Diamonds are Forever

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

Eon Prductions 1971
Directed by: Guy Hamilton
Produced by: Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman
Running time: 119 minutes (1 hr, 59 min)

Mission Date: 12-17-71
Mission Objective(s): Large quantitys of diamonds are being smuggled out of South Africa. Discover who the smuggler is and what they intend to do with the diamonds.
Mission Status: Smuggler was SPECTRE, headed by Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Diamonds used to create high-powered laser satellite. Satellite disabled, possibly still in orbit.

PRIMARY TARGET - ERNST STAVRO BLOFELD
STATUS - Unknown

Haven't we seen this guy before? Charles Gray returns to Bond movies in a new role. (He played Mr. Henderson in You Only Live Twice.) Bond has his hands full foiling Blofeld's plans again. Blofeld even makes doubles of himself, three in all, to stop Bond.This is the last movie where SPECTRE plays an important role, but we see Blofeld once more, in For Your Eyes Only.

SECONDARY TARGETS - MR. KIDD AND MR. WINT
STATUS - Burned up and blown up

These guys are weird. Mr. Kidd (Putter Smith) (l.) and Mr. Wint (Bruce Glover) are assassins hired by SPECTRE to collect the diamonds and make sure they reach their destination. They not only have clever ways of killing their victims, but also "lighten" up the atmosphere with their rather moralistic comments. Even stranger, they always finish each other's thoughts. But not even two assassins are not enough to kill Mr. James Bond.

ASSOCIATE - TIFFANY CASE
STATUS - Unknown (Last seen in the company of 007)

A main part of the SPECTRE smuggling pipeline, Tiffany Case (Jill St. John) was first seen in Amsterdam, where Bond makes his intervention into the pipeline. Thinking Bond is professional smuggler Peter Franks, she travels with him to Los Angeles with the diamonds. Soon, her devotion to larceny puts the diamonds into SPECTRE's hands, and she becomes a target for Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint. She teams up with 007 at this time and helps him the rest of the way.

Diamonds are Forever MP3 (323,208)- Composed by John Barry, written by Don Black, sung by Shirley Bassey

Q Branch:

Water gun, with large water supply

Mouse trap like clamp placed in holster

Fake thumbprint cover

Piton gun

Voice box which can allow people to imitate other voices

An electromagnetic RPM controller

LITTLE KNOWN FACTS

1. After the failure of OHMSS, EON was desperate to get Sean Connery back. After he refused, they considered Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, then finally hired an unknown American, John Galvin. David Picker was not impressed by the choice, and went out to get Connery no matter what the cost. The final contract gave Connery $1.25M up front, 12.5% of the gross, and the opprotunity to star in two non-Bond films of Connery's choice. Connery later donated his fee to the Scottish International Trust.

2. The original plot had Gert Frobe return as Auric Goldfinger's twin seeking revenge for the death of his brother.

3. The death of Bond's wife, Tracy, was originally planned for the start of Diamonds, but was later moved to the end of OHMSS, to "tidy up loose ends".

4. Willard Whyte is obviously based on Howard Hughes. Hughes, however, played a more substantial role behind the scenes allowing EON to film inside his casinos and other properties. His fee was supposidly one 16mm print of the film.