Locque

Emile Leopold Locque
Character information
Died	c.1980-81, Albania
Hair	Light Brown, short
Eyes	Blue
Height	6'2"
Dist. Features	Wears distinctive steel-rimmed, octagonal glasses
Nationality	Belgian
Occupation	Mob enforcer Professional assassin
Affiliation	Aris Kristatos Marseilles and Hong Kong drug syndicates (formerly)
Status	Deceased, car crash
Behind the scenes
Role	Henchman
Portrayed by	Michael Gothard
First seen	For Your Eyes Only (film)
Last seen	For Your Eyes Only (film)

Emile Leopold Locque is a fictional Belgian enforcer in the employ of Greek smuggler Aris Kristatos. The secondary antagonist and henchman of the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only, the character was portrayed by English actor Michael Gothard.

Film biography

Background

Emile Locque was an enforcer in the Brussels underworld. On January 31, 1975, after being convicted of several particularly brutal murders, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in Namur Prison, Belgium. During his incarceration he escaped by strangling his psychiatrist and subsequently worked for drug syndicates in Marseilles and Hong Kong, before his employment by Greek smuggler Aris Kristatos.

Hunting Locque

Locque is first encountered by Bond at a private estate in Madrid, Spain. The enforcer is delivering payment to Cuban hitman Hector Gonzales for the murder of marine archaeologist, Sir Timothy Havelock and his wife. Suddenly, Havelock's vengeful daughter, Melina, hiding in nearby bushes, shoots Gonzales in the back with a crossbow. As Bond escapes and chaos ensues, Locque takes back the case of money and leaves. Returning to London, Bond attempts to discover the identity of the man paying off Gonzales using Q-Branch's Identigraph system; a computer-like device which assembles a phantom photo of a person by selecting characteristics from a variety of lists including hair colour, hair style, nose form, style of eyeglasses etc. Finishing with Locque's distinctive steel rimmed, octagonal glasses, Bond confidently states "That's him. That's our man." A search positively identifies Locque, noting a possible recent sighting in Cortina, Italy.

Assassination attempts

Locque and his men hunt Bond in Corsica.

Arriving in the Italian ski resort of Cortina, Bond attends a biathlon event with Aris Kristatos' protégée, Bibi Dahl. Observing Bond leave the biathlon course, and sensing an opportunity to kill him, Locque signals for Claus and his accomplice to cut him off. Meanwhile, his fellow henchman, Erich Kriegler, attempts to snipe Bond from the slope above. Bond manages to evade the mercenaries and escape to the relative safety of the Olympic ski jump.

Following him, Locque and Claus enter a lift with Bond. It is here that Bond notices the dove pin attached to Locque's lapel. At the top, the pair split up - Locque preventing Bond from retreating back and Claus preparing to kill him on the way down the 90-meter Olympic ski jump. At the same time, Kriegler arrives at the base of the jump and prepares to snipe Bond. With no other option available, the spy is forced to use the slope, brawling with Claus and subsequently escaping.

Locque returns later and kills Luigi Ferrara, Bond's Italian contact. As Ferrara waits for Bond to return from his discussion with Bibi, Locque slits his throat. Attempting to further frame Kristatos' rival, Milos "The Dove" Columbo, he leaves a white dove lapel pin in the dead man's hand. Having discovered the body, 007 travels to Corfu to find out more about The Dove.

Locque murders Lisl.

After spending the night with Columbo's mistress Lisl, the pair are attacked by Locque and his men as they stroll along the beach. Using dune buggies, Claus and an unnamed driver force Lisl into the path of Locque's vehicle. She is killed instantly. Seconds later Claus clips Bond with his buggy and holds him at gunpoint. He orders him into Locque's vehicle, but is struck in the back by a harpoon shot by one of Columbo's men emerging from the sea. In the confusion, Locque accelerates quickly away.

Downfall and death

Bond kicks Locque's car over the edge.

Under the cover of darkness, Bond accompanies Columbo and his crew on a raid at one of Kristatos' opium-processing warehouses in Albania. Locque is overseeing a shipment of raw opium smuggled in enormous rolls of newsprint. Columbo's men begin to open fire and Bond cautiously pursues the fleeing Locque into the warehouse, uncovering naval mines similar to the one that sank the St. Georges, suggesting it was not an accident. As his men provide cover, Locque wires explosives to one of the mines, taking the detonator with him to a nearby escape car. Bond notices the explosives and they narrowly escape the building before it violently explodes.

Recovering from the explosion, 007 sees Locque's car pulling away and gives chase on foot. After intercepting Locque at the summit of the hill, he shoots the enforcer in the shoulder, causing him to lose control of the vehicle. Though not killed by the gunshot, his car is left hanging precariously over the edge of the cliff.

"You left this with Ferrara, I believe."

― James Bond (Roger Moore)

Approaching the tottering car, Bond holds up the dove pin which the enforcer left on the body of Ferrarra. He returns it to its rightful owner, tossing it through the passenger window at him, and as the ground begins to give way, 007 coldly kicks the car over the edge; sending the screaming murderer to his death.

Behind the scenes

Actor Michael Gothard, who plays the character, was actually the one who suggested Locque's signature octagonal glasses in an effort to make the character more menacing. Notably, Locque does not say a single word throughout the entire film, except a cry of pain when Bond shoots him. In the ski resort he can be seen speaking to his radio transmitter, but no voice is heard - only his lips move. Roger Moore was reluctant to film the scene of Bond kicking Locque's car over the edge of a cliff, saying that it "was Bond-like, but not Roger Moore Bond-like." Producer Michael G. Wilson later said that Moore had to be persuaded to be more ruthless than he felt comfortable. Wilson also added that he and writer Richard Maibaum, along with director John Glen, toyed with other ideas surrounding that scene, but ultimately everyone, even Moore, agreed to do the scene as originally written. Consequently, Locque marks the only person Moore's Bond did not kill in an active fight or self-defence; when Bond kicked his car over the cliff, he was already injured and incapable of doing anything to Bond.

Gallery

Bond encounters Locque in Spain.

"Do you know this man?"

Locque and his men hunt Bond in Corsica.