...a bit sillier than most Bond adventures but probably not as bad as it could have been.
Sean Connery tried to hang it up following "You Only Live Twice," but after George Lazenby filled in for him on "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," he was persuaded to come back one more time in "Diamonds Are Forever." Connery would return again a few years later, of course, in his own production of "Never Say Never Again," a remake of "Thunderball" to which Connery had secured the rights; but without the old Bond music and the old supporting cast, it wasn't quite the same. So, for all intents and purposes, this was Connery's farewell to the regular series. "Diamonds Are Forever" finds the actor almost as good as ever in a film that's a bit sillier than most Bond adventures but probably not as bad as it could have been.
Bond films have always been topical, and this one is no different. At the time of the film's release in 1971, real-life aviation tycoon Howard Hughes was said to have locked himself away in a germ-proof suite high in a tower in downtown Las Vegas. So in this Bond venture, we find a fictional tycoon, Willard Whyte (Jimmy Dean), whom nobody ever sees because he's a recluse, squirreling himself away high in a penthouse somewhere in downtown Las Vegas. In this case, though, nobody has seen him lately because he's been kidnapped by the fiendish Ernest Stavro Blofeld (Charles Gray), who has taken over Whyte's multinational interests in order to pursue his own scheme for world domination. Since no one has seen Whyte in ages, no one notices when he's gone missing. It helps that Whyte's right-hand man, Bert Saxby (Bruce Cabot), is in Blofeld's employ so no one's the wiser. Turns out, Blofeld is stockpiling diamonds for a gem-encrusted laser satellite that he intends to use to hold the world at ransom. Standard Bond formula.
"Diamonds Are Forever" is a middling entry in the Bond saga. It's a "but" film: OK, but.... Connery is back as the definitive Bond, as I said, but he's a bit older and heavier this time out, not quite the trim, dashing figure of even a few years before. Interestingly, before Connery agreed to return, the producers had decided to make an Americanized version of Bond, with actors Adam West and John Gavin considered for the part. Charles Gray is the third actor to play Blofeld, and he's the least effective. He's an even more exaggerated villain than ever, smarmy, campy, and melodramatic, with an unexplained full head of hair (after the bald pates of Donald Pleasence and Telly Savalas). Jill St. John plays the main Bond lady, Tiffany Case, and she's incredibly beautiful, all the more so as she wears the most revealing costumes throughout the picture of any Bond heroine since Ursula Andress showed up on Dr. No's island in a bikini. But Ms. St. John is one of the most stilted actresses in such a role, too, never really gaining our sympathy.
Lana Wood plays Plenty O'Toole, another one of those pretty young things with a suggestive name who never makes it to the second half of the film. She, also, is nice to look at but awkward in her acting style. Jimmy Dean is fine as the Howard Hughes-type Whyte, but he gets little screen time. A pair of gay hit men, Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd (Bruce Glover and Putter Smith), are an intriguing touch, but they are played more for laughs than menace. "Q" (Desmond Llewelyn) and Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) show up, of course, but barely. Norman Burton gets a chance at CIA agent Felix Leiter, continuing the tradition of having a different actor play the part in every picture, but he's the dullest Leiter of the series.
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[release]5438[/release]