Diamonds are Forever (1971)

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Throw your diamonds in the sky if you feel the vibe

Director Guy Hamilton

Stars Sean Connery, Jill St. John, Charles Gray, Lana Wood & Bernard Lee

Things You Might Like

• Grounded plot that traces a real world issue
• Bond and M sparkle like old
• The odd but effective Wint and Kidd

Things You Might Not Like

• Unwelcome step towards camp
• Dismisses death of Bond’s wife
• Connery lacks his usual fight
• Supporting cast falls flat
• Plot ultimately leaves the ground well behind

Conclusion
Despite returning Connery to Bond, Bond never really returns to Connery.  Diamonds are Forever falls flat on most levels, making for a decent but forgettable experience.

2 out of 5 Kidnapped Recluses

Luke McGrath will return in Live and Let Die

***

Beginning with a pre-title sequence in which a recently bereaved Bond searches for Blofeld, Diamonds are Forever soon forgets any pretence of weight in favour of a camp evolution.  Everything that stood out about its predecessor, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, is discarded as the franchise falls back on to the tracks laid down in You Only Live Twice.  Bond disappoints truly for the first time in seven attempts, not a bad record but a blow that lands all the harder for recent achievements.

With his grudge against Blofeld at an end, Bond finds himself assigned to more mundane matters by his employers.  A diamond smuggling ring is stockpiling heavily and Bond is sent to follow the pipeline back to its source.  Meanwhile, professional killers Wint and Kidd are systematically eliminating anyone connected to the stones.  As Bond gets further along the chain, the stakes inevitably rise, leaving the world facing an apocalyptic threat.

It’s no bad thing that the screenwriters chose a (mostly) grounded plot for the return of Sean Connery to the lead role.  Times were a-changing, the seventies had arrived and the idea of a superspy defending the Earth from an evil agency was getting tired.  Focusing on a very real type of crime gives Bond a reason to exist in his second decade.

The drawback of Connery’s return is a combination of his own extending years and the director, Guy Hamilton’s sidestep towards camp humour over wit.  Predating the Roger Moore years, DAF manages to fit more comedy into one film than the previous six together.  Bond is no longer the ice cool quipster, he has settled for Carry On gags and enjoys nothing better than arrival by inflatable water wheel.

While the plot may be earthed, the action is toned down to an almost forgettable level of obscurity.  In a peculiar scene, Bond is attacked by a female duo named Bambi and Thumper, a threat about as imposing as their animated counterparts.  Despite this, Bond is beaten down until he suddenly decides to drown the two until they talk.  Curiously ineffective throughout, Connery lacks the fight and confidence that made him the world’s biggest star.  Despite this, his scenes with Bernard Lee still sparkle with a genuine dry wit and camerarderie.  Even with the benefit of history, it brings a smile to see Sir Sean reclaiming the role he made into a franchise.

While Connery halfway falls back into place, the cast around him largely fail to inspire any entertainment or chemistry.  Jill St. John is impotent and does little but scream, falling far short of any Bond girl to date, long gone are the days of Pussy Galore and Tracy di Vicenzo.  Jimmy Dean hams it up as a Howard Hawks characature and Norman Burton brings an unconventional, put-upon charm to Felix Leiter that never quite rings true.  The only exceptions to the rule are the creepy assassins Wint and Kidd, a gay couple that take a sadistic pleasure in their work.  Though bravely written (homosexuality only having been leglaised a few years previous), it’s a real shame they aren’t more central to the story as their odd chemistry is the one spark of light in an otherwise dull film.

There’s little to like about DAF beyond the fulfilled-nostalgia of Sean Connery.  Caught somewhere between a small scale plot and vaudeville direction, it fails to match its predecessors and never commits to its tone enough to compare to Roger Moore’s better work.  It’s a shame to see Sir Sean go out on such a low, but a relief to know we saw everything he had to offer the role.

Buy Diamonds are Forever or pre-order the James Bond blu-ray collection from Amazon