Film Review: Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

(source: tmdb.org)

The most critical moment in the history of the James Bond film series happened after the premiere of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The experiment with the new actor and the new, darker and more realistic tone failed. Sean Connery was, therefore, for the last time brought to the iconic role (not counting his starring in 1983 Never Say Never Again) in Diamonds Are Forever, a 1971 film directed by Guy Hamilton that, in some ways, continued with the trends set by 1967’s You Only Live Twice.

Those trends included plots that had less and less to do with the original novels by Ian Fleming. The film begins as something of a sequel to the previous film, with British secret agent James Bond furiously pursuing Ernst Stavro Blofeld (played by Charles Gray), head of the SPECTRE organisation, who had killed his wife. Although Blofeld tries very hard to hide with extensive use of plastic surgery and doubles, Bond finds him and kills him. That allows him to take on a more routine and seemingly less stressful task of investigating the mass smuggling of diamonds from South Africa. Bond locates one of the smugglers, takes over his identity and travels to Amsterdam, where he finds his contact, an attractive female smuggler named Tiffany Case (played by Jill St. John). The diamonds are hidden in a casket and smuggled into the United States, where Bond, with the help of Felix Leiter (played by Norman Burton) and CIA agents, tries to discover who is behind the operation. The trail leads to Las Vegas and one of the hotels owned by a powerful but reclusive tycoon, Willard Whyte (played by Jimmy Dean), who also runs an aerospace research facility in the nearby desert. Bond’s investigation is hampered by various thugs who want to silence him, as well as by Tiffany, who wants to get the diamonds for herself.

For the producers, one of the most disappointing aspects of the previous film was its lacklustre performance in the lucrative US market. Diamonds Are Forever was, therefore, made with a specific emphasis on US viewers. American writer Tom Mankiewicz was brought in to rewrite (and “Americanise”) the script; almost the entire plot takes place in the United States, and Jill St. John was cast as the first American Bond girl. Furthermore, this film can in many ways be seen as something of a love letter to America, at least the one imagined by those on the other side of the Pond. This vision includes prosperity, embodied in luxurious futuristic-looking villas and the blooming desert metropolis of Las Vegas, as well as technological progress, embodied in the recent Moon landings. Howard Hughes, a powerful tycoon and friend of producer Cubby Broccoli, helped the production, obviously thrilled with the idea of this film featuring his alter ego. Diamonds Are Forever, however, didn’t fail to deliver other, more important aspects of the Bond formula, like non-stop action, beautiful women and humour. The film features some very effective fight scenes, car chases and some very ingenious and spectacular ways in which Bond gets himself out of trouble. John Barry again provides an effective score, and Shirley Bassey performs another catchy title song following Goldfinger.

While the reputation of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service has grown in recent decades, Diamonds Are Forever has gone through the opposite process. This might be attributed to content which some of today’s critics might see as sexist. Most of the female characters spend most of their time in swimsuits or semi-nude, while some are exposed to humiliating abuse, which is presented in a humorous fashion (most notably the unfortunate Plenty O’Toole, played by Lana Wood). Bond even allows himself to slap and verbally insult Tiffany Case. The sexist tone is downplayed only in a scene where Bond is temporarily overwhelmed by two female karatekas, including Thumper, played by Trina Parks, who would later be honoured as the first African American Bond girl. Other critics might find homophobia in the portrayal of Mr. Wint (played by Bruce Glover) and Mr. Kidd (played by Putter Smith), a duo of sadistic killers who are heavily implied to be gay lovers. The more obvious problem with this film is, however, the character of Bond’s arch-enemy Blofeld appearing for the third time in a row, each time being played by a different actor. Charles Gray is good, but hardly in the same league as charismatic Donald Pleasance in You Only Live Twice, and unlike him, he appears more on screen and has to deal with some uninspired dialogue. This film also features a rather weak final showdown on an oil rig, where the spectacle is compromised by some primitive and unconvincing special effects. The impression is improved by an epilogue scene which features a near-perfect combination of inventive action and black humour. Whether you consider Diamonds Are Forever as the last “proper” Connery-style Bond film or simply a transition towards the styles embodied by films starring Roger Moore, this is a film that can be enjoyed by most fans of the franchise.

RATING: 7/10 (++)