Not for Kiddies

James Bond has come up against some stiff opposition: the British Board of Film Censors. “Licence to Kill,” which will have its world premiere Tuesday night in London, has been rated “15” in Britain. This prohibits anyone 15 or under from seeing the picture--the first such restriction for an 007 film, which traditionally gets a “PG.”

Co-producer Michael G. Wilson said the producers attempted to appease the British censors by cutting 38 seconds of violence from five different scenes. “But we reached a point where we thought the film would suffer.

“Naturally, the rating is a disappointment,” said Wilson. With an estimated 15% of the British population age 15 or under, he said, “There are going to be a lot of disappointed young people. It’s also going to cause some difficulty among older people. In Britain--unlike the U.S.--moviegoing is still a family experience.”

U.S. audiences get to see “Licence to Kill” when it opens here July 14 in more than 2,000 theaters--rated PG-13.