James Bond does not seem to have any
friends, just enemies, except for one person.
That person is Felix Leiter who could be considered a true friend to
Bond. Felix is portrayed in the novels
as a man of about 35 years of age with boyish looks and straw coloured hair. Felix originally worked for the CIA until he
was discharged due to injuries he acquired though the actions of a villain. He was attacked by a shark and permanently
lost part of his arm and leg on one side of his body. He continued his role as a spy working for
Pinkerton’s Detective Agency for only a short time until he was called back to
work by the CIA Chief as both a DEA and CIA Field Agent. He is a true American, born in Texas and an
ex-member of the US Marines. Felix is known
for his love of jazz music and likes to go out with Bond for a “boys night out”
having a meal while barhopping. On one
occasion, Felix even left his own wedding to help Bond. Felix also is Bond’s most reliable and trusted
aid in the field showing up just when Bond needs a friend in the most dangerous
situations in order to stay alive.
Felix is a character in six of the original
Ian Fleming novels but has gone beyond the novels and has appeared in eight of
the motion pictures. He changes
appearance quite drastically from picture to picture with only a few exceptions
of appearing looking the same with the same Bond actor in the most recent films. Felix has been played by various well known
actors over the years starting with Jack Lord, Cec Linder, Rik Van Nutter,
Norman Burton, David Heison, John Terry, and most recently Jeffrey Wright. Felix is an agent who will likely continue to
show up in future Bond films.
Felix lives at the highest level of danger
in the world of spies. He has lost part
of his right arm and leg to sharks through a confrontation with villains not
once but twice always being found by Bond wrapped up in a sheet with a note
attached to his chest which reads, “He disagreed with something that ate him.” This handicap may have allowed Felix to leave
the spy world but he continued to stay in the world he knew best. Felix was the one who injured Scaramanga in
Jamaica to allow Bond enough advantage to terminate this deadly assassin. Felix even arrived once with the Marines to
rescue Bond. Whenever Bond is in America,
Felix is the one who watches over him and ensures that transportation is
waiting. In fact, Felix was even called
upon to get Bond to the President of the United States for a personal thank
you.
In the latest Bond films, Felix has
developed into a more complex role with more information being provided about
why they are such close friends. At
their first meeting in Casino Royale,
Felix is the one who gave Bond the $5 million needed to stay in the poker game
after Bond’s own treasury officer refused to provide the required funds. As true friends care for each other, Bond
allowed the CIA to apprehend the villain Le Chiffre once Bond was finished
cleaning the villain out of cash to allow Felix to look good as a field
agent. In Quantum of Solace, a handicapped more mature version of Felix
appears working under CIA South American Section Chief Gregory Beam. At this point, Leiter challenged the CIA’s
involvement with the villain Dominic Greene.
Beam was involved with Leiter in
a trap to kill Bond, but the sign of their true long friendship was shown as
Leiter tipped off Bond to what was happening at great risk to his own life and career
going against his Section Chief’s government orders. Leiter disappeared at this point and Bond
only finds out through M that his friend lived to become a CIA Section Chief of
South America replacing the corrupt Beam who was removed from office. Leiter now is positioned in an even more
powerful position to help his friend in the future.
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