Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Continuing my James Bond marathon, today I'll be reviewing the 7th official film, Diamonds Are Forever (1971).

SYNOPSIS:
James Bond (Sean Connery) is asked to infiltrate a diamond smuggling ring to determine how large quantities of diamonds are disappearing between the South African mines and their distributors.  He follows a large cache of diamonds to Las Vegas, where he discovers they're being used in the latest global terrorist plot by none other than Ernst Stavro Blofeld! (Charles Gray)  It's up to James Bond to (once again) save the world, this time accompanied by his good CIA friend, Felix Leiter (Norman Burton).

REVIEW:
Well... this film aged like fine milk.  The diamond industry sought out MI6 to help them figure out how their industry was losing large quantities of diamonds.  Their justification being that someone could be stealing massive amounts of diamonds so they could flood the market and destroy their value.  Of course, years later, we'd discover that the major diamond companies had all gathered together in secret to set fixed prices for diamonds so they'd all profit.  They're advertised as priceless jewels, but the fact is, diamonds are ridiculously common and should only be worth a fraction of what their price is.  So who is the real villain here?  But I digress...

Sean Connery is back as 007!  Despite promising never to return to the role, he eventually accepted one more role when EON Productions couldn't get another actor hired on quick enough.  Interestingly enough, Timothy Dalton was approached for the role in the previous film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), but turned it down because he felt like he was too young (and because of Sean Connery's imposing legacy as the character).  He was approached again after Diamonds Are Forever (1971), but rejected it again, for the same reasons.  In the late 80s, he would finally accept the role and become one of the few who got to play James Bond on the big screen.  But more on that when we get to his films.

Q provides a single gadget in the field this time, presenting James Bond with a voice modulator attached to a phone, to disguise his voice as someone else's (a simple Christmas present he made for his kids).  He also has a handy gadget he tests himself in a casino, a "electromagnetic RPM controller" ring that allows him to hit a jackpot every time at the slot machines.  Although he's geeking out over the tech so much, he ignores all the coins pouring out of every machine he tests it on.

Q ignoring his winnings and a cute redhead in favor of his latest gadget

Felix Leiter, James Bond's friend and CIA counterpart, plays a much bigger role in this film.  This is the fourth time he's made an appearance in the official Bond films, and played by a different actor each time.  Since a majority of this film takes place in America, the CIA is trailing Bond every step of the way and Leiter provides US government resources to help Bond any way he can.  His department captures a diamond smuggler upon entry to the US, substituting Bond in his place so Bond can more closely track the smuggling operation.

Felix Leiter, posing as a US customs agent, greets his buddy, James Bond

This film also introduced the first gay couple to the franchise; an assassin duo named Mr. Wint (Bruce Glover) and Mr. Kidd (Putter Smith).  Like Bond, their job was to also follow the trail of the diamonds, except they were to assassinate everyone along the way, covering up the supply chain.  Being the early 70s, their relationship was extremely toned down for the big screen; so much so that I only noticed it for the first time on this watch-through.  There was one scene near the beginning where they held hands while walking away from an assassination, and then later, an unconscious Bond accidentally breaks a cologne bottle that fell out of one of their pockets, and upon waking up later, claims that he "smells like a tart."  He later uses that pungent odor to identify the assassin when approached by him.

Mr. Kidd: "I must say, Miss Case seems quite attractive. For a lady."  Mr. Wint: *Glares*

This film was loosely based on Ian Fleming's 4th novel by the same name, although they substituted Blofeld in as the villain, instead of the novel's American "Spangled Mob" gang.  Blofeld had become such a central villain for Bond to pursue in the films that they didn't want to leave people hanging for more than a film without seeing the two battling once again.  Blofeld got yet another makeover.  He has hair this time!  And apparently, he also has a few body doubles, preventing Bond from knowing if he's cornered the real Blofeld or not.

Blofeld!  Or is it his body double?

The self-titled theme song for this film is a little different tune from a normal Bond film, and the lyrics praise the qualities of diamonds over men.  It was sung by Shirley Bassey, who had previously sang the Goldfinger (1964) theme song.

RECOMMENDATION:
This film was a little more blah than its predecessors, in my opinion.  It had some decent action scenes, but for the most part, a lot of it was kind of slow and boring.  Even my wife agreed that she doesn't recall most of this film, and this was the second time she's seen it with me.  So not very memorable.  If you want to see Sean Connery take on the role one more time, then definitely check it out (And they really hype up his return in the very beginning of the film).  But if you're just powering through the franchise like I am, this film doesn't add all that much to the world, except as an excuse to watch Bond and Blofeld face off again.