Bond girl: Della Churchill Leiter

February 28, 2015 0 By 007 Travelers

Photo © EON, United Artists, Danjaq LLC

Bond girl: Della Churchill Leiter
007 Film: Licence to Kill (1989)
Actress: Priscilla Barnes

Bond connection: Della Churchill was CIA agent Felix Leiter’s fiancée and wife. She is about to marry Felix Leiter, when Felix learns that the drug lord Franz Sanchez is in Florida, and with the help of Bond, pursues him. They return victorious, and the wedding commences. She kisses Bond before cutting the cake, but later unintentionally references Bond’s earlier short-lived marriage to Tracy Bond, unsettling him a tad. Little does she know that this will be her last encounter with Bond, or with her new husband.

Later, they enter their room to find Sanchez’ henchmen pointing guns at them. Dario, their leader, separates the two by force, and a fight breaks out. Felix is dragged away and taken to a marine research laboratory, where Sanchez lowers him into a shark tank, but Dario and the other men remain at the house and kill Della. Dario strongly implies that he raped her before killing her, telling Felix, “We gave her a nice honeymoooooon!”

A visibly shaken Bond later finds Della, dead, on her bed, and soon swears to wreak havoc on the men responsible for her death and Felix’s maiming, informing M at one point that Della’s death is one of the primary catalysts for his desire for revenge as Della was unaware of the risks of Felix’s life even if Felix was aware of the possibility that an enemy might attack him.

See more BOND GIRLS AND OTHER LADIES IN 007 FILMS here