James Bond Gold - Articles - 30 Years of Diamonds Fever

It was 30 odd years ago. George Lazenby fails to impress in his one attempt at playing James Bond in
On Her Majestys Secret Service. Despite the film finishing 9th in the Box Office for the year it was still
quite a drop in takings from previous Bond efforts and is considered a failure. Lazenby refuses to sign
a contract for future Bond picture and soon find himself out in the cold striped of the 007 tuxedo. Roger
Moore is commited elsewhere and Timothy Dalton is not yet ready for the role. Thankfully, producers
drive a dump truck full of money to Sean Connery (who, to his credit donates it all to the Scottish Trust
Charity) and convince him to return to the role that made him a star. And so proceding the seventh 007
adventure begins.

Ian Fleming fourth James Bond novel 'Diamonds Are Forever' is one of
his weakest. Its desided that the Gangsters, Shady Tree and Tiffany
Case will make the transfer to the movie, but the Spang Brothers and
the novels plot will be discarded. EON and United Artist are keen to
make 'Diamonds Are Forever' the same success as 'Goldfinger' and
reinstate Director Guy Hamiton and singer Shirley Bassey to there
familar roles. An early script draft by Richard Maiubalm has Gert
Forbe returning, this time as Goldfinger's twin brother, but when
Albert R Broccoli has a dream about Bond against a villain posing as
Howard Hughes, the plot is set, with instead Billionare American
Business man Wilard White kidnapped and having the villain use his
company as a front for his evil scheme.

This posed the question 'Who will the Villian be ?'. Producers were
keen to leave OHMSS in the past and not mention it at all, hence no
mention of Tracy in the entire film, but the story couldn't be
unfinished, Blofeld had to be the villain, but they didn't want the same
villain from previous films as audiences may tire of him, so Charles
Grey portrays a very different Blofeld, one with an English accent and
a more aristrocrating demenure. He has also, it appears, to have
been striped of SPECTRE, as there is no mention of the Organisation
in the film, and he is no longer referred to as 'Number 1'. While his
villain is quite acceptable, its a little off putting that he is absolutaly
nothing like the previous Blofelds we have seen who were bald,
European and quite mysterious. Perhaps the producers felt that
audiences would tire of seeing the same character in yet another film.

With girls, casinos, craps, slot machines, car chases, gangsters, the lights of Vegas, a pent house
lair, a pair of homosexual killers, a fortune in diamonds and a threat to hold the world to ransom and
Sean Connery, 'Diamonds' trys to be the Bond film that has it all, and while it is an entertaing film, it
falls a fair bit short of its potential. With real and fake diamonds floating around, those sneaking the
diamonds from the South African Mines, Shady Trre and his gang, the funeral parlor, Plenty O Toole,
Tiffany Case and Wint & Kidd, it can get a bit difficult figuring out whos on whose team and what
everyones motive is. Deleted scence that turn out to be vital to the plot are left on the cutting room
floor. Blofeld eventual plan with the Diamonds, his satelite weapon, is a bit disapointing and seems
diabolical and a little chessy. With all the potential build up mentioned above, the prospect of Blofeld
instead flooding the market seems a more appealing scheme. Still, it all adds to the fun that is
'Diamonds Are Forever'.

Despite its short comings, 'Diamonds' is a box office smash and in adjusted figures is the sixth best of
the Bond flicks and 30 years on its still as enjoyable as the next film, and despite the fact that in just
3 years time the future of 007 is set to be in jeprody, 'Diamonds Are Forever' contains alot of why so
many people love the Bond series. Thats includes Connery who, at just 41 is looking a little old, fat
and would be balding if not for the wig, but there is no dispute that everyone is thrilled to have him
back for one more ride. Sean Connery ends his official carrer as Bond in true 007 style, in a tuxedo,
holding the girl in his arms after disposing of the villains, looking up at the night sky with Tiffany from
their cruise ship balcony wondering 'How are we going to get those diamonds down ?'