Sir Godfrey Tibbett

Godfrey Tibbett
Character information
Title/rank	Sir
Died	May 1985, France
Hair	Brown, short
Eyes	Blue
Nationality	British
Occupation	Horse trainer Intelligence operative
Affiliation	Secret Intelligence Service
Status	Deceased; strangled by May Day
Behind the scenes
Role	Ally
Portrayed by	Patrick Macnee
First seen	A View to a Kill (film)
Last seen	James Bond 007 (role-playing game)

"We're on a mission!"

― Sir Godfrey Tibbett to James Bond.

Sir Godfrey Tibbett was a fictional horse trainer and Secret Intelligence Service (SIS/MI6) operative and ally to James Bond during his investigation of wealthy industrialist, Max Zorin. A major ally portrayed by the late British actor, Patrick Macnee, the character first appeared in the 1985 James Bond film, A View to a Kill, and was subsequently adapted for the 1983-87 tabletop role-playing game, James Bond 007: Role-Playing In Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Biography

Whilst M, Q and Miss Moneypenny are enjoying the horse racing at Royal Ascot, James Bond is introduced to Sir Godfrey Tibbett. He puzzlingly tells him that he has never seen a horse perform so well in the late stages of the race, suspecting foul play by Max Zorin.

Later, Tibbett accompanies Bond to Zorin's Chateau where he poses as Bond's chauffeur, although Tibbett gets more than he bargained for when he is made to carry a multitude of Bond's baggage to his room. Bond harangues Tibbett, suspecting the room is bugged. His speculation is correct, as Zorin's goons have placed a microdot in one of the lamps. Zorin's men listen in to the long winded dissatisfaction, with one remarking he sure would not like to be a chauffer to this man. In actuality, Bond has played a recording of the harangue in an attempt to throw Zorin off the track. He and Tibbett go to the veranda, where Tibbett half-jokingly remarks it is not easy impersonating a put-upon Man Friday. The two then proceed to talk business about what they believe Zorin is doing.

As night falls, the pair uncover Zorin's secret underground surgery room and warehouse. They are jumped by one of Zorin's goons, but defend themselves by subduing the goon and putting him into a shipping crate, where he is later discovered.

However, when Zorin discovers Bonds true identity, he arranges for both men to be killed. Tibbett is the first to go, arguably because Bond ordered Tibbett to contact M away from Zorin's chateau. Tibbett drives he 1962 Rolls Royce into a car wash to give the impression of doing his chauffer duties. However, May Day had been hiding in the back seat and strangles Tibbett while the visual is obscured by a shower. Back at the track, Zorin attempted to kill Bond with dangerous stunts in an effort to make it look like Bond was killed by being thrown from a horse. When that fails and the Rolls Royce approaches, Bond attempts to flee and asks Tibbett if he succeeded at making contact with M, only to see a pistol pointed at him by May Day, who is wearing Tibbett's driving cap. Bond is overpowered and forced into the Rolls Royce alongside Tibbett's corpse, where both have an "underwater funeral" by being buried in a lake, courtesy of May Day shoving the car into the water. Bond sees that Zorin and his henchmen are standing by the shoreline, prepared to shoot him should he swim back up. Bond saves his life by unscrewing the cap on one of the Rolls Royce's tires, then helping himself to compressed air until Zorin, confident 007 is dead, leaves.

Alternate continuities

James Bond 007 (role-playing game)

To be added

Personality

Sir Godfrey possessed a gentle and friendly personality, which is very much unlike his position in British Intelligence. He put up with heavy demands from his boss, though that was likely anticipated as part of the act to infiltrate Zorin's horse auction. He did seem to have a somewhat dry sense of humor, remarking he is not much of an actor to put up with Bond's over-the-top behavior.

Behind the scenes

For A View to a Kill, Barbara Broccoli, a friend of Patrick Macnee, had suggested the actor to her father, producer Albert R. Broccoli, for the part of a jockey. As jockeys are usually short due to weight limits, Macnee was considered to be too big for the part and the character was subsequently adapted into race horse trainer, Godfrey Tibbett. Initially conversing with another old friend, Roger Moore, regarding the part, Macnee was unsure as to whether Albert R. Broccoli would permit the casting, after the actor had once berated him for "stealing" actress Honor Blackman away from his espionage British television series The Avengers to play Pussy Galore in Goldfinger (1964). Ever the joker, Moore took advantage of the opportunity to improvise additional condescending dialogue towards Macnee's character; whose social status had been inverted as part of their cover. Acting as 007's personal chauffeur, Macnee drove Broccoli's personal car, a 1962 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II, in which he had driven from London to Paris.

No stranger to the equestrian world, Macnee's father had been a famous pre-war racehorse trainer at Lambourn by the name of "Shrimp" Macnee. In addition, Macnee himself had previously been a stuntman on American Western series Wagon Train and Rawhide, appearing as a riding extra who took falls. Macnee would subsequently narrate MGM Home Entertainment's series of "Inside ..." documentaries, produced in 2000 as bonus content for James Bond DVDs and, later, Blu-ray editions.

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