Living Daylights, The: Film – Trivia- The casting of Frederick Warder and Glyn Baker as 004 and 002 was intentional, due to their resemblance to George Lazenby and Roger Moore, respectively. For the film’s opening scene, the writers wanted to toy with the audience’s expectations of which of the 00 agents was Bond.
- Timothy Dalton’s first appearance as James Bond. Pierce Brosnan was the hot favorite to replace Roger Moore, was signed but then was ruled out because of his contractual obligations to “Remington Steele” (1982). Sam Neill was also considered as were Mark Greenstreet, Antony Hamilton and Sean Bean.
- In the opening scene at Gibraltar, real military installations were used. These included a Ministry of Defence road not open to the public. The machine gun nest on the airstrip was not authentic.
- Timothy Dalton was originally considered for the role of James Bond in the late 1960s, after Sean Connery left the role following You Only Live Twice (1967). Dalton was screen tested by Albert R. Broccoli for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) but he turned down the part as he thought he was too young.
- Maryam d’Abo was originally hired only to appear in screen tests opposite actors screen testing for the role of the new James Bond.
- Cameo: [John Barry] composer appears as Kara’s orchestra leader in the final scene.
- This was the last Bond film scored by composer John Barry.
- Joe Don Baker, who plays the evil Brad Whitaker in this film, went on to play CIA Agent Jack Wade in GoldenEye (1995) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).
- A deleted scene can be viewed on the UK region 2 DVD special edition showing James Bond (Timothy Dalton) using a carpet suspended on cables to escape across the rooftops in Tangiers. The scene gives the impression that it is a magic or flying carpet ride. The scene was cut prior to release to reduce the running time of the film.
- The character of Pushkin was originally to have been General Gogol, a recurring character since The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Indeed, Pushkin is chief of the KGB, the very position Gogol held in previous appearances. A new character was created actor after Walter Gotell fell ill and producer Albert R. Broccoli could not get him insured. Gotell has said Broccoli even offered to pay an extensive sum personally but still could not get coverage. Pushkin’s girlfriend was likewise supposed to be the secretary seen romancing Gogol in several films. Gotell was able to film a cameo as Gogol (now a member of the Soviet foreign office) for the end of the film, marking that character’s final appearance.
- Contrary to popular belief, the strange looking rifle Bond uses to shoot Kara is an actual rifle and not some prop designed for the film. The rifle is a WA2000 sniper rifle, perfect for Bond since it’s designed by Walther Firearms, maker of his classic PPK.
- The term used in this film “Smiert Spionam”, meaning “death to spies”, was the full phrase from which the acronym of the Soviet counterespionage organisation SMERSH took its name. It existed as early as World War II, and was a branch of the NKVD (later KGB).
- Sean Bean tested for the role of James Bond.
- A stuntman was originally going to play the role of The Imposter, the Russian assassin in Gibraltar at the beginning, but after watching rushes, director John Glen decided that they needed a real actor for the part and it was given to Carl Rigg. At the time, Rigg was out of work and staying home, taking care of his baby while his wife was away on business. Upon getting the call, Rigg left the baby with a neighbor, left his wife a note telling her he’d gone to be in a James Bond film, and caught the next plane to Gibraltar to start filming.
- The Audi that Bond drives in Tangier has a green sticker on the front windshield that reads “Trade Conference: Press”.
- Cameo: [Michael G. Wilson] At the opera, sitting near Saunders, to the right of the lady with a white dress.
- The DVD was pulled out of circulation because the 15 year distribution license sold by Danjaq to MGM had expired and the rights could not be resolved in time for the release.
- Timothy Dalton was originally chosen to play Bond but had to pass on the role because he was committed to film Brenda Starr (1989). When Pierce Brosnan was forced to pull out, the resulting delay in filming allowed Dalton to finish his work on Brenda Starr and take on the new James Bond role.
- Early drafts of the script were written under the assumption that Roger Moore would return once more as Bond. The film itself has a lot of the soft humour that Moore gave to the character. In the next James Bond film, Timothy Dalton would give up this characteristic to play a more serious and deadly Bond.
- All the statues of famous military leaders in Brad Whitaker’s Tangier mansion (Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Adolf Hitler, etc.) are modeled after Whitaker himself, and therefore all resemble actor Joe Don Baker.
- In the trailer, the woman on the boat in the pre-title sequence talks with her own voice before it was re-dubbed.
- This film marked the final occasion (to date) in which M’s office is relocated to an unusual location – in this case an airplane. The gag dates back to You Only Live Twice (1967) but has not reappeared in any of the Bond films made since 1987, though The World Is Not Enough (1999) comes close (The Eilean Donan Castle, located near the Isle of Skye, West Scotland).
- According to director John Glen, Christopher Lambert was considered to take the role of James Bond for this film. Lambert’s French accent eventually kept him from getting the role.
- Some unedited footage was stolen and videos were sold as if they were the completed film. Albert R. Broccoli and the other producers then released a poster explaining that this copy of the film was unfinished and had no soundtrack or special effects at all, saying that the only way to see the real film was going to the cinema.
- The last film of Geoffrey Keen before his retirement from acting.
- Ken Sharrock worked three days.
- The Cello Case Chase sequence down the snow took three days to shoot. The cello was specially made of fibreglass, and fitted with control handles on the sides and skis underneath. Firecrackers were set in the snow to simulate gunfire and during filming the case would tend to topple over as Timothy Dalton was heavier than Maryam d’Abo. The exciting sequence was the brainchild of director John Glen who had to convince doubting colleagues Richard Maibaum, Michael G. Wilson and Albert R. Broccoli. He did this by hopping into an actual orchestral cello case himself.
- A coming next summer teaser poster issued a year before the film was released portrayed a 1950s/1960s sports car fitted with a number plate with license number “007” and a tagline stating “Licensed to thrill.”
- The license plate number of James Bond’s Aston Martin Volante has the license number B549 WUU. The license plate number of the police car that chases the Aston Martin Volante through the snow and ice was B7 26344.
- Timothy Dalton performed the opening sequence atop of a fast moving jeep going down the side of the Rock of Gibraltar himself.
- Alan Talbot was booked for three days but ended up working for two months.
- The rocket fired from the “ghetto blaster in Q’s lab was an effect activated off-screen by Britain’s Prince Charles — who was touring the studio at the time of filming. The effects crew offered to allow Prince Charles to activate the rocket that was used in the final cut of the film.
- Was released in the 25th anniversary year of the James Bond films. To mark the occasion, a TV special Happy Anniversary 007: 25 Years of James Bond (1987) (TV) was produced as part of the promotional campaign for this film.
- Morten Harket, the lead singer of pop group A-Ha (who performed the title song), was offered a small role as a bad guy in the film. He turned down the offer due to extensive touring in Japan.
- Gadgets included on the Aston Martin Volante featuring in the film included a laser beam cutter, lower front firing automatic missiles, studded tyres, skis that protrude from under the doors, plane cockpit style head-up display, a special radio with multi-transmission accessibility, hinged number plates, bullet-proof glass, a rocket jet propulsion unit and self-destruct button.
- Vehicles featured included a gun-metal colored 1986 / 1987 5.3 litre Aston Martin DBS V8 Vantage Volante Series 2 seen in both coupé hard top and convertible soft-top editions; an Audi 100 Avant for Bond driving in Tangier and a stone gray metallic Audi 200 Quattro as a defection getaway car; Army jeep and truck; GMC Vandura Red Crescent Ambulance; Lada 1500 Police car; a Lockheed Hercules C-130, British Aerospace Harrier T10 V/STOL and a Transport Allianz C-160 Transall aircraft; two Panhard AML 245 armoured-cars; a land rover escape vehicle; a Vienna Tram; a Chevrolet Impala convertible; an Airporttractor with staircase; Iveco Ford Cargo truck; a VAB (Véhicule de l’Avant Blindé – Armoured Vanguard Vehicle) AFV (Armoured Fighting Vehicle); a gas pipeline Scouring Pig for fast defections; and a Moonmaiden II Yacht for Bond dropping in during the opening sequence.
- The literal translations of some of The Living Daylights (1987)’s foreign language titles include “Spies Die At Dawn” (Denmark); “007: High Tension” (Spain); “Death Is Not A Game” (France); “Icecold Mission” (Sweden); “His Name Is Danger” (Chile); “Breeze Of Death” (West Germany) and “007 In The Dangerous Zone” (Hebrew).
- Last James Bond film to use an original Ian Fleming title until Casino Royale (2006), a gap of almost twenty years.
- The gas pipeline vehicle used for Koskov’s defection escape is an actual piece of equipment known as a Scouring Pig. It is used to check and clean the natural gas pipeline between Western Europe and Russia. The apparatus was adapted though for the film so as to be able to carry a person.
- The film’s poster caused some controversy due to the girl in the poster. Criticism centered around that it evoked violence directed towards women as the poster girl appeared at the end of a gun barrel. The poster though did not generate as much controversy as the For Your Eyes Only (1981) one had done a few years earlier.
- Was the first James Bond film since Moonraker (1979) not to have its title announced during the closing end credits of the previous film. That was A View to a Kill (1985) and no Bond film has done so since.
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- Entry created: December 28, 2006; 9:12; Last modified: August 14, 2009; 23:33
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