Licence To Kill reference guide

When drug lord Franz Sanchez exacts his brutal vengeance on Bond's friend Felix Leiter, 007 resigns from the British Secret Service and begins a fierce vendetta against the master criminal. Bond won't be satisfied until Sanchez is defeated, and to accomplish this aim he allies himself with a beautiful pilot and Sanchez's sexy girlfriend. But Bond, relegated to outlaw status, must battle agents on both sides of the law as he discovers the horrifying extent of his prey's resources. In order to bring Sanchez down, Bond must survive a ferocious boat chase, a midair brawl over the controls of an out-of-control airplane, and an action-packed confrontation in the Mexico desert. (Written by Robert Lynch)

Quick facts

Produced by Albert R. Broccoli & Michael G Wilson

Directed by John Glen

Screenplay by Richard Maibaum & Michael G Wilson

World Premiere 13th June 1989 (London, England)

US Release Date 14th June 1989

Worldwide Box Office $156,200,000 US

Budget £40,000,000 US

Running Time 133 Minutes

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Locations

Key West, Florida and locales; the fictional Isthmus City; London.

Bond, James Bond

Bond introduces himself to Franz Sanchez in his usual manner, but is told to “sit” by Sanchez’s head of security, Colonel Heller.

Behind the scenes

Producer Michael G. Wilson's voice is heard in the pre-title sequence where he advises fellow DEA collegues to contact Key West drug enforcement.

While shooting the final scenes, one of the stinger missiles fired by Franz Sanchez actually hit a telephone repairman up a telephone pole 2½ miles away.

The film was originally entitled 'Licence Revoked' and teaser artwork was produced with this title. It has also been widely reported that a survey revealed that fewer than 50% of Americans questioned knew what 'revoked' meant.

During the tanker chase, Sanchez fires a number of bullets at Bond. Some of these bullets sound out The James Bond Theme.

The stretch of road that the tanker chase was filmed on was actually closed off, as it was so dangerous. It was thought to be haunted, and the crew witnessed vans starting in the middle of the night, people who appeared and disappeared and vehicles moving by themselves...

When the last tanker blows up at the end of the film, one still picture taken shows the explosion with the clear shape of a fiery 'hand' reaching out of the fire, God-like, down towards where the actors were – spooky!

The set for the Fox TV show 'Paradise Island' is the same location used for Franz Sanchez's house.

Eight custom-made Kenworth tanker trucks were used in the tanker scenes. A different tanker was used for each truck stunt. §

Selected behind the scenes information courtesy IMDb.