ZAMM.COM

The 1989 Bond film LICENCE TO KILL, starring Timothy Dalton, is notable for being the series’ last in multiple ways — although, happily, we’ve had nine more Bonds since then.

It was Dalton’s second and last time as 007 and John Glen’s fifth and final time as a Bond director. And it’s also the last Bond with Robert Brown as M. LICENCE is also in the record books as the last Bond produced by Albert R. Broccoli, written by Richard Maibaum and with opening titles designed by Maurice Binder.

LICENCE, the sixteenth in Eon Productions’ Bond series, opened in domestic theatres July 14, 1989 via United Artists. While it wound up grossing $156.2M worldwide on a budget of $32M, the producers had hoped for $200M+.

To hold down its budget, LICENCE became the first Bond to film entirely outside the U.K. Principal photography was done in the U.S. and Mexico and interiors were filmed at Estudios Churubusco in Mexico rather than at Pinewood Studios, Bond’s usual base just outside of London.

The Pinewood exit also stemmed from the U.K.’s 1985 Films Act, which scrapped subsidies that had lowered moviemaking costs in England. Pinewood, where the prior Bonds had all filmed, was used by LICENCE only for post-production and sound re-recording.

Another bad break for LICENCE was the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike, which prevented screenwriter Richard Maibaum from getting the screenplay finished. Maibaum’s writing partner, Michael G. Wilson, who wasn’t a WGA member, was on his own to complete LICENCE.

Although LICENCE turned out to be Dalton’s last Bond, he was scheduled to star in a third 007 project called PROPERTY OF A LADY, written by Wilson & Alfonse Ruggiero, Jr., based on a 1963 short story by Bond creator/novelist Ian Fleming set in Scotland, Tokyo & Hong Kong. Pre-production should have begun in May 1990, but legal issues with UA’s corporate parent MGM delayed everything and in 1994 Dalton quit as Bond, a full year after his contract had ended.

Dalton’s 007 was much darker than earlier Bonds as he wanted to echo the grittier way Fleming had written the character in his books.

Looking back in 2018, Dalton said he would have done one more Bond, but Broccoli insisted that since five years had passed between films, he couldn’t now do just one movie and move on. In departing, Dalton said he didn’t want to play Bond for the rest of his life. His successor as 007, Pierce Brosnan, took over in 1995’s GOLDENEYE.

LICENCE was Eon’s first Bond film whose title wasn’t from one of Fleming’s books or short stories. They hadn’t run out of them yet as the possibilities still included “007 In New York,” “The Hildebrand Rarity,” “The Property of a Lady,” “Quantum of Solace” & “Risico.” The phrase “licence to kill” was well known from references in Bond books and movies to 007’s job description.