The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights is a short story written by Ian Fleming featuring British spy James Bond. The story was first published in the first ever colour magazine supplement of the Sunday Times on February 4 1962. In 1966 it was published as the second story in a book also featuring Octopussy. Later editions of the book included a third story The Property of a Lady.
The book inspired a film of the same name which was first released in 1987. It featured Timothy Dalton in the first of two outings as Bond. The early part of the film borrows much of its plot from the book. This is the last Bond film to date to take its title from an Ian Fleming novel or short story.
Plot Summary
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
In the beginning of the film, Bond has been enlisted to participate in the defection of a top KGB General, Georgi Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé), to the West. He must protect Koskov as he escapes from a Czechoslovakian concert hall. Bond notices that the sniper assigned to protect Koskov is a beautiful cello player from the orchestra, Kara Milovi (Maryam d'Abo). Suspecting that she is not a trained assassin, he simply shoots the rifle out of her hand, sparing her life, while completing the defection mission to bring Koskov to England.
Koskov informs MI6 that the KGB is now being run by a corrupt leader, Leonid Pushkin (John Rhys-Davies). According to Koskov, Pushkin is pursuing a policy known as Smiert Spionom - which is a programme of assassinations of Western spies, and that he should be "removed". Another "00" agent has already been assassinated in Gibraltar during a training exercise (the pre-credits sequence), so the British are now concerned. Shortly afterwards the KGB stage a raid on the secure house which the British are using to protect Koskov and snatch him back. Bond suspects that this was not a KGB operation and was merely "staged" by some other third party. He returns to Czechoslovakia, to pursue Milovi, to discover that she in fact is Koskov's girlfriend. He poses as Koskov's friend, and the pair flee to Vienna, only to witness the assassination of yet another MI6 agent.
The mastermind behind the scam turns out to be a corrupt American arms dealer, Brad Whitaker (Joe Don Baker), who has arranged with the KGB to supply high-tech Western weapons in exchange for a vast quantity of diamonds, and Koskov has been deliberately disinforming MI6 so that Bond will assassinate KGB chief Pushkin before he starts asking too many questions. Bond and Pushkin meet; Pushkin says that the KGB had abandoned Smiert Spionom decades earlier, confirming Bond's suspicions that another party was behind the plot. The two decide to fake the assassination to force Whitaker and Koskov to move on with their scam, and Bond "kills" Pushkin during a speech at a trade convention in Tangier.
After being captured by Koskov, Bond and Milovi are taken to an air base in Afghanistan, in the height of the Russian occupation. They escape from custody, and enlist the help of the local Mujahideen to reinfiltrate the air base. Bond discovers that Whitaker and Koskov have embezzled the diamonds from the KGB to buy a huge shipment of opium rather than high-tech weapons and plan to flood the streets of America and turn a huge profit.
Theme Music
The title song of the film by pop group a-ha was released with the same name. It is also the final Bond film (to date) scored by John Barry.
Vehicles & Gadgets
- Aston Martin Volante. Came with all the usual refinements including side skis, spiked tires, missles, lasers, rocket propulsion and could self-destruct when armed.
- Keychain - Bond's keychain designed by Q-Branch could be used as an explosive device that used a wolf whistle to activate the detonation function. It also could deploy stun gas and be used to "open 90% of the worlds locks".
- Ghetto Blaster - While never used by James Bond, we see this gadget tested in Q-Branch. The ghetto blaster is an 80s stereo that can fire a rocket.
Locations
Cast & Characters
- Producers: Albert R. Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson , Barbara Broccoli
- Written by: Ian Fleming
- Screenplay by: Michael G. Wilson, John Barry
It's worth noting that Joe Don Baker would again appear in GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies, as a different character, Jack Wade, Bond's CIA liaison and a semi-replacement for Felix Leiter.
Trivia
- Both Sam Neill and Pierce Brosnan were screen tested for the role of James Bond in The Living Daylights. Brosnan was successfully signed for the role, but his contractual obligations to the TV show Remington Steele intervened, and he was forced to withdraw from the project. He would have to wait another seven years before he finally got his chance in GoldenEye. Maryam d'Abo, however, who plays Kara Milovy got her role based on the screen test she did with Brosnan.
- In the daring cargo net stunt near the end of the film, the Hercules airlifter used was a two-engine version, when in fact the close up shots showed that it had four engines.
- Composer John Barry has a cameo role, conducting the orchestra at the end of the film. Producer Michael G. Wilson also does his now-obligatory cameo - this time appearing as a member of the audience in an opera house.
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