Licence to Kill: Film – Trivia- The film was originally to be set in China but production difficulties became insurmountable. Ideas for the film included a motor cycle chase along the Great Wall of China and a sequence in a recently discovered Museum of ancient statues. When the Chinese Government made a number restrictive demands such as veto rights over the script, the viability of the location fell through.
- Some scenes had to be trimmed to reduce an R rating to a PG-13. It was the first Bond film to receive an American rating higher than PG.
- In the final chase sequence just after 007 lands on the tanker, Sanchez fires at Bond hitting the truck’s fuel tanks. The sound of the bullets ricocheting off the tanks plays the start of the James Bond theme.
- The “maggots” at Krest’s lab in Key West were in reality white plastic fishing grubs.
- At the end of the film, the credits say only “James Bond will return”.
- First EON Series James Bond film not to take its title from an Ian Fleming James Bond novel or short story, even though there were still some usable titles available such as “Property of a Lady”, “Quantum of Solace”, “007 In New York”, “Risico” and”The Hildebrand Rarity”. The story, however, is not completely original, as it takes significant elements from the novel “Live and Let Die” and the short story “The Hildebrand Rarity”. The title “Licence To Kill” can be argued though to have been derived from actual wordage written by Ian Fleming as with the text for the title The World Is Not Enough (1999), which is the Bond family motto.
- Vehicles featured included several Kenworth W900B trucks; a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow and Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II; Lincoln Continental Mark VII LSC, James Bond’s hire car in Key West; Sanchez’ silver metallic Maserati Biturbo; a 4-seat high-wing single-engine Cessna 172 Skyhawk airplane and a 2-seat tricycle Cessna 150 airplane; a Piper PA-18-150 “Super Cub” floatplane and Piper J-3 “Cub” airplane; an Aerospatiale HH-65A Dauphin helicopter; a Harbour Pilot’s boat, a Cigarette 1 Cafe Racer; the WaveKrest boat; and an electric golf-car at the Olimpatec Meditation Institute.
- The Ian Fleming short story “The Hildebrand Rarity”, upon which part of this film was based, originated as a script for a never-produced James Bond TV series in the 1950s.
- The license plate number of Franz Sanchez’ getaway car in Isthmus City is GLD 376.
- The license plate number of the white limousine that transports groom Felix Leiter and bride Della Churchill to their wedding was reception was ZLY 621.
- Cameo: [Michael G. Wilson] voice of a DEA Agent.
- The message engraved on the back of the gold cigarette lighter given to James Bond by groom Felix Leiter and bride Della Churchill says: “JAMES, LOVE ALWAYS. DELLA & FELIX”.
- Tina Banta suggested Robert Davi to director John Glen to play the part of drug baron villain Franz Sanchez.
- Long-time James Bond series producer ‘Albert R. Broccoli’ fell sick during the production of this film. The thinness of the air in Mexico affected his lungs and breathing and he left the location accompanied by wife Dana Broccoli and daughter Barbara Broccoli. He was unable to return and this was the last James Bond film in which he was on the set.
- Cameo: [Wayne Newton] The Las Vegas performer played a cameo in a credited performance as a tele-evangelist called Professor Joe Butcher. His character was a dig at tele-evangelists at the time who had been exposed during the mid-1980s as being involved in extra-marital affairs and/or general promiscuity.
- Making their final appearances with the James Bond series: Richard Maibaum (writer), Maurice Binder (title design), Robert Brown as M and Caroline Bliss as Moneypenny. Not to mention Timothy Dalton as James Bond.
- The project was originally entitled “Licence Revoked” and teaser artwork was produced with this title. Among the reasons for changing the title was to avoid confusion with the 1981 James Bond novel, “Licence Renewed”, written by John Gardner (who ended up writing a novel based on this film as well). It has also been widely reported that a survey revealed that fewer than 50% of Americans questioned knew what “revoked” meant.
- Many of the plot elements are taken from the Ian Fleming novel “Live and Let Die” (which were not used in the film of that title). Some of these elements are the partial dismemberment of Felix Leiter by sharks, the sign put on his nearly dead body which reads “He disagreed with something that ate him”, and the smuggling of illegal merchandise (drugs in the film, pirate’s booty in the novel) using the cover of exotic fish.
- There was a minor controversy when the film was being made as to whether the British or American spelling (“licence” or “license”) would be used in the title. The British spelling won out.
- Cameo: [Pedro Armendáriz Jr.] President Hector Lopez. His father Pedro Armendáriz played Kerim Bay in From Russia with Love (1963).
- Director Trademark: [John Glen] [pigeon] When Bond lands on the balcony outside Sanchez’s office at the casino, he’s startled by a flock of pigeons flying in his face.
- The character of President Hector Lopez (played by Pedro Armendáriz Jr.) was named after Héctor López, who was the production supervisor of the shoot in Mexico.
- The “Bank” scene in the film is actually Mexico’s main post office, an old elaborate building of European styling.
- Last James Bond film for six years. Legal wrangling over the ownership of the franchise, coupled by the death of longtime screenwriter Richard Maibaum and the decision by Timothy Dalton not to play the role a third time, delayed the release of the next film. For the first time, a Bond film was not made in Britain. Due to high production costs, it was decided to film much of the film in Mexico.
- The role of Lupe Lamora was initially offered to Maria Conchita Alonso.
- In Italy, title was “Vendetta Privata” (Personal Revenge or Private Revenge), not following the translation, because the first Bond film (Dr. No (1962)) was titled “Licenza di Uccidere”, the translation of this title film. The literal translation for the Japanese title was “The Cancelled License”.
- The set for the Fox TV show “Paradise Island” (1977) is the same location used for Sanchez’ (Robert Davi) house.
- Just like in the Italian release, the film had a title not correctly translated in Sweden: It was called “Tid för hämnd” (Time for revenge), because Dr. No (1962) had been translated as “Agent 007 med rätt att döda” (Agent 007 with a license to kill).
- John Rhys-Davies was offered a cameo role as General Pushkin but declined the offer.
- Bond’s controversial betrayal of M was, in part, a way to sidestep the fact that the British have no jurisdiction over a Latin American drug cartel.
- Sanchez is from Isthmus City, a reference to the country of Panama which lies on an isthmus and the corrupt dictator Manuel Noriega, whom the CIA were working very hard to oust, at the time. He was eventually deposed by U.S. troops on the same year this film was released.
- This was the last Bond film to be produced by Albert R. Broccoli. He died less than a year after the release of the next Bond film, GoldenEye (1995).
- A good portion of Bond’s plan to get close to Sanchez comes from the novel “Goldfinger”, when Bond recounts to himself his exploits in breaking up a Central American drug ring.
- The scene where Bond resigns from the MI6 was shot at Ernest Hemingway’s house in Key West. That’s why when M (Robert Brown) informs 007 that his licence to kill is revoked, he replies, “I guess this is a farewell to arms,” a nod to one of Hemingway’s most famous novels.
- In AMC’s Bond Girls Are Forever (2002) (TV), Carey Lowell said that she shut her eyes and flinched every time she fired the gun and had to be trained to fire with her eyes open because a CIA op would not flinch. However, she still winces a bit whenever she fires the handgun.
- During the scene where James Bond is hanging by a hook over the cocaine grinder, Benicio Del Toro’s character is cutting him loose. During filming he actually cut Timothy Dalton’s hand and the scene had to be stopped so he could be stitched up.
- Due to the Writers’ Guild of America strike in 1989, long-time James Bond scriptwriter Richard Maibaum was unable to continue working on the screenplay. A long time member of the Guild, Maibaum felt he could not betray his membership and ghost-write the script. Co-writer Michael G. Wilson had to complete the screenplay on his own. This was to be the fifth and final pairing for the Maibaum-Wilson writing team which had started with For Your Eyes Only (1981).
- Taglines on early posters for the film when it was known as “Licenced Revoked” included “You’re looking at the world’s most wanted man” and “Dismissed. Disgraced. Dishonoured. Deadly.”
- The title of the book that Professor Joe Butcher holds in his hand whilst giving his sermon was “Secrets of Gone Power Revealed”.
- The license plate number of the Rolls Royce car that Q (Desmond Llewelyn) drives in the fictional Isthmus City was RSD 522.
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- Entry created: December 28, 2006; 9:15; Last modified: August 14, 2009; 23:28
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