Diamonds Are Forever (film)

While On Her Majesty's Secret Service was in post-production, Richard Maibaum wrote several drafts about Bond avenging the death of his wife Tracy. The characters Irma Bunt and Marc-Ange Draco were set to return.[13] Harry Saltzman had suggested Thailand and India as potential filming locations.[14] When George Lazenby departed from the role prior to the film's release, a complete rewrite was requested, in addition to Maibaum's script failing to impress Albert R. Broccoli and Saltzman.[13] Following this, Maibaum wrote an original script with Auric Goldfinger's twin seeking revenge for the death of his brother.[15] In this version, Goldfinger's brother was a Swedish shipping magnate armed with a laser cannon held within the hull of a supertanker. The idea was borrowed from an early draft of On Her Majesty's Secret Service in which Ernst Stavro Blofeld was to be Goldfinger's twin brother, with Gert Fröbe set to return.[16] The film would have ended with a boat chase of Chinese junks and Roman galleys on Lake Mead.[17] The plot was later changed after Broccoli had a dream, where his close friend Howard Hughes was replaced by an imposter. Hence, the character of Willard Whyte was created, and Tom Mankiewicz was chosen to rework the script.[18]

Mankiewicz says he was hired because Broccoli wanted an American writer to work on the script, since so much of it was set in Las Vegas "and the Brits write really lousy American gangsters" – but it had to be someone who also understood the British idiom, since it had British characters.[19] David Picker, then-president of United Artists, had seen the stage musical Georgy written by Mankiewicz, and recommended him; he was hired on a two-week trial and kept on for the rest of the movie. The idea of Goldfinger's brother was scrapped, and Blofeld was written back into the script.[15] Mankiewicz later estimated the novel provided around 45 minutes of the film's final running time.[20] The adaptation eliminated the main villains from the source Ian Fleming novel, mobsters called Jack and Seraffimo Spang, but used the henchmen Shady Tree, Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd.[18]

George Lazenby was originally offered a contract for seven Bond films but declined and left after just one, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, on the advice of his agent Ronan O'Rahilly.[21] Producers contemplated replacing him with John Gavin, though actors Clint Eastwood, Adam West, Burt Reynolds, Robert Wagner, Brett Halsey, Malcolm Roberts, and Ranulph Fiennes had also been considered; Eastwood, Reynolds, and West had stated that Bond should not be played by an American actor.[10][12][22] Michael Gambon rejected an offer, telling Broccoli that he was "in terrible shape".[23] Producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman wanted to cast Roger Moore, but he was busy filming The Persuaders!.[12]

Picker was unhappy with this decision and made it clear that Connery was to be enticed back to the role and that money was no object. When approached about resuming the role of Bond, Connery demanded the fee of $1.25 million. To entice the actor to play Bond once more, United Artists offered two back-to-back films of his choice.[24] After both sides agreed to the deal, Connery used the fee to establish the Scottish International Education Trust, where Scottish artists could apply for funding without having to leave their country to pursue their careers. Since John Gavin was no longer in the running for the role, his contract was paid in full by United Artists. The first film made under Connery's deal was The Offence, directed by his friend Sidney Lumet.[10]

Charles Gray was cast as villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, after playing a Bond ally named Dikko Henderson in You Only Live Twice (1967).[10] Jazz musician Putter Smith was invited by Saltzman to play Mr. Kidd, after a Thelonious Monk Band show. Musician Paul Williams was originally cast as Mr. Wint. When he couldn't agree with the producers on compensation, Bruce Glover replaced him. Glover said he was surprised at being chosen, because at first producers said he was too normal and that they wanted a deformed, Peter Lorre-like actor.[10] Bruce Cabot, who played the part of Bert Saxby, died the following year; Diamonds turned out to be his final film role. Jimmy Dean was cast as Willard Whyte after Saltzman saw a presentation of him. Dean was very worried about playing a Howard Hughes pastiche, because he was an employee of Hughes at the Desert Inn.[10]

Jill St. John had originally been offered the part of Plenty O'Toole but landed the female lead after Sidney Korshak, who assisted the producers in filming in Las Vegas locations, recommended his client St. John,[25] who became the first American Bond girl.[26] Linda Thorson met with Cubby Broccoli, hoping to be considered for the part of Case, but he never considered her for the role, although he did briefly list her as a possibility for the part of Plenty O'Toole. Some time later, Broccoli told Thorson she was never cast in a Bond film because she didn't have long hair.[27] Lana Wood was cast as Plenty O'Toole, following a suggestion of screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz.[10] Wood modeled her performance after Leigh Taylor-Young and Minnie Mouse.[28] Denise Perrier, Miss World 1953, played "Marie", the woman in the bikini who is forced by Bond to disclose the location of Blofeld.[18]

A cameo appearance by Sammy Davis Jr. playing on the roulette table was filmed, but his scene was eventually deleted.[29]

Initially, the character of Miss Moneypenny did not feature in the movie, partly because Lois Maxwell had held out for a pay increase, but it was decided during production to add the scene where, disguised as a customs officer, Moneypenny gives Bond his travel documents at the port of Dover. The additional scene was a last-minute rewrite, as the producers felt it important to incorporate Maxwell after her issue was resolved. Maxwell and Connery filmed their lines separately for the short scene.[30][31]

Sean Connery during filming in Amsterdam, 31 July 1971

Filming began on 5 April 1971, with the South African scenes actually shot in the desert near Las Vegas.[10] The scene was originally written to include Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd killing Dr. Tynan by forcing a scorpion down his mouth, but it was rewritten in order to be approved by British censors.[9] The film was shot primarily in the United States, with locations including the Los Angeles International Airport,[32] Universal City Studios and eight hotels of Las Vegas.[33] Besides Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, other places in England were Dover and Southampton. The climactic oil rig sequence was shot off the shore of Oceanside, California. Other filming locations included Cap D'Antibes in France for the opening scenes, Amsterdam and Frankfurt Airport.[34]

Filming in Las Vegas took place mostly in hotels owned by Howard Hughes, for he was a friend of Cubby Broccoli's.[26] Getting the streets empty to shoot was achieved through the collaboration of Hughes, the Las Vegas police, and the shopkeepers' association.[35] The Las Vegas Hilton doubled for the Whyte House, and since the owner of the Circus Circus was a Bond fan, he allowed the Circus to be used on film and even made a cameo.[18][35] The cinematographers said filming in Las Vegas at night had an advantage: no additional illumination was required due to the high number of neon lights.[36] Sean Connery made the most of his time on location in Las Vegas. "I didn't get any sleep at all. We shot every night, I caught all the shows and played golf all day. On the weekend I collapsed – boy, did I collapse. Like a skull with legs." He also played the slot machines, and once delayed a scene because he was collecting his winnings.[37] While shooting in Las Vegas, Connery dated his co-star Lana Wood.[38]

The home of Kirk Douglas was used for the scene in Tiffany's house, while the Elrod House in Palm Springs, designed by John Lautner, became Willard Whyte's house.[39] The exterior shots of the Slumber mortuary were of the Palm Mortuary in Henderson, Nevada. The interiors were a set constructed at Pinewood Studios, where Ken Adam imitated the real building's lozenge-shaped stained glass window in its chapel. The Garden of Remembrance scene was shot at Palm Downtown Cemetery, Las Vegas. During location filming, Ken Adam visited several funeral homes in the Las Vegas area, and the inspiration behind the gaudy design of the Slumber mortuary, for example the use of tasteless Art Nouveau furniture and Tiffany lamps came from these experiences.[34] Production wrapped with the crematorium sequence, on 13 August 1971.[18]

Moon Buggy from Diamonds Are Forever

Since the car chase in Las Vegas would have many car crashes, the filmmakers had a product placement arrangement with Ford to use their vehicles. Ford's only demand was that Sean Connery had to drive the 1971 Mustang Mach 1 which serves as Tiffany Case's car.[35] A Mustang was used in Goldfinger and Thunderball, while a Mercury Cougar was used in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and "Bond girls" drove each one. The Moon Buggy was inspired by the NASA Lunar rover, but with additions such as flailing arms since the producers didn't find the design "outrageous" enough. Built by custom car fabricator Dean Jeffries on a rear-engined Corvair chassis, it was capable of road speeds. The fibreglass tires had to be replaced during the chase sequence because the heat and irregular desert soil ruined them.[40]

Hamilton had the idea of making a fight scene inside a lift, which was choreographed and performed by Sean Connery and stuntman Joe Robinson.[41] During a car chase scene, where the police are chasing Bond in a small parking lot, the Mustang was to jump a small ramp over several cars. The hired stunt driver they had couldn't perform this and wrecked two or three cars in the process. The stunt team had only one automobile left so they called Bill Hickman, who drove for hours to the location, jumped into the Mustang, and did the stunt in one take.[42] A continuity mistake during the same car chase made it into the film's final cut: when Bond drives the Mustang on two wheels through a narrow alley, the car enters the alley on its right side tires and exits driving on its left side.[10]

While filming the scene of finding Plenty O'Toole drowned in Tiffany's swimming pool, Lana Wood actually had her feet loosely tied to a cement block on the bottom. Film crew members held a rope across the pool for her, with which she could lift her face out of the water to breathe between takes. The pool was steeped in a way that made the block move deeper with each take. Eventually, Wood was submerged but was noticed by on-lookers and rescued before actually drowning. Wood, being a certified diver, took some water but remained calm during the ordeal, although she later admitted to a few "very uncomfortable moments and quite some struggling until they pulled me out."[43]

The original soundtrack was once again composed by John Barry, his sixth time composing for a Bond film. "Diamonds Are Forever", the title song, was the second James Bond theme to be performed by Shirley Bassey, after "Goldfinger" in 1964.

With Connery back in the lead role, the "James Bond Theme" was played by an electric guitar in the somewhat unusual, blued gun barrel sequence accompanied with prismatic ripples of light, in the pre-credits sequence, and in a full orchestral version during a hovercraft sequence in Amsterdam.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times noted, in a positive review, the irrelevance of the plot and "moments of silliness", such as Bond finding himself driving a moon buggy with antennae revolving and robot arms flapping. He praised the Las Vegas car chase scene, particularly the segment when Bond drives the Ford Mustang on two wheels.[50] Vincent Canby of The New York Times enthusiastically praised the film as:

a nostalgic journey down memory lane—by jet, by helicopter, by hearse, by moon machine, and by bare foot across deep-pile rugs to king-sized beds in hotel rooms as big as Nevada. A lot of things have changed since You Only Live Twice (1967), the last real Bond adventure, but 007 has remained a steadfast agent for the military-industrial complex, a friend to the C.I.A. and a triumphant sexist. It's enough to make one weepy with gratitude. I mean, not everything must be mutable. Diamonds Are Forever is also great, absurd fun, not only because it recalls the moods and manners of the sixties (which, being over, now seem safely comprehensible), but also because all of the people connected with the movie obviously know what they are up to.[51]

Jay Cocks, reviewing for Time magazine, felt Diamonds Are Forever was "in some ways the best of the lot. It is by all odds the broadest—which is to say wackiest, not sexiest." He praised Connery as "a fine, forceful actor with an undeniable presence [who] turns his well-publicized contempt for the Bond character into some wry moments of self-parody. He is capable of doing better things, but whether he likes it or not, he is the perfect, the only James Bond."[52] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune wrote the film is "not merely bad Bond, it is a bad movie. A disjointed script competes with, of all things, a lack of action for responsibility for this failure. The women are unappealing even to Bond, judging from his lack of ardor and the villains are hardly threatening."[53]

Peter Schjeldahl of The New York Times described Diamonds Are Forever as "a pretty good movie—not great art, but fantastic packaging. The best (or, anyway, the best worst) of the classic formulae—notably, gimmickry and exoticism a go go—have been retained, some up‐dating elements have been added and other elements have been fudged."[54] Variety wrote that James Bond "still packs a lethal wallop in all his cavortings, still manages to surround himself with scantily-clad sexpots. Yet Diamonds Are Forever doesn't carry the same quality or flair as its many predecessors. Apparently Messrs. Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, who have made a fortune producing these Ian Fleming-inspired mellers, have reached that point where a sustained story means little in prepping an 007 picture. That is what this latest in the series lacks, and for this reason there can be no suspense. But action there is, plenty of it in the familiar Bond manner."[55]

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound for Gordon McCallum, John W. Mitchell and Al Overton.[56]

Twenty-five years after its release, James Berardinelli criticised the concept of a laser-shooting satellite, and the performances of Jill St. John, Norman Burton and Jimmy Dean.[57] Christopher Null called St. John "one of the least effective Bond girls – beautiful, but shrill and helpless".[58]

According to Danny Peary, Diamonds are Forever is "one of the most forgettable movies of the entire Bond series" and that "until Blofeld's reappearance we must watch what is no better than a mundane diamond-smuggling melodrama, without the spectacle we associate with James Bond: the Las Vegas setting isn't exotic enough, there's little humour, assassins Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint are similar to characters you'd find on The Avengers, but not nearly as amusing – and the trouble Bond gets into, even Maxwell Smart could escape."[59] IGN chose it as the third worst James Bond film, behind only The Man with the Golden Gun and Die Another Day.[60] Total Film listed Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, and Bambi and Thumper, as the first and second worst villains in the Bond series (respectively).​ [61] Far Out Magazine were more critical, stating that Connery's finished performance made it hard to justify his portrayal, particularly in the light of some of his more accomplished successors:"Seemingly happy with his lot by Goldfinger, Connery was making it harder to justify his existence, especially evident in Diamonds Are Forever, the film that was responsible for the comical and misjudged decisions the series would take in the 1970s."[62] The film was more positively received by Xan Brooks of The Guardian, who said it was "oddly brilliant, the best of the bunch: the perfect bleary Bond film for an imperfect bleary western world."[63]

On the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 66% based on 47 reviews with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's consensus states "Diamonds are Forever is a largely derivative affair, but it's still pretty entertaining nonetheless, thanks to great stunts, witty dialogue, and the presence of Sean Connery."[64]