Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Director:

Guy Hamilton

Writers:

Richard Maibaum (screenplay) and
Tom Mankiewicz (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 December 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

"Diamonds Are Forever"...forever...forever...forever...

Plot:

A diamond smuggling investigation leads James Bond to Las Vegas, where he uncovers an extortion plot headed by his nemesis, Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

Plot Keywords:

Cult Figure | Bond Girl | Mafia | U Boat | Cult Favorite

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Sean Connery	...	James Bond
Jill St. John	...	Tiffany Case
Charles Gray	...	Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Lana Wood	...	Plenty O'Toole
Jimmy Dean	...	Willard Whyte
Bruce Cabot	...	Albert R. 'Bert' Saxby
Putter Smith	...	Mr. Kidd
Bruce Glover	...	Mr. Wint
Norman Burton	...	Felix Leiter
Joseph Fürst	...	Dr. Metz (as Joseph Furst)
Bernard Lee	...	'M'
Desmond Llewelyn	...	'Q'
Leonard Barr	...	Shady Tree
Lois Maxwell	...	Moneypenny
Margaret Lacey	...	Mrs. Whistler

Also Known As:

Ian Fleming's Diamonds Are Forever (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:12 | Iceland:12 | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | West Germany:16 (nf) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1971) | Peru:14 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG (re-rating) (1994) | UK:A (original rating) (cut)

Filming Locations:

3rd Floor, Reguliersgracht 36, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

Danjaq

Trivia:

Willard Whyte is obviously based on Howard Hughes. Hughes, however, played a more substantial role behind the scenes allowing EON to film inside his casinos and at his other properties. His fee was reputed to be one 16mm print of the film.

Goofs:

Bond passes the Golden Nugget several times during the chase but has not turned any corners on the street so he can't just be going round in circles.

Quotes:

[first lines]
James Bond: [tossing chinese man around] Where is he? I shan't ask you politely next time. Where is Blofeld?
Chinese Man: Ca-Ca-Cairo.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Secrets of 007: The James Bond Files (1997) (TV)

Soundtrack:

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

Not the best Bond movie of Sean Connery

In 1967 Sean Connery quits the role of James Bond. Panic! Producers replace him with Australian born George Lazenby, who makes "On Her Majesty Secret Service". This film does reasonably well at the box office, but not as well as the previous episodes... Furthermore, a big part of the audiences and many critics savage Lazenby's performance, rather pale compared to Connery's Bond portrait. "OHMSS" has been revalued since, but at the time of the release it's perceived like a disappointment.

In '71 producers hire American actor John Gavin for "Diamonds are forever" (DAF), but at the very last minute Sean Connery decides to come back to the role for one time only...

The film is a kind of remake of "Goldfinger" -there is Sean, of course; director Guy Hamilton; Shirley Bassey sings the theme; the story takes place in America; here too we have glamorous elements (diamonds instead of gold).

The movie is funny, Sean looks amused and quite relaxed in traveling between Amsterdam and Las Vegas to investigate about a diamond illegal traffic.

Nevertheless it's the "worst" of his Bonds... It's his less interesting outing as 007. When we think about him as Bond we think about the episodes of the Sixties, when the series was at its beginning. "Diamonds" has not the classical atmosphere of "Goldfinger" and "Thunderball" -the rhythm of DAF is not constant, there are also too many jokes, and a more American humor of the movie spoils the "Britishness" of 007. The first part of the film is boring, the second half has more action -although the final battle scene is not very well done.

Sean is Sean, but here he looks older than his age -curiously he looks fitter and more charming in "Never say never again", an "unofficial" Bond done 12 years later! By the way his presence in this film saves the show completely and a good entertainment is guaranteed.