Movie Review: Diamonds Are Forever (1971) directed by Guy Hamilton
We open with James Bond (Sean Connery) globetrotting in a search for his archenemy, Ernst Stavros Blofeld (Charles Gray), leader of the international crime syndicate SPECTRE. He quickly catches up to and kills two Blofelds, one of whom was a surgically-altered double for the real criminal. But that personal vendetta satisfied, 007 is called back to work. It seems that somehow a large quantity of diamonds is being smuggled out of South Africa and not turning up elsewhere. The business group that has a near-monopoly on wholesale diamonds is worried that the smugglers may be stashing away a huge supply to either crash the market or extort cash from the legal suppliers in exchange for not doing so. Bond’s assignment is to infiltrate the smuggling ring and find out who’s behind it.
James is substituted for transport expert Peter Franks (Joe Robinson) and meets up with the Amsterdam connection, Tiffany Case (Jill St. John). He’s able to get into her good graces by killing the escaped Franks and planting evidence that Franks was James Bond. James is tasked with getting a shipment of diamonds into Las Vegas, Nevada.
Meanwhile, it appears that the smuggling ring has all the diamonds it needs, so assassins Mr. Wint (Bruce Glover) and Mr. Kidd (Putter Smith) are eliminating each of the lower-ranking members. This catches up to James Bond when the (heavily implied to be lovers) duo ambush him at a funeral home in Las Vegas and attempt to cremate our hero.
This fails because James switched out the diamonds for fakes with the help of CIA agent Felix Leiter (Norman Burton) and the baddies now need him alive. All roads lead to eccentric casino owner and tech giant Willard Whyte (Jimmy Dean)–but what does this recluse need with so many diamonds?
This was Sean Connery’s last mainline James Bond movie, and for legal reasons, the last SPECTRE appearance for decades.
007 working on behalf of the notoriously monopolistic diamond industry and the apartheid government of South Africa would be more grating, but unlike the book version, the movie quickly moves to make those employers irrelevant.
There’s some nice fight scenes, particularly one starring Bambi (Lola Larson) and Thumper (Trina Parks). Willard Whyte’s bodyguards/jailers. There’s also a couple of car chases–the one with the moon rover is my favorite, but the one on the Strip is cool too.
The title song has clever lyrics, but is not quite as good musically as some other Bond themes.
Jill St. John’s Tiffany Case is a fun Bond girl, but love makes her stupid. Her IQ visibly drops the more attracted she is to Bond.
One of the nifty things about this is seeing 1971 Las Vegas and their idea of advanced technology. (The moon landing was faked!)
Content note: violence, male-oriented fanservice, Bond as always indulges in extra-marital sex. Some gender-based slurs.
Overall, a fun movie, about middling Bond. I understand that in England, watching a James Bond movie is a Christmas tradition, so this might hit the spot if you can’t be with your family.
