Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

A diamond smuggling investigation leads James Bond to Las Vegas, where he uncovers an evil plot involving a rich business tycoon.

Director:

Guy Hamilton

Writers:

Richard Maibaum (screenplay by), Tom Mankiewicz (screenplay by)

Stars:

Sean Connery, Jill St. John, Charles Gray

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Connery	...	James Bond
Jill St. John	...	Tiffany Case
Charles Gray	...	Blofeld
Lana Wood	...	Plenty O'Toole
Jimmy Dean	...	Willard Whyte
Bruce Cabot	...	Saxby
Putter Smith	...	Mr. Kidd
Bruce Glover	...	Mr. Wint
Norman Burton	...	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

Storyline

James Bond's mission is to find out who has been smuggling diamonds, which are not re-appearing. He adopts another identity in the form of Peter Franks. He joins up with Tiffany Case, and acts as if he is smuggling the diamonds, but everyone is hungry for these diamonds. He also has to avoid Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, the dangerous couple who do not leave anyone in their way. Ernst Stavro Blofeld isn't out of the question. He may have changed his looks, but is he linked with the heist? And if he is, can Bond finally defeat his ultimate enemy.

---

Plot Keywords:

cat | diamond | yanked off bikini top | girl stripped down to panties | 007 | 

---

Taglines:

Sean Connery as James Bond 007 [Australian theatrical daybill movie poster]

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

---

Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Musician Paul Williams was originally cast as Mr. Wint. However, when he couldn't agree with the producers on money concerns, Bruce Glover replaced him.

---

Goofs

When Tiffany Case pulls out the Polaroid of the thumbprint, she immediately peels the picture off the backing. Pulling the film out of the camera crushes a packet on the film which contained the developing chemicals. This caused the photo to develop, which took about a minute. You would then pull the photo off of the backing. There is no way that the photo could be developed the way she did it.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
James Bond: [tossing Japanese man around] Where is he? I shan't ask you politely next time. Where is Blofeld?
Japanese man: Cai... Cai... Cairo!

---

Crazy Credits

THE END of DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER James Bond will return in LIVE AND LET DIE

---

Alternate Versions

An extra scene was filmed where Plenty returns to Bond's hotel room after she was thrown into the pool. Here, she spies on Tiffany Case and Bond making love through a crack in the bedroom door. Plenty then looks through Tiffany's purse nearby and finds the address to Tiffany's rented house. This explains how Plenty gets to Tiffany's house later in the movie. Another scene has Plenty arriving the next day at Tiffany's house and letting herself in and sees nobody's around (all the characters are at the Circus Circus Casino). Plenty goes into Tiffany's bedroom, sees some of her wigs lying around and tries a few on for fun, until the frame pulls back to Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd arriving and seeing Plenty trying on the wigs, they assume that she's Tiffany whom they are ordered to kill.

---

Connections

Referenced in Premiere Bond: Opening Nights (2006)

---

Soundtracks

James Bond Theme
Music by Monty Norman

User Reviews

The only noteworthy stuff in this movie is the 2 wheels aka the alley car. A Mustang passes through a narrow alley tilting on two wheels.

I first saw this in the early 90s on a vhs. Revisited it recently. This is the seventh in the Bond series and Sean Connery reprises the role of James Bond for the sixth time. (Must b a huge paycheck). This time Bond impersonates as a diamond smuggler to infiltrate a smuggling ring and soon uncovers a plot by his old enemy Blofeld to use the diamonds to build a space-based laser weapon. A big lol man.

This time Bond faces several Blofeld lookalikes, mafia henchmen Wint n Kidd n two acrobatic bodyguards, Bambi n Thumper. The only noteworthy stuff in this movie is the 2 wheels aka the alley car. A Mustang passes through a narrow alley tilting on two wheels. This was way before The Fast n the Furious. Bond gets to cool off with only Jill St. John as the other Bond girl Lana Wood gets a shocking discard. Sean Connery is looking haggard n outta shape. The Bond girl Jill St. John aint that attractive compared to the earlier Bond girls. In fact, the other buxom babe who is there for a short stint is more attractive.

More info about the assassins, Wint n Kidd from the novel. They r sadistic assassins n enforcers working for the The Spangled Mob (American Mafia family based in Las Vegas). They both kick Bond into unconsciousness while wearing football cleats/studs.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English German

Release Date:

17 December 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ian Fleming's Diamonds Are Forever

Filming Locations:

Netherlands

Box Office

Budget:

$7,200,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$43,819,547

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$43,821,550

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Surround 7.1 Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1