I've noticed there isn't a thread about this yet. The concept is simple; rank all of Bond's major allies in the film series, including all of the Felix Leiters. I have my own ranking below, where all of the allies who have a significant enough role to be included, have been included.
Allies who have one scene, no dialogue, or an insignificant role in the story - unless they are an extremely memorable character such as Henderson - are not included.
Any allies who end up being rogues or who switch sides are also not included.
Not every Bond film has an ally who meets the criteria for this list; for recurring allies (e.g. General Gogol), only the first film in which they appear is counted. Conversely, several Bond films have multiple allies who were eligible for the list.
In release order, here is the breakdown for all of the Bond films:
EON SERIES (32)
Dr. No (2) - Quarrel, Felix Leiter (Jack Lord)
From Russia with Love (1) - Kerim Bey
Goldfinger (1) - Felix Leiter (Cec Linder)
Thunderball (2) - Paula Caplan, Felix Leiter (Rik van Nutter)
You Only Live Twice (2) - Dikko Henderson, Tiger Tanaka
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1) - Marc-Ange Draco
Diamonds Are Forever (2) - Felix Leiter (Norman Burton), Willard Whyte
Live and Let Die (2) - Felix Leiter (David Hedison), J.W. Pepper
The Man with the Golden Gun (1) - Lieutenant Hip
The Spy Who Loved Me (2) - General Gogol, Commander Carter
Moonraker (0)
For Your Eyes Only (2) - Luigi Ferrara, Milos Columbo
Octopussy (1) - Vijay
A View to a Kill (2) - Sir Godfrey Tibbett, Chuck Lee
The Living Daylights (3) - Saunders, Felix Leiter (John Terry), Kamran Shah
Licence to Kill (1) - Sharkey
GoldenEye (2) - Jack Wade, Valentin Zukovsky
Tomorrow Never Dies (0)
The World is Not Enough (0)
Die Another Day (2) - Mr. Chang, Raoul
Casino Royale (1) - Rene Mathis, Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright)
Quantum of Solace (0)
Skyfall (1) - Kincade
Main Bond girls, M, Q, and Moneypenny are not included here: Bond girls are often ranked on their own (and have been on these forums) and the MI6 regulars are, well, regulars. Certain women (such as Paula) are included because they have a significant "ally" role in the plot of the film and do not have a romantic conquest with Bond.
My Ranking:
32: Felix Leiter (John Terry)
31: Jack Wade
30: Felix Leiter (Norman Burton)
29: Felix Leiter (Cec Linder)
28: Chuck Lee
27: Lieutenant Hip
LINE OF SHAME
26: J.W. Pepper
25: Mr. Chang
24: Felix Leiter (Jack Lord)
23: Luigi Ferrara
22: Felix Leiter (Rik van Nutter)
21: Kincade
LINE OF MEDIOCRITY
20: Paula Caplan
19: Dikko Henderson
18: Willard Whyte
17: Vijay
16: Sir Godfrey Tibbett
15: Raoul
14: Sharkey
13: Commander Carter
12: Saunders
11: Quarrel
10: Kamran Shah
9: Rene Mathis
8: Felix Leiter (David Hedison)
7: Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright)
6: Tiger Tanaka
5: General Gogol
4: Marc-Ange Draco
3: Valentin Zukovsky
2: Kerim Bey
1: Milos Columbo
Comments
Also I've never quite got the hate Wade gets.
Ahh, between all the editing and depth I put into explaining everything I knew I forgot one but couldn't figure out who it was. Thank you, @MayDayDiVincenzo, I will edit the post to accomodate Mathis.
@Bain123, I didn't include Pushkin because of the fact that he is, initially, Bond's objective. Though he doesn't himself switch sides because he's never actually against Bond to start with, he is Bond's enemy turned ally over the course of the film.
Here's my top
7 - Felix Leiter (Jack Lord)
6 - Marc-Ange Draco
5 - Kerim Bey
4 - Vijay
3 - Rene Mathis
2 - Sir Godfrey Tibbett
1 - Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright)
René Mathis
Kerim Bey
Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky
Milos Columbo
Felix Leiter (David Hedison)
Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright)
Marc-Ange Draco
Tiger Tanaka
Sir Godfrey Tibbett
Quarrel
Raoul
Saunders
General Leonid Pushkin
Vijay
Felix Leiter (Bernie Casey)
Kamran Shah
Commander Carter
General Gogol
Kincade
Sharkey
I felt that Quarrel Jr (with only one scene) wasnt relevant enough to add to the (already bloated) list.
Worst: Lt. Hip, Felix Leiter (Norman Burton), Chuck Lee.
DN - Puss Feller / Pleydell Smith
FRWL - Vavra
GF - Hawker
TB - Pinder
OHMSS - Campbell
LALD - Strutter / Quarrel jnr
MR - Manuela
OP - Jim Fanning
TLD - Rosika Miklos
LTK - Felix Leiter
GE - Tanner
TND - Robinson
TWINE - Tanner / Robinson
DAD - Damian Falco
CR - Carter
QOS - Felix Leiter
All of these have either been on a mission, or assisted Bond to complete his mission.
10:Sir Godfrey Tibbett
9:Milos Columbo
8:Quarrel jnr
7:Quarrel
6:Felix Leiter
5:Kincade
4:Mathis
3:Marc-Ange Draco
2: Tanner
1:Tiger tanaka
1. Milos Columbo (just edging out ...)
2. Valentin Zukovsky
3. Kerim Bey
4. Rene Mathis (really tired with Kerim, if I am honest)
5. Leiter (Wright)
5. Luigi Ferrara
6. Kincade
7. Carter
8. Kamran Shah
9. Tiger Tanaka
10. Saunders
1 Draco
2 Columbo
3 Mathis
Never understood the love for Zukovsky, I found him cringeworthy and a cliche.
1.Kerim Bey
2.Rene Mathis
3.Valentin Zukovsky
4. Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright)
5. Sir Godfrey Tibbett
6. Vijay
7. Tiger Tanaka
8. Felix Leiter (David Hedison)
9. Milos Columbo
10. Quarrel
Worse than John Terry's Felix Leiter?
I don't even know how to respond to that...
You do realise Kamran Shah is a fictional character in a James Bond film don't you? Maybe, just maybe, you're taking it all a little too far.
Tony Soprano is a mafia boss and a killer and a sociopath. Should that mean he can't be one of the best television characters of all time?
As a traditionalist totally opposed to the glamorisation of the Mafia and all that it stands for, I'm afraid I'd have to say "yes", regardless of how unpopular that opinion may be these days. From a strictly moral standpoint I would have to say I'm opposed to the Mafia and any programme that seeks to glory/promote/fictionalise/misrepresent what is a very evil set of people tied by blood. They are guity of having caused countless deaths through the years by means of brutality, bloody atrocities, drugs and vice.
Could it not be that Kamran Shah is a member of the Northern Alliance?
The Northern Alliance was a Mujahedin group that fought both the Soviets and the Taliban.
During the U.S./NATO invasion of Afghanistan (late 2001-early 2002), the Northern Alliance sided with the West.
U.S. Special Forces teams were embedded with Northern Alliance forces as they attacked and routed the Taliban.
How does The Sopranos glamorize the mafia? Tony Soprano is a very tortured man with many demons he battles. Christopher Moltisanti is a drug-addicted, paranoid wreck.
It doesn't matter anyway, gentlemen. This thread has gone off the rails. Back to the purpose of it, please? I've not yet had a thread locked and I don't intend to start with this one.
Yes, sorry for de-railing your thread with my Mafia outburst but I'm researching them at the moment and I'm not a big fan of them shall we say. I'll leave it at that. I do think some of these films trivialise/glamorise the Mafia, though perhaps not The Sopranos.
32. Pinder- absolutely worthless; no help whatsoever to 007
31. Felix Leiter (John Terry)- very wooden lines and basically no worth to the mission
30. Felix Leiter (Norman Burton)- too cheesy for words to accurately describe
29. Lieutinant Hip- fairly useless
28. Vijay- not the most competent of allies, and fairly cheesy at times
27. Colonel Scott- a very small role, I know, but at least he wasn't overly corny
26. Felix Leiter (Rik van Nutter)- this one comes down to wooden line reading, once again
25. Campbell- If he had more screentime, and perhaps a few scenes of interaction with Bond, I might have placed him higher, but we know hardly anything about him, which works both for him and against him
24. Saunders- It's a shame that he did not become such a bro until his final scene; he might have ranked higher for me if he had shed that stickler, textbook-following persona sooner in the movie
23. Mr. Chang- He seems like a fairly good ally for 007, but by the same token, his credibility wasn't always exactly rock-solid, in my opinion; besides, you can easily tell that Bond got annoyed with him rather quickly, hahaha; still though, not a bad character
22. Chuck Lee- Nothing against this one, but you can't exactly rank him very high when you consider his very brief existance in AVTAK
21. Harold Strutter- While he is a bro, once again, you can't rank an ally that has few scenes in the movie to a high position; it's kind of a shame, because Strutter was pretty awesome
20. Quarrel Jr.- Pretty decent ally for our hero overall- not an enormous role in LALD, but nonetheless, he's a trusty partner for 007 and Felix
19. Dikko Henderson- Charles Grey was much better in the role of Bond's Tokyo contact than Bond's arch nemesis in charge of the largest criminal organization in the world
18. Commander Carter- After playing in both YOLT and DAF, this guy finally acquires a role worth talking about!
17. Felix Leiter (Cec Linder)- He might be old enough to play Bond's father, but still, this is a guy you can trust; even for an older man, he still looks like he would know how to have fun! Definitely not the best Felix incarnation, but absolutely not the worst.
16. Raoul- A definite bro! It's a shame that he was not used more in DAD
15. Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright)- Hopefully we will see him again in a future Bond outing alongside Craig's 007
14. Marc Ange Draco- What an incredible father-in-law
13. Felix Leiter (Jack Lord)- It's a shame that Lord didn't return for another Bond outing; it would have been better for him to be the regular Felix for GF, TB, and DAF, rather than Linder, Van Nutter, and Burton
12. Quarrel- How can you not love this guy?
11. Kincaid- He's so cool that he could be Bond's grandfather and you would never know the difference!
10. General Leonid Pushkin- I love how he comes to Bond's rescue at the end of the movie; it's as if he went there to save a friend, not merely to repay a debt
9. Sharkey- This guy is great!
8. Sir Godfrey Tibbett- He's just too good to rank any lower; I mean honestly, what a fantastic ally and trustworthy partner for Bond
7. Milos Columbo- The Greek 007!
6. Tiger Tanaka- I love how he and 007 stick together throughout YOLT; it really lends a sense of deeper friendship between the two
5. Felix Leiter (David Hedison)- The ultimate Felix Leiter, and one of Bond's best allies!
4. Jack Wade- Say what you will, but Wade is epic!
3. Rene Mathis- Only in his death do you understand how trustworthy Mathis was
2. Valentine Zukosvky- Much like Kerim, Zukovsky's death made me realize what an incredible friend Bond had in Zukovsky
1. Kerim Bey- The ultimate Bond ally!
*Accidently left off Kamran Shaw*
1. Ali Kerim Bey (FRWL)
2. Tiger Tanaka (YOLT)
3. Rene Mathis (CR)
4. Saunders (TLD)
5. Kincaid (SF)
6. Marc-Ange Draco (OHMSS)
7. Milos Columbo (FYEO)
8. Felix Leiter (LTK)
9. Rene Mathis (QOS)
10. Felix Leiter (DN)
11. Commander Carter (TSWLM)
12. Sir Godfrey Tibbet (AVTAK)
13. Zukovsky (TWINE)
14. Felix Leiter (LALD)
15. Raoul (DAD, yes I actually ranked something from DAD in the Top 20)
16. Vijay Singh (OP)
17. Felix Leiter (TB)
18. Jack Wade (GE)
19. Lt. Hip (TMWTGG)
20. Jack Wade (TND)
21. Corrine Dufour (MR, it was her or Manuela)
22. Felix Leiter (GF)
23. Felix Leiter (DAF)
And the 2014 winner of the Ali Kerim Bey Award for Best Ali Kerim Bey in a James Bond film goes to...
ALI KERIM BEY!