The Living Daylights (1987) - 10 trivia entries
Directed by John Glen, starring Desmond Llewelyn, Joe Don Baker, John Rhys-Davies, Timothy Dalton
After Bond returns to London (when he's completed his mission in Eastern Europe) there's an 'establishing' shot of a London street scene. Look closely at the placards behind the newspaper vendor. One of the placards says "BLAZING JEEP AT 2,000 FEET" - a reference to the Jeep on fire and going over a cliff in the pre-title sequence perhaps?
Actor Walter Gotelle (a recurring character as General Gogol, head of the KGB), was intended to be a lead character in this story. He was too ill at the time, so his part was given to actor John Rhys-Davies, and the character was renamed. Gotelle/Gogol only makes a brief appearance at the end of the picture, being introduced to Bond's paramour. Gotelle made his first appearance in the James Bond series as a villian's henchman ("Morenzy") in 1963's From Russia, With Love. He would play "Gogol" in most of the Roger Moore Bonds, starting with The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). The Living Daylights was his last appearance in the series. He passed away shortly after its release.
After Roger Moore 'retired' from the role of 007 following 1985's "View To A Kill", the search was on for the new James Bond. Three actors were shortlisted to the extent of screen testing: Sam Neill (who had impressed the Bond team in "Reilly, Ace of Spies"); Pierce Brosnan (likewise in "Remington Steele") and Timothy Dalton. Sam Neill's chance was vetoed by Cubby Broccoli (though the screen test can be seen in the DVD Extra Features) and Pierce Brosnan's chance was lost when the makers of Remington Steele refused to release him from his contract. That left Timothy Dalton, who got his chance after he'd decided against being Bond in 1969's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". Dalton was 24 in 1968, and thought himself "too young" to play 007