries. He is taken to a hospital and does not appear for the rest of the novel.
After a brief absence in Moonraker, Leiter returns once more in Diamonds Are Forever
Diamonds Are Forever (novel)
Diamonds Are Forever is the fourth of Ian Fleming's James Bond series of novels. It was first published by Jonathan Cape in the UK on 26 March 1956 and the first print run of 12,500 copies sold out quickly...
. He is wearing a hook for his missing hand and a prosthetic leg
Prosthesis
In medicine, a prosthesis, prosthetic, or prosthetic limb is an artificial device extension that replaces a missing body part. It is part of the field of biomechatronics, the science of using mechanical devices with human muscle, skeleton, and nervous systems to assist or enhance motor control...
that causes him to walk with a limp, and has had extensive skin grafts to repair the injuries to his face. Leiter is no longer with the CIA, since he could only take a desk job after losing his gun hand; now he is employed as a private detective by Pinkertons Detective Agency
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...
. With the aid of Leiter and his ally Ernie Cureo, Bond tackles diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
smuggling in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
and brings down The Spangled Mob
The Spangled Mob
The Spangled Mob is a fictional crime organisation from the James Bond novel series by Ian Fleming.-Creation and Organisation:The Spangled Mob was created by Jack and Seraffimo Spang also known as the Spang brothers. Its enforcers were Albert Wint and Charles Kidd.-Novels:The Spangled Mob's first...
.
He returns in Goldfinger, where he leads an Army contingent in foiling Auric Goldfinger
Auric Goldfinger
Auric Goldfinger is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film and novel Goldfinger. His first name, Auric, is an adjective meaning of gold...
's attempt to rob Fort Knox
Fort Knox
Fort Knox is a United States Army post in Kentucky south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. The base covers parts of Bullitt, Hardin, and Meade counties. It currently holds the Army Human Resources Center of Excellence to include the Army Human Resources Command, United States Army Cadet...
after getting an S.O.S. note Bond leaves in the plane that takes him down to Kentucky.
By the time of Thunderball, Leiter is called back to the CIA. He and Bond research Emilio Largo
Emilio Largo
Emilio Largo is a fictional character and the main antagonist from the James Bond novel Thunderball. In the novel he is depicted, according to the British stereotypes about Italians, as a large, heavyset, olive-skinned, powerful man exuding animal charm, with the profile of a Roman emperor, and...
in The Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
and fight an underwater battle under his yacht. Leiter suffers minor injuries during the battle, which ends when Largo is killed by his mistress, Domino
Domino Vitali
Dominetta Vitali, known simply as Domino, is a fictional character and the main Bond girl in the James Bond novel, Thunderball. For the 1965 film adaptation with the same title, her name was changed to Dominique Derval , and she was portrayed by French actress Claudine Auger...
.
Leiter makes his last appearance in Fleming's final novel, The Man with the Golden Gun
The Man with the Golden Gun (novel)
The Man with the Golden Gun is the twelfth novel of Ian Fleming's James Bond series of books. It was first published by Jonathan Cape in the UK on 1 April 1965, eight months after the author's death. The novel was not as detailed or polished as the others in the series, leading to poor but polite...
. Leiter has apparently continued working for the CIA, and helps Bond in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, this time around to tackle Francisco Scaramanga
Francisco Scaramanga
Francisco Scaramanga is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film and novel The Man with the Golden Gun. The film was so named because it described Scaramanga's possession of a golden gun....
. Posing as a hotel clerk, Leiter infiltrates Scaramanga's train and plants a bomb to blow up a bridge on which it is traveling; he and Bond jump clear just before the bomb explodes, destroying the train. Leiter is last seen visiting Bond while he recuperates in a hospital.
After John Gardner
John Gardner (thriller writer)
John Edmund Gardner was an English spy novelist, most notably for the James Bond series.-Early life:Gardner was born in Seaton Delaval, Northumberland. He graduated from St John's College, Cambridge and did postgraduate study at Oxford...
took over writing the James Bond novel series, Leiter made an occasional appearance. The novel For Special Services
For Special Services
For Special Services, first published in 1982, was the second novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape and in the United States by McCann and Geoghegan.-For...
introduces his daughter, Cedar Leiter, who is also a CIA officer (and briefly Bond's romantic conquest), while in Win, Lose or Die
Win, Lose or Die
Win, Lose or Die, first published in 1989, was the eighth novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton and in the United States by Putnam.Beginning with this...
, U.S. President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
(making a cameo appearance in the novel) mentions working with Leiter in his previous capacity as CIA director.
Leiter also makes appearances in Raymond Benson
Raymond Benson
Raymond Benson is an American author best known for being the official author of the adult James Bond novels from 1997 to 2003. Benson was born in Midland, Texas and graduated from Permian High School in Odessa in 1973...
's continuation Bond novels, The Facts of Death
The Facts of Death
The Facts of Death, first published in 1998, was the third novel by Raymond Benson featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond...
, in which he helps Bond substantially with a mission in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and Doubleshot
Doubleshot
DoubleShot, first published in 2000, was the sixth novel by Raymond Benson featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond . Carrying the Ian Fleming Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder & Stoughton and in the United States by Putnam...
. Benson has Leiter sometimes making use of an electric wheelchair, in reference to the deterioration of his legs following the shark attack, but Leiter is still capable of walking with the aid of a cane. In later novels, Leiter has also found a Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
girlfriend, Manuela.
In 2008, Sebastian Faulks
Sebastian Faulks
-Early life:Faulks was born on 20 April 1953 in Donnington, Berkshire to Peter Faulks and Pamela . Edward Faulks, Baron Faulks, is his older brother. He was educated at Elstree School, Reading and went on to Wellington College, Berkshire...
included a crippled Felix Leiter in his new Bond novel Devil May Care
Devil May Care (novel)
Devil May Care is the thirty-sixth original James Bond novel. Written by Sebastian Faulks , it was published on 28 May 2008, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ian Fleming, creator of Bond.-Background:...
. In the story, Bond is captured in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
by Dr. Julius Gorner, who plans on using his secret weapon, an ekranoplan, to start a nuclear war between the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Leiter drops his work at Pinkerton's and helps Bond and MI6 contact Darius send a message back to London to order an airstrike on Gorner's ekranoplan. In a shoot-out with double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
JD Silver, Darius successfully calls in the airstrike at the cost of his own life, and Leiter survives only thanks to the timely arrival of Hamid, his taxi driver.
In the 2011 novel, Carte Blanche
Carte Blanche (novel)
Carte Blanche is a James Bond novel written by Jeffery Deaver. Commissioned by Ian Fleming Publications, it was published in the United Kingdom by Hodder & Stoughton on 26 May 2011 and was released in the United States by Simon & Schuster on 14 June 2011...
by Jeffery Deaver
Jeffery Deaver
Jeffery Deaver is an American mystery/crime writer. He has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a law degree from Fordham University and originally started working as a journalist. He later practiced law before embarking on a successful career as a best-selling...
, Leiter assists Bond in tracking down the villainous Severan Hydt in Dubai.
Film biography
In the films, Leiter is a CIA officer in all appearances except in Licence to KillLicence to Kill
Licence to Kill, released in 1989, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions James Bond series and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming novel. It marks Timothy Dalton's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond...
, in which he works alongside the Drug Enforcement Administration
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
.
The cinematic Bond and Leiter meet for the first time in Dr. No
Dr. No (film)
Dr. No is a 1962 spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R...
, the first Bond film. EON Productions had originally planned to film Thunderball
Thunderball (film)
Thunderball is the fourth spy film in the James Bond series starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham...
, where Leiter featured prominently, as the first film in the series. However, the controversy over Thunderball led the filmmakers to film Dr. No instead and so the character of Leiter was added to the novel's plot.
The film version of Live and Let Die
Live and Let Die (film)
Live and Let Die is the eighth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman...
does not contain the sequence with the shark, and Leiter survives intact to help Bond again. Leiter's confrontation with the shark would later be used in Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill, released in 1989, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions James Bond series and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming novel. It marks Timothy Dalton's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond...
where he is fed to a shark by the villain Franz Sanchez
Franz Sanchez
Franz Sanchez is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film Licence to Kill. He was played by Robert Davi. The character is based on Pablo Escobar...
in revenge for Leiter's role in temporarily capturing him. The film version of Leiter loses only one leg at the knee to the shark, although one arm is seriously injured. Although severely mutilated, Leiter would still remain alive. His new wife, Della, is rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d and murdered by Sanchez's henchmen. These atrocities would send Bond on a quest for revenge
Revenge
Revenge is a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. It is also called payback, retribution, retaliation or vengeance; it may be characterized, justly or unjustly, as a form of justice.-Function in society:Some societies believe that the...
, which forms the film's central plot.
In the Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
Bond films, the character Jack Wade appeared as the regular representative of the CIA, ostensibly because the producers did not want to feature a disabled Leiter. It is hinted in GoldenEye
GoldenEye
GoldenEye is the seventeenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Martin Campbell and is the first film in the series not to take story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming...
that he is friends with Leiter, though Leiter is never mentioned by name. Leiter appeared in the 2006 adaptation of Casino Royale
Casino Royale (2006 film)
Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
. As the film is a reboot, Leiter once again works for the CIA with no mention of the shark encounter.
There is no visual continuity between Leiter's film appearances. In Dr. No he is depicted as being somewhat suave and mysterious and roughly the same age as Bond; the very next appearance of the character in Goldfinger depicted him as middle-aged and grey-haired and a more typical American policeman type or an American counterpart of M; in the very next film, he was once again depicted as being about Bond's age and more physically active than the Goldfinger Leiter. Also, while usually portrayed by white actors, Leiter has on three occasions (one in a non-EON production, twice in EON productions) been portrayed by African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
actors.
According to screenwriter Richard Maibaum
Richard Maibaum
Richard Maibaum was an American film producer, playwright and screenwriter best known for his adaptations of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels....
, it was Jack Lord's demand for co-star billing, a bigger role and more money to reprise the Felix Leiter role in Goldfinger
Goldfinger (film)
Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
that led the producers to recast the role.
Dr. NoDr. No (film)Dr. No is a 1962 spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R...
Felix Leiter is sent to JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
to work with British agent John Strangways to investigate radio jamming of NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
rockets. Strangways is murdered by henchmen of the mysterious and secretive Dr. No and Leiter enlists the aid of Jamaican fisherman Quarrel to investigage Dr. No's island, Crab Key. When Bond arrives in Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of Strangways, Leiter and Quarrel assist him in his pursuit of Dr. No.
GoldfingerGoldfinger (film)Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
Leiter is sent to tell James Bond not only about Auric GoldfingerAuric Goldfinger
Auric Goldfinger is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film and novel Goldfinger. His first name, Auric, is an adjective meaning of gold...
, but also what M
M (James Bond)
M is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. The head of MI6 and Bond's superior, M has been portrayed by three actors in the official Bond film series: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and since 1995 by Judi Dench. Background =Ian Fleming...
wants Bond to do with Goldfinger. Felix interrupts Bond while he is being massaged by Dink. They arrange to have dinner for a better briefing, but Bond reschedules to breakfast as he is enjoying time with Goldfinger's moll Jill Masterson
Jill Masterson
Jill Masterton is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Goldfinger. For the film adaptation both she and her sister Tilly had their surname changed to Masterson. Jill Masterson was played by Shirley Eaton....
. When she is killed, Leiter is asked to come to Bond's room.
Leiter calls M, telling him Bond is going to Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. M asks him to follow and keep an eye on Bond but not to "drop" in on him. Leiter and one of his allies tail Bond (using the homing device in Bond's shoe) to a farm, where they spy on him. When Bond takes his homer out and puts it in the car of Oddjob and Mr. Solo, Leiter follows. Oddjob destroys the car and Mr. Solo and the homer device and Leiter must return to the farm, fearing Bond is dead. After spying on the farm, he sees that Bond is in apparent control of the situation, but does not know that Bond is actually being held captive.
On the day of "Operation Grand Slam", Leiter is warned in advance by a reformed Pussy Galore of Goldfinger's plan, and the CIA changes the contents of the gas canisters in Pussy's airplanes from nerve agent to a harmless gas. Felix then waits for Goldfinger to arrive at Fort Knox, faking death along with the stationed garrison and, when the plot is put into action, these forces and Bond manage to stop Goldfinger. Leiter is last seen waving his friend off on a private plane to Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, to receive by the President (and then noting in alarm that the plane is crashing).
ThunderballThunderball (film)Thunderball is the fourth spy film in the James Bond series starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham...
Felix Leiter is sent to the Bahamas to investigate two stolen nuclear missiles with Ml6 agent and old friend James Bond. Felix follows Bond several times without him noticing, and when he goes to Bond’s room, Bond opens the door and punches him. Bond quickly brings him inside and tells him to be quiet while he deals with an intruder in his house. Bond later apologises for punching him. Felix and Bond investigate Emilio LargoEmilio Largo
Emilio Largo is a fictional character and the main antagonist from the James Bond novel Thunderball. In the novel he is depicted, according to the British stereotypes about Italians, as a large, heavyset, olive-skinned, powerful man exuding animal charm, with the profile of a Roman emperor, and...
, who has stolen the weapons. Felix later saves Bond when he is trapped and helps him find the missing plane.
Diamonds Are ForeverDiamonds Are Forever (film)Diamonds Are Forever is the seventh spy film in the Eon Productions James Bond series, and the sixth and final Eon Productions film to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film is based on Ian Fleming's 1956 novel of the same name, and is the second of four James Bond films...
Felix Leiter appears, undercover, as a customs inspector who enables Bond to smuggle in a cache of diamonds, using the corpse of Peter Franks (a smuggler who had died while battling Bond in an earlier sequence). When James arranges for the exchange of diamonds to Tiffany Case (hidden in a stuffed animal), Leiter and his men lose her in a parking lot. Leiter later escorts James to a remote hideout where hotel magnate Willard Whyte is being kept. Leiter grows flustered when James subdues Whyte's two bodyguards, 'Bambi' and 'Thumper' (two athletic women who attack their opponents with kicks), by dunking them in a pool, complaining about Bond "giving breast-stroke lessons" while trying to find Whyte. Leiter then assists Bond and Whyte in tracking down the satellite operating center and makes another appearance on one of the helicopters leading the assault on the center. He is finally seen with Whyte bidding farewell to Bond and Tiffany on their cruise at the end of the film.Live and Let DieLive and Let Die (film)Live and Let Die is the eighth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman...
Leiter acts as the CIA liaison as Bond operates in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, investigating the deaths of British agents who were the victims of Mr. Big. When Bond arrives in New York, Leiter wants some information about Big's henchman Whisper, who had killed Bond's taxi
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
driver. In this film, Leiter and other CIA officers also operate out of a hotel room overlooking the residence of Dr. Kananga, the dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
of a small island called San Monique. Leiter, while investigating Kananga for corruption in the United States, goes with Bond to a Fillet of Soul restaurant, under the guise of finding out more information about Mr. Big, a notorious drug dealer. However, Bond is removed from the restaurant and captured by Mr. Big by a descending floor, and Leiter appears to have no idea what happened to Bond. When Bond later escapes, Leiter assists him in handing him a series of bombs to explode the poppy
Poppy
A poppy is one of a group of a flowering plants in the poppy family, many of which are grown in gardens for their colorful flowers. Poppies are sometimes used for symbolic reasons, such as in remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime....
fields that Mr. Big/Kananga is growing. He's last seen in the film escorting Bond and Solitaire
Solitaire (James Bond)
Solitaire is a fictional character in the James Bond novel and film Live and Let Die. In the film, she was portrayed by Jane Seymour. At the age of 22, Jane Seymour became the youngest actress ever to play a Bond girl at the time .-Novel biography:In a relative rarity for the James Bond franchise,...
to their train.
Never Say Never AgainNever Say Never AgainNever Say Never Again is a 1983 spy film based on the James Bond novel Thunderball, which was previously filmed in 1965 as Thunderball...
In this non-Eon ProductionsEON Productions
Eon Productions is a film production company known for producing the James Bond film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom...
remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of Thunderball
Thunderball (film)
Thunderball is the fourth spy film in the James Bond series starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham...
, Leiter aids Bond in an attack on the underground fortress of villain Maximillian Largo. In this film, the character was played by Bernie Casey
Bernie Casey
Bernard Terry "Bernie" Casey is a professional actor who initially had a career as an interscholastic, intercollegiate and professional football player. Casey was also a record-breaking track and field athlete for Bowling Green State University...
, which marks the only time Leiter was portrayed as an African-American until the relaunch of the franchise with Casino Royale
Casino Royale (2006 film)
Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
in 2006.
The Living DaylightsThe Living DaylightsThe Living Daylights is the fifteenth entry in the James Bond series and the first to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent 007. The film's title is taken from Ian Fleming's short story, "The Living Daylights"...
Felix Leiter is investigating Brad WhitakerBrad Whitaker
Brad Whitaker is a fictional character and a major antagonist in the James Bond film The Living Daylights. He was portrayed by American actor Joe Don Baker. Baker also played Jack Wade, Bond's CIA contact in GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies....
in Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
, trying to determine why Whitaker had not made any arms deals after receiving a huge sum of money from General Leonid Pushkin. He sets up cameras around Whitaker's estate to spy on him. When Bond comes to Tangier, and after Bond (with Pushkin's connivance) fakes Pushkin's assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
, Leiter captures Bond using two girls to seduce him; they hold him at gunpoint until he realizes they are working for Leiter. Bond and Felix discuss Pushkin and Whitaker. Later he is seen when Bond was breaking into Whitaker's house; Leiter helps Bond enter the house undetected. Unlike most recent interpretations of Leiter (and the one to follow), Leiter is depicted here as young and something of a ladies man, more in keeping with the youth-oriented portrayal of the character in Dr. No and Thunderball.
Licence to KillLicence to KillLicence to Kill, released in 1989, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions James Bond series and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming novel. It marks Timothy Dalton's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond...
Felix Leiter is going to be married, to Della Churchill, but on the way his friends from the DEA catch up with him. They tell him that drug lord Franz SanchezFranz Sanchez
Franz Sanchez is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film Licence to Kill. He was played by Robert Davi. The character is based on Pablo Escobar...
is nearby. Felix insists that they go despite his wedding. Felix and Bond, leaving Sharkey to explain to Della, go by helicopter to a house in the Bahamas. When they land, Felix tells Bond to stay in the helicopter, while he and several DEA officers find Sanchez. Sanchez's men try and distract Felix by shooting at him and his officers. Bond is brought in the action, saying "if I don't get you back to the wedding, I am a dead man for sure." Felix and Bond can’t find Sanchez but realize he is escaping in an airplane, so quickly get in the helicopter and chase. Bond helps Leiter get Sanchez and both parachute down to the wedding, where Leiter and Della wed.
Later, when Sanchez is traveling from the Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
to a prison, Ed Killifer, an agent, betrays his friend Felix and helps allow Sanchez to escape for US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
2 million. This indirectly allows Sanchez to find Leiter.
Leiter and Della are enjoying their post-wedding party, cutting the cake, opening presents and giving Bond a present (a lighter which becomes crucial at the end of the film). Leiter and Della say good-bye to Bond and go inside. When they enter their bedroom, Perez and Braun are waiting for them. Leiter insists they let Della go but is knocked out from behind by Dario. The three then (it is implied) rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
Della before killing her, they then bring Leiter to Sanchez at Milton Krest's marine lab. Leiter realises that Killifer has betrayed them and thinks that Sanchez is going to kill him. Sanchez then feeds Leiter to the shark. He is brought back to his house for James Bond to find with a note reading, "He disagreed with something that ate him" (Note: this is all from Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
's Live and Let Die
Live and Let Die (novel)
Live and Let Die is the second novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 5 April 1954, where the initial print run of 7,500 copies quickly sold out. As with Fleming's first novel, Casino Royale, Live and Let Die was broadly well received by the critics...
). Leiter is rushed to hospital and, after weeks in intensive care, recovers with his damaged arm saved, though he has lost his left leg.
Bond goes after Sanchez, nominally losing his licence to kill
Licence to kill (concept)
Licence to kill is a literary device used in espionage fiction. It refers to the official sanction by a government or government agency to a particular operative or employee to initiate the use of lethal force in the delivery of their objectives...
in the process when he resigns from MI6 rather than follow M's orders to drop the matter. Much of the plot of the film is based around 007's dogged pursuit of and revenge on Sanchez, whom he tricks into distrusting his own people and eventually kills, after destroying the drug lord's empire and, finally, revealing the reason for his vengeance. Leiter is last seen at the end of a telephone conversation with Bond, who promises to come and see him soon. He looks grave, but forces a smile when a nurse plumps his pillows, signing off by telling Bond that M wants him back.
Casino RoyaleCasino Royale (2006 film)Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
In the reboot of the James Bond series, Felix Leiter is re-introduced after 17 years as working for the CIA against Le ChiffreLe Chiffre
Le Chiffre is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale. On screen Le Chiffre has been portrayed by Peter Lorre in the 1954 television adaptation of the novel for CBS's Climax! television series, by Orson Welles in the 1967 spoof of the novel and...
. He is entered in the major poker game that Le Chiffre must win in order to recoup his clients' funds.
When Bond is knocked out of the tournament, Felix reveals himself to him on a stairwell as "a brother from Langley
Langley, Virginia
Langley is an unincorporated community in the census-designated place of McLean in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States.The community was essentially absorbed into McLean many years ago, although there is still a Langley High School...
," and proposes a plan for Bond to win against Le Chiffre. He says that he is "bleeding chips" and will not last much longer against Le Chiffre. Felix stops Bond's attempt to assassinate Le Chiffre and gives him $5 million to buy back into the tournament. In exchange, Felix wants the CIA to take Le Chiffre in if Bond wins. Bond agrees.
Leiter is knocked out of the poker game not too long after, but Bond wins the final hand (and with it a $115 million pot). It is stated later that Leiter makes contact with Le Chiffre and plans to extract him at dawn, but this is revealed to be a plot by Le Chiffre to kidnap Vesper Lynd
Vesper Lynd
Vesper Lynd is a fictional character featured in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale. The name is a pun on "West Berlin". It has been claimed that Fleming based Lynd on the real life Special Operations Executive agent Christine Granville. In the 1967 film of Casino Royale, she is played by...
.
Quantum of Solace
Leiter appears again to help Bond in Quantum of Solace, working as a senior officer under CIA Section Chief of South AmericaSouth America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Greggory Beam. Leiter and Beam are tasked with working with the film's villain, Dominic Greene
Dominic Greene
Dominic Greene is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace. He is portrayed by French actor Mathieu Amalric.-In the film:...
, to secure oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
sources in South America for the United States. Leiter disagrees with the agency's decision to work with Greene, and secretly meets with Bond in a bar in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
to warn him about a CIA black ops team coming to kill him. As Bond escapes the bar, Leiter gives him Greene's rendezvous point with his Bolivian clients, allowing him to intercept Greene and put a stop to his plans. After meeting Bond, however, Leiter talks to Beam and confirms that he passed along the message he was assigned to (though whether he actually did is left ambiguous). It is revealed at the end of the film, after Greene's death and the collapse of Greene Planet, that Beam was fired and Leiter has become the CIA's Section Chief of South America, a significant promotion.
Actors
While Leiter appears in a number of Bond films, he has almost always been played by different actors in each, and hence has not achieved the memorable status of other Bond characters such as MM (James Bond)
M is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. The head of MI6 and Bond's superior, M has been portrayed by three actors in the official Bond film series: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and since 1995 by Judi Dench. Background =Ian Fleming...
, Q
Q (James Bond)
Q is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. Q , like M, is a job title rather than a name. He is the head of Q Branch , the fictional research and development division of the British Secret Service...
and Miss Moneypenny
Miss Moneypenny
Jane Moneypenny, better known as Miss Moneypenny, is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. She is secretary to M, who is Bond's boss and head of the British Secret Service...
. Leiter appears in nine official films, one unofficial film, and one unofficial television production, played by nine different actors, who vary dramatically in age, physical characteristics and even race, with Jeffrey Wright and Bernie Casey being notable as the only two black actors to play the role.
David Hedison
David Hedison
Albert David Hedison, Jr. is an Armenian-American film, television, and stage actor. He was billed as Al Hedison in his early film work. In 1959, when he was cast in the role of Victor Sebastian in the short-lived espionage television series Five Fingers, NBC insisted that he change his name...
and Jeffrey Wright are the only actors to play Leiter more than once; Hedison was recast in Licence to Kill having previously played the role in Live and Let Die. The producers decided that due to the events of LTK, with the entire plot being driven by Leiter's crippling and Bond's resultant quest for revenge, the producers would need someone who was already established in the role to resonate with the audience, even though Hedison had last played the part 16 years earlier. Wright became the first actor to play Leiter in consecutive films when he appeared in Casino Royale and its direct sequel, Quantum of Solace.
Actors who have played Felix Leiter in the films (in order of appearance):
In the "official" films
- Jack LordJack LordJohn Joseph Patrick Ryan , best known by his stage name Jack Lord, was an American television, film, and Broadway actor. He was known for his starring role as Steve McGarrett in the American television program Hawaii Five-O from 1968 to 1980. Lord appeared in feature films earlier in his career,...
(Dr. NoDr. No (film)Dr. No is a 1962 spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R...
- 1962) - Cec LinderCec LinderCec Linder was a Polish-born Canadian film and television actor. In the 1950s and 1960s he worked extensively in the United Kingdom, often playing American characters in various films and television programmes.In film, he is probably best remembered for his role as James Bond's CIA counterpart...
(GoldfingerGoldfinger (film)Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
- 1964) - Rik Van NutterRik Van NutterRik Van Nutter , was an American actor who appeared in many minor films, but is most famous for playing the third version of Felix Leiter in the James Bond movie Thunderball. He also had a role alongside Peter Ustinov in Romanoff and Juliet...
(ThunderballThunderball (film)Thunderball is the fourth spy film in the James Bond series starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham...
- 1965) - Norman Burton (Diamonds Are ForeverDiamonds Are Forever (film)Diamonds Are Forever is the seventh spy film in the Eon Productions James Bond series, and the sixth and final Eon Productions film to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film is based on Ian Fleming's 1956 novel of the same name, and is the second of four James Bond films...
- 1971) - David HedisonDavid HedisonAlbert David Hedison, Jr. is an Armenian-American film, television, and stage actor. He was billed as Al Hedison in his early film work. In 1959, when he was cast in the role of Victor Sebastian in the short-lived espionage television series Five Fingers, NBC insisted that he change his name...
(Live and Let DieLive and Let Die (film)Live and Let Die is the eighth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman...
& Licence to KillLicence to KillLicence to Kill, released in 1989, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions James Bond series and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming novel. It marks Timothy Dalton's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond...
- 1973 & 1989) - John TerryJohn Terry (actor)John Terry is an American film, television, and stage actor.-Early life:Terry was born in Florida, where he attended Vero Beach High School. He was also educated at the prestigious Loomis Chaffee prep school in Windsor, Connecticut, and began a career building original custom log homes in North...
(The Living DaylightsThe Living DaylightsThe Living Daylights is the fifteenth entry in the James Bond series and the first to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent 007. The film's title is taken from Ian Fleming's short story, "The Living Daylights"...
- 1987) - Jeffrey Wright (Casino RoyaleCasino Royale (2006 film)Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
& Quantum of Solace - 2006 & 2008)
In the "unofficial" films
- Michael PateMichael PateMichael Pate was an Australian actor, writer and director.-Early life:He was born Edward John Pate in Drummoyne, Sydney...
(Casino RoyaleCasino Royale (Climax!)Casino Royale is a 1954 television adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The show is the first screen adaptation of a James Bond novel and stars Barry Nelson and Peter Lorre...
- 1954) - as 'Clarence Leiter' - Bernie CaseyBernie CaseyBernard Terry "Bernie" Casey is a professional actor who initially had a career as an interscholastic, intercollegiate and professional football player. Casey was also a record-breaking track and field athlete for Bowling Green State University...
(Never Say Never AgainNever Say Never AgainNever Say Never Again is a 1983 spy film based on the James Bond novel Thunderball, which was previously filmed in 1965 as Thunderball...
- 1983)
Reception
A 2002 feature article in the Styles section of The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
compared Leiter's relationship with Bond to that of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
and Dr. Watson
John Watson (Sherlock Holmes)
John H. Watson, M.D. , known as Dr. Watson, is a character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Watson is Sherlock Holmes's friend, assistant and sometime flatmate, and is the first person narrator of all but four stories in the Sherlock Holmes canon.-Name:Doctor Watson's first...
, the Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
and Tonto
Tonto
Tonto may mean:* Tonto, a band of Apache native Americans.* Tonto, the fictional sidekick to the Lone Ranger.* "Tonto", a song by the American math rock band Battles, from their album Mirrored.** "Tonto+", the EP centered around said song....
, and Leo Gorcey
Leo Gorcey
Leo Bernard Gorcey was an American stage and movie actor who became famous for portraying on film the leader of the group of young hooligans known variously as the Dead End Kids, The East Side Kids and The Bowery Boys. Always the most pugnacious member of the gangs he participated in, young Leo...
and Huntz Hall
Huntz Hall
Henry Richard "Huntz" Hall was an American radio, theatrical, and motion picture performer noted primarily for his roles in the "Dead End Kids" movies, such as Angels with Dirty Faces , which gave way to the "The Bowery Boys" movie franchise, a prolific and highly successful series of comedies in...
.
See also
- Jack Wade
- Damian Falco