Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
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James Bond must infiltrate a diamond smuggling ring to stop his old enemy from using the gems to power a space-based laser weapon.
The story
Bond impersonates a diamond smuggler to infiltrate a smuggling ring and uncovers a plot by his old enemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld to use the diamonds to build a space-based laser weapon. Bond sets out to stop the smuggling but discovers he must defeat Blofeld before he destroys Washington, D.C., in his plan to blackmail the world with nuclear supremacy.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
To avenge Tracy, James Bond hunts Ernst Stavro Blofeld. While the assassins Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd are involved in a diamond-smuggling operation, Bond impersonates the smuggler Peter Franks to infiltrate the ring. He travels to Amsterdam to meet Tiffany Case, then to Las Vegas where he encounters various smugglers and the entrepreneur Willard Whyte. Bond eventually discovers Blofeld's plot to use the diamonds to create a laser satellite. After a series of confrontations in Las Vegas and a desert facility, Bond and Tiffany eventually face Wint and Kidd on an ocean liner. Bond defeats the assassins and destroys the satellite's control room, effectively stopping Blofeld's plan for nuclear supremacy.
- First release year
- 1971
- Runtime (minutes)
- 120
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Guy Hamilton
- Writers
- Richard Maibaum · screenplay; Tom Mankiewicz · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Sean Connery · James Bond; Jill St. John · Tiffany Case; Charles Gray · Ernst Stavro Blofeld; Lana Wood · Plenty O'Toole; Jimmy Dean · Willard Whyte; Bruce Cabot · Albert R. "Bert" Saxby; Bruce Glover · Mr. Wint; Putter Smith · Mr. Kidd
- Genres
- spy film; action thriller
- Themes
- revenge; espionage
- Tone and mood
- action; adventure
- Premise and plot tags
- spy; diamond smuggling; laser weapon; nuclear supremacy
- Source material / true-story basis
- Ian Fleming's 1956 novel
- Franchise connections
- James Bond
- Reception
- Diamonds Are Forever was a commercial success and received positive reviews upon release.
- Production trivia
- The film was the first Bond production to be based primarily in the United States.; Sean Connery's salary was a then-record US$1.25 million.; The moon buggy was inspired by the NASA lunar rover.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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