Diamonds Are Forever

Sean Connery made an unexpected (and last minute) return to the role of James Bond in this 1971 film that I have always ranked at the bottom of my list of favorites in the series.  I have resisted writing about it for.a long time because I prefer to focus on films I enjoy in this blog.  But I am slowly working my way through writing about the Bond series and I feel it is time to take an in-depth look at Diamonds Are Forever and note its strengths and weaknesses.

Diamonds is one of the films that probably saved the series at a critical point.  The previous film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service had underperformed for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, Sean Connery had bowed out of the series after a grueling shoot on You Only Live Twice and was replaced by unknown George Lazenby who was well cast but a little inexperienced to play the lead in a Bond film.  Secondly, the audiences were accustomed to inventive gadgets in the Bond films but in OHMSS director Peter Hunt turned away from them and Bond relied on hit wits and surroundings to deal with his challenges.  Thirdly, spoiler alert for a film released in 1969, OHMSS had a tragic ending as Bond’s new bride, Tracy, is shot to death in a drive by shooting by Irma Bunt (Ilse Steppat) and Bond’s archenemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas) in a failed attempt to murder Bond himself.   Nowadays a film can have a dark ending and still be popular but this was likely a little too much to ask an audience who only went to these films to be entertained.

OHMSS was not a box office failure by any means, but it grossed about 73% of You Only Live Twice so while I and many other Bond fans consider OHMSS to be an artistic triumph it is understandable that United Artists wanted to reverse the trend.  Lazenby and Peter Hunt, the longtime series editor and director of OHMSS, declined to return, so the producers recruited director Guy Hamilton, who had helmed Goldfinger and hired writer Tom Mankiewicz to redo regular series writer Richard Maibaum’s initial drafts.  Mankiewicz’s draft reflected a campier tone, and these hires indicate the producers were trying to bring something more like Goldfinger to the screen.  There were serious discussions of bringing back Goldfinger star Gert Frobe (the producers had remained close with him and even used him in their non Bond-film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) to play Goldfinger’s twin brother who instead of gold has an obsession with diamonds. Instead the decision was made to create the character of Willard Whyte, a recluse loosely based on Howard Hughes, but have him being manipulated by Blofeld.  

Diamonds was edited by Bert Bates and John Holmes, who both were very experienced, but neither had Hunt’s sense of pacing so Diamonds feels more like a casual stroll in the park with little urgency.  

In the book Bond investigates a diamond smuggling operation run by the Spangled Mob.  It is a relatively low scale adventure and while the film does use a few elements and characters from the novel the scheme is much bigger in scale (the diamonds used for the smuggling is to power a space laser to hold the world ransom).    

Despite this (the laser is only shown in one fairly well edited and scored montage-the special effects are dated but probably fine for the time) the film has none of the sweep of the previous three in the series which showcased the Bahamas, Japan, and the Switzerland.  Diamonds briefly goes to Amsterdam before spending the bulk of the story in Las Vegas which apart from a couple of sets in the Whyte House, is shown as a tacky underlit place with cheap attractions and greedy foul mouthed locals (none of the many Americans in this film come off too well).  The budget was lower for this film than on the previous two and a lot of it went to above the line costs as detailed below.

The casting from Lazenby to Connery was not quite a straight line.  After Lazenby’s departure (to the disappointment of no one) the producers cast John Gavin, an American actor who played Sam Loomis in Psycho.  I am curious if Gavin, who certainly had the looks, physique and screen presence for Bond, would have played him with a British or American accent.  Nowadays we currently have British actors playing Spider Man and Batman and an American plays the British Bridget Jones, so there is no reason why Bond could not be played by an American but it would feel jarring to hear Bondian lines played with an American accent.  

United Artists President David Picker wanted a little more assurance of success and so he went to Connery and offered him a deal of $1.25 million, a cut of the profits and a two picture deal up to a certain budget.  Connery, recognizing the money would help fund a charity he was involved with, chose to return.  

Afterwards, Connery first made The Offence as part of that deal and though he gave a powerful performance, the dark subject matter kept it from finding an audience and thus the second film in the deal (an adaptation of MacBeth) was never made.  It‘s a shame as I would have loved to see Connery in that part.  

Spoilers below:

After the gunbarrel, which has some good guitar work, Diamonds starts in Japan with a crash as an offscreen Bond beats up a terrified informant while trying to find Blofeld.  The setting suggests that we are bypassing OHMSS since they are starting the film where Connery ended his last one, though the determination to find Blofeld is probably to avenge Tracy (who is never mentioned).  The sound is a little off and as the informant says “Cairo” the mouth movement does not match.  Also, Bond is strong, but he is easily throwing a full grown man across rooms easily, which stretches credibility.  Connery’s line delivery combines both ruthlessness and humor.  The informant is played by Keinosuke Enoeda who was a well known Japanese martial artist (who was living in England at the time-this scene was almost definitely shot at Pinewood Studios).

Next we see a funny scene of a thug playing blackjack in a casino dressed like an Egyptian.  After he says “Hit me” to the dealer Bond complies, knocking him with one punch onto a routlette table.  We only see Bond’s hands as he demands information about Blofeld, for which he is directed to Marie.  The music has a quick blast similar to the previous scene.  The humor is spot on making it clear that we are to enjoy ourselves in this film.  

Most Bond films build up to the first shot of Bond when the role is being recast.  Diamonds, does so in a way reminiscent of Dr No, letting us hear him but we only see his face when he delivers the classic line, which happens only about a minute into the film.   

The scene of Marie, filmed on the French Riviera, further amplifies that the search for Blofeld is global.  It is the kind of scene that only Connery could have performed as Bond flirts a little prior to strangling her with her own bikini top.  When Bond takes off Marie’s bikini it is with one move as Marie immediately covers her own top.  Bond is hurting her while forcing her to be exposed which makes this a violent sexual assault and yet speaks in an ironic way at the same time.  When Roger Moore’s Bond interrogated Andrea Anders in nearly as violent a way in The Man With the Golden Gun he seemed nasty.  When Timothy Dalton’s Bond approached Lupe and thrust a knife to her throat in Licence to Kill he was just terrifying.  Connery’s charm is strong enough (and the scene is so brief) that he almost gets away with it, though it would be hard to do such a scene now.  The scene cuts away before she tells us where Blofeld is but when we see Blofeld, efficiently framed against the models, clarifying that plastic surgery is being used, speaking to the doctor, the doctor’s accent suggests South America which would mean that this manhunt is taking place over four continents.  The doctor is played by English actor David de Keyser who provided the voice for Marc Ange Draco in OHMSS.  The use of the doubles is set up efficiently with visual props and a quick dialogue exchange.  The idea feels like poor science fiction, though the Mission Impossible TV show was using a similar gimmick with masks at the time.  

The fight in the clinic is a mixed bag.  It is enjoyable in the moment but the staging does not hold up to scrutiny.  Bond’s drowning of the wrong man is consistent with his actions up to this point (quick thinking and acting) but then he is careless to let himself be exposed and there is no logic to what happens next, even though it is scored well.  The fake Blofeld does not have Bond killed even though he has the drop on Bond with two armed henchmen.  The mousetrap is original (Connery’s expression as he wordlessly pulls his hands away from his chest suggests something is up) but when Bond is struggling with the guard who is hurt by the trap the other one just charges instead of shooting him.  Bond’s killing of the second guard with the scalpels is fitting, given the environment, but his fight with the double Blofeld is far too easy.  Bond really struggled to overcome Blofeld in the last film so the quick victory here is inconsistent, and there is an error.  The double tries to stab Bond from across the side of the table so he should be perpendicular to the long end, but when Bond straps him down in the reverse shot the double is lying on the long end.  It is satisfying to see Blofeld fall into the hot mud bath (which is from the novel though used differently here).  The cat with the diamond collar is the update of an early idea of Bond finding diamonds on Irma’s Bunt’s body (more on that below), introducing the film’s bigger theme (and hinting at the real Blofeld’s eventual involvement).

Sean Connery is in full command taking back his role in this sequence.  He looks driven and dangerous, is more engaged than in any scene in You Only Live Twice, and still has a sense of humor.  However Connery was 40 when he filmed this but he looks about 50.  Look at Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights and Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace who were both 40 in those films and see how much more they look the part by contrast.  Connery’s sideburns are longer (per the style of the early 1970s) and he is even heavier than he was in You Only Live Twice, which is accentuated in his many shirtless scenes.  Given how much Connery was paid I would have thought he would have gotten himself back into good shape (as he later did for Never Say Never Again).

Throughout the rest of the film Connery’s Bond is good natured and smiles more than in any other film I can think of, even while fighting Franks.  Either Connery was just in a good mood because of his paycheck or he was directed to do so in order to keep the mood light. 

The early Richard Maibaum drafts started the film with Bond (assuming he was to be played by Lazenby again) in full mourning and eventually killing Irma Bunt after she tries to kill him again.  Bond was to discover a cache of diamonds on her body which would then kick off this story.  Ilse Steppat died soon after OHMSS’ release preventing Bunt from being a part of Diamonds (if someone else had played the part audiences would not have recognized her right away).  Mankiewicz changed it to a tenuous connection to OHMSS, starting Bond obsessively hunting Blofeld in the pre-credits sequence but never stating directly why.  After Bond kills what later turns out to be Blofeld’s double, the thread is nearly entirely dropped apart from some mentions of Bond having been on leave (presumably to hunt Blofeld but also serving the double meaning of addressing Connery’s one film absence from the series). 

The Bond producers were not too concerned with continuity at this point. While there was an expectation that audiences had seen a previous Bond film the films were designed so people could watch one film without having to have seen the one proceeding it.  When I first saw Diamonds, I had seen OHMSS about two years previously so I had to remind myself why Bond was so ruthlessly hunting for Blofeld.  But when watching the film in context of its place in the series a lot of what happens in the body of it feels like a misstep.

A sequel, even one that picks up the threads of a previous film, should focus foremost on telling its own story.  Quantum of Solace has Bond on a separate mission but throughout the narrative he is processing the loss and betrayal of Vesper in the end of Casino Royale.  Diamonds, after the pretitle sequence, takes M’s instruction that it is time to move on and does so gleefully. 

The title sequence has one of the best songs (I like it much better than Bassey’s song for Goldfinger) and while the lyrics are overly risque they play well against the visuals of the cat and the women.  

The sequence after the titles is reminiscent of a scene in Goldfinger where M and Bond meet with an expert on the subject of the current film.  Lee’s M is particularly grumpy with Bond this time out, seemingly not appreciating having that Bond spent so much time (and perhaps the Service’s budget) chasing Blofeld.  The larger subtext might be that M is mad that the real Bond took a film off.  Connery’s performance is a delight as he seems amused by M’s annoyance with him.  The short scenes that play over the diamonds discussion (in which Sir Donald actually repeats a line about what miners’ loyalty) are I think the first time in the series this type of montage occurs in the body of the film.  The audience first meets Wint and Kidd during these scenes but the people describing them have no idea who Wint and Kidd are.

It’s never spelled out that Wint ands Kidd work for Blofeld but given their role (killing all the links in the smuggling chain once Blofeld has enough diamonds for his laser) it sure appears that way.

Of the two I most enjoyed jazz musician Putter Smith as Kidd who brings a good sense of timing to the part and has the more memorable look with his skullet, 70s mustache, and round glasses.  Bruce Glover has a more menacing look and anyone walking by him in the street would probably be a little wary, even though Wint is pretty small.  At the time the film came out it was unusual for a mainstream film to have gay characters (though they were also gay in the novel-and much tougher).  Now the fact that the assassins are gay is what is offensive, though it is really only hinted at.  

Hamilton and Ted Moore stage a one shot for Bond’s assumption of Peter Frank’s identity that also introduces Moneypenny, who only gets three lines.  Maxwell, whose fee was only negotiated at the last minute, was clearly shoehorned into the movie but as brief as it is, it’s always nice to see her play against Connery’s Bond for whom Moneypenny always longed for more than any of the others.  Barry presents a new light arrangement of the Bond theme as Bond approaches the hovercraft.

How did Wint and Kidd kill Mrs. Whistler?  Hamilton sure likes using evil old ladies as in Goldfinger there was one who fired a machine gun at Bond. 

Tiffany Case’s introduction is unnecessarily elaborate.  She appears to live on the fourth floor but tells Bond to go to the third floor.  I find it highly unlikely that a diamond smuggler would welcome a man she does not know, who is a criminal, into her home wearing just her underwear.  The “collars and cuffs” quip, which I assume came from Mankiewicz, is funny.  The wig changes do not serve any purpose at all unless she is just trying to keep Bond/Franks on his toes.  Tiffany says she does not dress for the hired help but then appears wearing a nice black dress.  Bond’s remark about redheads is also tasteless when viewed in the context of his late wife who was also a redhead.  

Jill St. John however is interestingly cast for the first hour or so of the film.  Tiffany more streetwise than many of Bond’s other leading ladies.  I could hardly imagine Honey Ryder threatening to give someone a “fat lip” but in a way she is well matched with Connery.  Connery came most alive when he could spar with his leading ladies.  Yet, I still find Tiffany a little trashy and her descent into ditsy behavior (she looks really foolish sunbathing on an oil rig) does not help her cause.  I do think she is biding her time, cooperating, trying to earn Blofeld’s trust, but she comes across as too conquered.  

There is no Q scene but we see Desmond Llewelyn’s inventor three times briefly.  In the first one, he is in his lab while in the background missiles are being loaded into as Aston Martin.

The elevator fight sequence is probably the best action beat in the film.  It is unusual for Bond to assume a different accent but it effectively builds the suspense as we know that something is coming since Bond has to stop Franks before he reaches Tiffany’s apartment.  The vintage elevator which rides through the center of a staircase and is partially open, is an effective setting for a fight between two big men.  The only sound during the first half of the fight is the struggle and the sound of the elevator machinery but Barry’s new action cue, first introduced in the pre-title sequence, kicks in when it appears that Bond may be decapitated by the wall.

After the fight Bond is fortunate that Tiffany does not check the body until after Bond has come down from the floor above gone to the body and switched wallets.  The Playboy card is probably a reference to the number of times Bond stories appeared serialized in Playboy magazine.

Bond does not notice Mr. Kidd staring through the curtain in the plane.  Why is Bond walking with Tiffany when they’re supposed to act as if they do not know each other?

The idea of Bond smuggling the diamonds as Franks into the U.S. is from the book, though in the novel he arrived in New York.

The gangsters seems about as bright as they were in Goldfinger.  Bond gets in the front which someone as sharp as him should know not to do since it makes it easier for them to attack him from behind.  Connery does have fun playing off them. 

The actor playing Slumber, David Bauer, is deliciously superficial.  The Garden of Remembrance is a ridiculous name yet appropriate for this film.  

Bond lets both men sneak up on him after not having spotted them earlier.  When did he switch the diamonds for the fakes.

As a person who gets claustrophobia the idea of buying alive in a trapped coffin is pretty horrifying, though Bond is rather blase when he is rescued.  Slumber and Shady Tree just let him walk out without threatening him or using the mobsters to one him the Brooklyn stomping he receives in the novel.  How does Bond get to the Tropicana?

Shady Tree’s act is pretty lame as is most everything in the casino.

The shot of “Whyte‘s” arm hints that it might be Blofeld since he is wearing the same outfit we saw him wearing during the pre-title sequence.

Bond is pretty bold, slugging the gangster played by Marc Lawrence while he has guns trained on him.  Presumably he’s doing that because of them tossing Plenty out of the window.  

The cut from Bond approaching the bed to both he and Tiffany in it post coital is the only jump cut I can think of from the series.  Usually we’d see the beginning of them getting together and then a soft fade before the cut. There is a cut scene where Plenty was to see them and that if it had been included presumably it would have been put there.

Despite the fact that we see Bond and Tiffany in bed twice and are clearly together throughout much of the film they never kiss.

Hamilton and Moore use several quick zoom ins.  (Kidd on the plane and to Bond and Leiter in the circus).

Leiter, played by veteran actor Norman Burton this time, is particularly irritable in this film, much like M.  There is little suggestion of the deep friendship between Leiter and Bond throughout the series.

The whole circus is looks like a set.  Bond and Leiter are both distracted by the female acrobats.

How does Bond know where to find Tiffany, Elvis occurs right after she ditches the CIA agents. Bond’s smacking of Tiffany in the mouth is inappropriate. 

Tiffany’s distraction at the gas station so Bond can sneak into the van is played as overly trashy and Bond opens the door right in front of another driver who foolishly never notices.

When Bond says you guys you can tell it was written by an American.  What exactly does Bond discover in the lab other than the cassette tape which powers the laser comes into play in the climax and the diamonds?  Also is the entire lab working on the laser or just that floor which Metz is in charge of?  Why does Bond know to get away from the guards since the real Hersheimer appears after he left the lab?

The moon buggy chase is amusing but there is no real suspense in Bond being chased by security guards who crash their cars pretty easily trying to follow him on terrain they should know to avoid.  This hardly compares with some of the big sequences in the films leading up to it like the ski chase in OHMSS or the helicopter dogfight in You Only Live Twice. 

Mankiewiecz loves putting dumb American cops in his films.  They are here, in Live and Let Die and Superman II.  The Sheriff here played by Roy Hollis, who worked behind the scenes in Transportation on many productions and occasionally turned up in small roles, walks in a lazy fashion and is easily outwitted.  Connery gives Bond an amused expression as he backs away without looking backwards at first. Tiffany has the same color car as Tracy in OHMSS only Tracy had a Cougar.  

As with the elevator, Thumper and Bambi fight, moon buggy chase, Barry leaves the beginning of the car chase unscored.  The chase is not terribly exciting but it is well photographed (except there is no establishing shot of the ramp Bond uses to jump the Mustang out of the parking lot).   Also, a close look reveals the production team only had use of a couple of blocks as Bond drives past the Golden Nugget Casino several times.

The stunt with the car in the alley is smooth and the mistake (it goes in on its right wheels and comes out on it’s left) is easy to miss if you do not already know about it, though the editor’s attempt to fix it with an insert shot and sound effect is amusing.

Leiter is probably annoyed that he has to keep cleaning up Bond’s messes and for that reason is trying to keep Bond under guard but it is an unusual moment in their relationship.

The “pop upstairs” is a rare moment of spectacle in the film. Connery (and his stuntman from in the long shots) looking extremely casual as they ride up the outside of an elevator about 30 floors to the penthouse of the Whyte House.  The suspense is maintained as we never leave Bond’s perspective when he gets to the top and uses the piton gun.  The image of Bond in his tuxedo hanging above the night sky is arresting.  I assume it’s the night after the car chase, not that it matters much.  The visual is a little elegant and erie.

It is really hard to imagine the very English Blofeld in this film speaking with a southern dialect, though it is fun to see him answer the phone.

This is as good an area as any to discuss Blofeld.  Charles Gray’s pleasant voice may fit in with Diamond’s lighter tone but apart from the Nehru jacket, cat, and the fleeing during the climax, his Blofeld has nothing common with the others who played the part beforehand (though his height, weight, silver hair and aristocratic presence does match Fleming’s description of Blofeld him in the book OHMSS, minus the menace).  Blofeld, who thoughout the series has savagely murdered underlings who failed him, rejects the idea of having killed Whyte as “melodramatic”.  He also says he is not good with science despite creating a biological weapon in OHMSS, a film in which he was frequently in a lab.   I would have more easily believed Gray as Goldfinger’s brother than as the ruthless head of SPECTRE.  The film might have worked better if the pre-title sequence had brought back Savalas as Blofeld but Bond had really finished him off, and then used Gray or someone with a little more menace, as a different villain, perhaps a more malicious Willard Whyte.  As it plays there is almost no tension between Bond and Blofeld and they are pretty cordial to each other in their many scenes in the second half of the film. 

Connery gives Bond a slightly shocked expression when he sees Blofeld alive.  It is pretty clear that the one behind the desk is the real one since he is using the voice box.  The Ken Adam set catches the eye, but the characters behave so affably that it dilutes the natural suspense the situation provides.  Admittedly Bond is probably trying to act relaxed to get the drop on Blofeld.  Bond’s kicking of the cat is ingenious, if a little nasty, but the last double’s death is a little hammy.

Why doesn’t Blofeld shoot him?  Also, why does the elevator have WW at the bottom level instead of the top?  Wint and Kidd kill all their other victims directly but why do they thinking bury Bond in a pipeline will be the end of him.  He gets out pretty easily and it’s a wonder his unconscious body was not spotted when the pipe was laid.

The scene in which Bond uses a voice box to trick Blofeld into revealing Whytte’s location is a fun reversal though did he need surgery in order to do so?

Bond walks casually in full view carrying his coat to Whyte’s summer house as if he were going to a party instead of sneaking up as he usually would do.   

The Bambi and Thumper scene is a fun turning on the tables for Connery who is too aggressive with women in the Bond films.  It’s more interesting for him to face them rather than a series of guards but it is unrealistic that after they have beaten him up so much that he is suddenly able to get the upper hand when they are drowning him.  Leiter and the CIA agents probably would have saved him anyway though. 

Whyte asks who is there and most of them are CIA but Bond answers British Secret Service even though he is the only one from that organization.  Jimmy Dean brings a new energy into this section of the film with his heavy South Texas accent.  He carries himself like a wealthy entrepreneur though he does not seem at all traumatized by having been held captive.  I enjoy the detail of him lying down on his couch while reacting to the laser crisis, which is a sign that this man does things his own way.  

How did Saxby know to kill Whyte since Blofeld had given the instructions to Bond, not Saxby?  

How did Tiffany know Blofeld by looking at the cat?  The audiencee knows this by why would she?  It is a nice touch for Q to be using a gadget to beat the slots.

Blofeld in drag must have been a funny moment for the audience but I doubt any of the other actors who played the part could have pulled it off.  Gray’s dry delivery makes it almost work.  Again if Gray were playing a different villain it might have gone over ok but the fact the he is Blofeld who is supposed to be a terrifying figure is what makes this whole approach absurd.  We’d never see Darth Vader or Dracula dressed up in drag outside of a comedy sketch.

The oil rig location has hardly the same visual impact as the volcano or mountain in the previous two films. I do not understand how Bond just turning himself into Blofeld with the hope that he would somehow have enough freedom of movement to swap tapes works, though he did do something similar in Spectre, a film I like much more.  Since Blofeld said he has been enjoying their visits Bond might have felt he could use that.

Blofeld’s apology fo Bond for ruining the lining of his suit is bbefitting of one Englishman to another.

Blofeld offers the man who has foiled his plans five times now a TOUR?

Metz supposedly wants world peace but why he threw his lot in Blofeld is unclear. 

The climax is the weakest in the series (though none of the Hamilton’s late trilogy of Bond films have great climaxes).  The attack on the oil rig has no flow.  The helicopter attack and the oil rig defense are random and we hear little communication or coordination by either party.  Whyte’s presence on the helicopter makes little sense other than keeping a key character involved in the fighting. Bond easily gets out of a room that he is locked into (there was absolutely no reason for Blofeld to keep Bond alive) and is not too active in the climax except when he uses Blofeld bath-o-sub to crash into the control room. 

A small positive in this sequence is that Grey’s Blofeld  is sharp, correctly figuring out all the moves against him throughout the climax, and it is neat how Blofeld, who always flees when the going gets tough, quietly calls for his bathosub.  His calm walk through the gunfire is smooth.  It is kind of fun to watch Bond torment Blofeld but it is the only highlight of the sequence.  The budget cuts, or the move of money to secure Connery appear to have left the Eon team with less money to give the film an exciting sequence where it really needed one.  It also is really careless of Bond not to confirm, even if he could not in the moment, that Blofeld had been killed.  

The epilogue is similar to the book (one and Kidd attack Bond and Tiffany on a boat) bnt the staging is different.  In the book Wint and Kidd kidnap Tiffany and Bond has to navigate a tricky rescue while climbing on the side of the ship.  Apparently in a draft something similar was written but scaled down to Bond blowing their cover in the dinner.  Connery confidently delivers his lines trying to throw them off but when he exposes Wint’s lack of wine knowledge (the cut to Putter Smith’s polite smile as Wint apologizes is well timed) Bond just sits there until they attack instead of springing into action himself.  In all it makes for lazy sequence, despite the good effect of the flaming kebobs.    

Diamonds Are Forever is ultimately an underwhelming adventure, as is its source material.  Connery is always worth watching as Bond and he does get a few new notes to play and the dialogue has contains many memorable lines.  However the film suffers from a weak antagonist, uninspiring action sequences, and a squandered premise, resulting in a mediocre viewing experience. I am glad this film exists since its box office ensured the continuity of the series.  I am also glad there is no requirement to watch it repeatedly.  **