UK, 1971
120m (Germany), 125m (UK)
35mm film, “filmed in Panavision” (anamorphic), Technicolor, 2.35:1
mono, English
A British science fiction film directed by Guy Hamilton.
Plot Summary
James Bond seeks our Ernst Stavro Blofeld, hoping to avenge the death of his wife Tracy at the Blofeld’s hands. But Blofeld is already planning his latest scheme, involving a huge, diamond powered laser platform in Earth orbit…
Credits
* = uncredited
Crew
Directed by: Guy Hamilton
© 1971 Danjaq S.A.
United Artists an MGM company. Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli present. Made by Eon Productions Limited. Released thru United Artists
Produced by: Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli
Associate Producer: Stanley Sopel
Screenplay by: Richard Maibaum and Tom Mankiewicz
Novel: Ian Fleming [credited in possessory above title]
Director of Photography: Ted Moore
Editor: Bert Bates and John W. Holmes
Music Composed, Conducted and Arranged by: John Barry
Song: Lyrics by Don Black, sung by Shirley Bassey
The James Bond Theme Written by: Monty Norman
Sound Recordist: John Mitchell & Al Overton
Miss St John’s Costumes by: Don Feld
Wardrobe Supervisors: Elsa Fennell & Ted Tetrick
Make Up: Paul Rabiger *, Basil Newall *
Hairstylist: Eileen Warwick *
Hairdresser: Colin Jamison *
Special Effects: Leslie Hillman & Whitey McMahon
Visual Effects: Albert Whitlock & Wally Veevers
Production Designed by: Ken Adam
Made on location in USA, Germany, Holland, France, and at Pinewood Studios, London, England
Locations: Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands *; Chicago, Illinois, USA *; Circus Circus Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA *; coastal waters off Oceanside, California, USA *; Dover, Kent, England, UK *; John Mansville Gypsum Plant, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA *; Landmark Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA *; Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California, USA *; Palm Springs, California, USA *; Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA *; Universal City, California, USA *
Cast
Sean Connery (James Bond)
Jill St John (Tiffany Case)
Charles Gray (Blofeld)
Lana Wood (Plenty O’Toole)
Jimmy Dean (Willard Whyte)
Bruce Cabot (Saxby)
Lois Maxwell (Moneypenny)
Norman Burton ([Felix] Leiter)
Joseph Furst (Dr Metz)
Bruce Glover (Mr Wint)
Putter Smith (Mr Kidd)
Marc Lawrence (gangster)
Laurence Naismith (Sir Donald Munger)
Sid Haig (gangster)
Desmond Llewelyn (‘Q’)
Bernard Lee as ‘M’
Leonard Barr (Shady Tree)
Margaret Lacey (Mrs Whistler)
Joe Robinson (Peter Franks)
David de Keyser (doctor)
Alternative Titles
Agente 007, una cascata di diamanti – Italian title
Diamanten zijn Euwig – Flemish title
Les Diamants sont Eternals – French title
James Bond 007 – Diamantenfieber – German title
Links
Sequel to
Dr. No (1962)
From Russia with Love (1963)
Goldfinger (1964)
Thunderball (1965)
You Only Live Twice (1967)
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
Sequels
Live and Let Die (1973)
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Moonraker (1979)
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Octopussy (1983)
A View to a Kill (1985)
The Living Daylights (1987)
Licence to Kill (1989)
GoldenEye (1995)
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Die Another Day (2002)
Casino Royale (2006)
Quantum of Solace (2008)
Skyfall (2012)
Spectre (2015)
No Time to Die (2021)
Extracts included in
The James Bond Story (1999)
Stealth Fighter (1999)
Happy Anniversary 007: 25 Years of James Bond (1987)
Premiere Bond: Die Another Day (2002)
The World of James Bond (1995)
See also
Never Say Never Again (1983)
Press
1972
CinemaTV Today no.9962 8 January 1972 p.28
With a Bond five years older, the question that had to be answered was whether 007 was quite the invincible hero and agile Casanova he once was. With consummate ingenuity, Guy Hamilton has not tried to prove anything of the sort. Without rubbing our noses in the unwelcome truth that we are none of us as young as we were in 1967, he gives us a hero who relies more on his wits than on his powers of endurance. Matured like a wine that improves with age, rather than rejuvenated. Bond the lover puts quality before quantity, his humour shows a sly awareness of the passage of time; he can out-drive and out-think his adversaries but the rough and tumble of unarmed combat is no longer quite his style. But when all due credit has been given to the director, the success of Bond as the super hero who has outlived the vogue he started can only be attributed to the quirks of personality that have been added by Sean Connery. Almost any husky Adonis can convince us the hero of an adventure is fearless and irresistibly sexy; it takes an actor of integrity to transform the plastic puppet into a man. – from a review by Marjorie Bilbow
Production Notes
Release
In the 8 January 1972 edition of CinemaTV Today, United Artists ran a full page ad announcing that the film had scored “the highest 7-day take in the history of the movie industry in the U.K.”, taking £34,848 at the Odeon, Leicester Square, London in its first week. In the same issue C.H.B.-Williamson commented that “there has never been anything near as big as “Diamonds Are Forever” at the Odeon, Leicester Square. There’s no Bond save Connery and they start queuing to see him at 10 in the morning. £45,666 admissions in one week. Records are shattered daily.”
Trivia
Two surveyors working on a new road in the second episode of the first series of The League of Gentlemen (1999-2002) are named Mr Wint and Mr Kidd after the killers in Diamonds Are Forever.
References
Periodicals
CinemaTV Today no.9962 8 January 1972 pp.4; 7; 26 – note (Box office by C.H.B.-Williamson); ad; review (by Marjorie Bilbow)
Today’s Cinema no.9920 (6 July 1971) p.4 – credits (In production)
Today’s Today’s Cinema no.9922 (13 July 1971) pp.4; 4-5 – credits; illustrated note (Updating Bond by Sue Clarke)
TV Times 3-9 May 1986 p.31 – credits
Books
Hoffman’s Guide to SF, Horror and Fantasy Movies 1991-1992 p.104 – credits, short review
Incredible World of 007, The by Lee Pfeiffer pp.62-69, 146 – illustrated article
Kiss Kiss Bang! Bang!: The Unofficial James Bond Film Companion by Alan Barnes and Marcus Hearn pp.96-105 – illustrated article
Reference Guide to Fantastic Films by Walt Lee p.101 – credits
Sean Connery by Robert Tanitch pp.94-95 – illustrated article
