The very first Felix Leiter of the 007 series, appearing in Dr. No, might secretly be the reason for why James Bond is so cool today. In the Ian Fleming novels, James Bond was an ordinary man thrown into extraordinary circumstances, and was often in desperate survival mode; hardly the calm and collected character he is regularly portrayed as on screen these days. Felix may have been the inspiration the character of 007 needed to evolve from the book to the screen.
Felix Leiter was recast often throughout the series, but in the first film, Dr. No, Jack Lord plays Leiter. He aids Bond on his adventure in Jamaica, sharing information regarding the death of Strangways and the whereabouts of Dr. No himself. Leiter’s appearance is brief in the film, but his screen presence is unmistakable, as he helps Bond on his journey in more ways than just one.
Dr. No's Felix Leiter Is Cool In The Way James Bond Will Be
Dr. No is James Bond’s first official time on screen, and he is depicted as a hard-hitting, serious, and even somewhat anxious character, particularly in the first half of the film, before he meets his trusted ally Honey Ryder, one of the few allied Bond girls who does not betray 007. Jack Lord’s Felix Leiter, however, is as cool as a cucumber. His words come out like smooth silk, and literally stops Bond in his tracks by disarming him. He appears behind the anxious 007, after Bond fends off who he wrongly thinks are his enemies, and says, “Hold it! Gently, now. Gently. Let’s not get excited.”
These introductory words from Leiter may have subtextual meaning, relevant to the very character of Bond, who is currently anything but gentle in the way he’s conducting his work. Leiter stops Bond from ‘getting excited’, as he appears behind him wearing a similarly tailored suit and tie, almost as a calmer, cooler mirrored version of 007 himself. A couple of films later, and this Felix Leiter stoicism will be clear to see in Bond’s own personality, as he becomes fully formed as James Bond.
Connery’s Bond Is Cooler In Goldfinger, Which Might Have Been Inspired By Felix
From Russia With Love had a winning formula in many ways, and this arguably included Bond’s character itself, which, although somewhat more relaxed, was still essentially serious and grounded like he was in Dr. No. Replacing Terrance Young as director for Goldfinger was Guy Hamilton, who always, in his own conviction, intended his Bond films to be primarily about fun. The result is perhaps the most iconic 007 film of all time, which, for the first time, shows Bond as cool, frivolous, easy-on-the-eye, and even playfully mischievous at times.
In the very first scene of Goldfinger after the titles, Bond is seen slapping the backside of the Bond girl Dink, unleashing his fun side from the get-go. At a later stage of the film, James Bond is driving his Aston Martin down Alpine roads in Switzerland, and upon spotting a beautiful woman driving her own car reminds himself, “Discipline, 007. Discipline”, suggesting that his first instinct is naturally ‘play’. Perhaps he’s reminding himself of what he is at his core, despite his self-awareness that he has adopted the flippant and cool attitude Jack Lord’s Felix Leiter inspired in him in his first outing.