. . . might as well be the subtitle of INSIDE DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. It took just one flick--ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE--for fast food ad boy George Lazenby to run the James Bond action film franchise into the ground. Eon Production Company paid Sean Connery a king's ransom to wipe the taste of George out of the world's collective mouth by coming back to play Agent 007 in DIAMONDS. (Sean donated this windfall to endow art education in Scotland, several of the 25 INSIDE DIAMONDS "talking heads" point out.) Packing DIAMONDS with more American actors than any previous Bond feature also was part of Eon's reparations package for the Lazenby fiasco. Sausage king Jimmy Dean, jazz man Bruce Glover, Olympic gymnast Lola Larson, and horror legend Sid Haig were just a few of the ubiquitous Yanks. Valerie Perrine, the aliens' zoo cage girl in SLAUGHTERHOUSE 5, even makes an appearance as "Shady Tree"'s Acorn gal. Though several weaker scenes involving rancid mashed potatoes and a defective elevator were shot near London, DIAMONDS ended SERVICE's tail-wagging-the-dog approach to Bond, this documentary short reveals.
Inside 'Diamonds Are Forever'
(2000 Video)
"Lifting the Curse of Lazenby . . . "
29 April 2014
Warning: Spoilers