Diamonds are forever (4½ Stars)

This is the seventh James Bond film, made in 1971, two years after "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". Ideally the series would have continued with George Lazenby, but since he refused to play Bond again the studio persuaded Sean Connery to return. Persuaded means bribed. He was paid $1.25 million to appear in the film, the highest ever payment for an actor until then. Even with this high price, it was only enough to tempt Sean back for a single film. He was determined to move on.

There's yet another actor playing Blofeld. This time it's Charles Grey. The explanation for the different appearance is that he was given plastic surgery to escape detection. 

Don't worry, his cat still recognises him.

But Blofeld's new disguise goes even deeper. In Las Vegas there's a millionaire casino owner, Willard Whyte, who lives as a recluse in the top floor of a hotel. Nobody has seen him for three years. Blofeld has kidnapped him and taken his place, effectively becoming Willard Whyte. Hidden away, Blofeld has devised a scheme to become the richest man on Earth. He's equipped a satellite with thousands of diamonds, making it a powerful laser beam. To demonstrate its power, he destroys nuclear missiles in America, Russia and China. Now he wants to auction his services to the world leaders. He will work with one country, making it the sole nuclear power on Earth by destroying the nuclear weapons of everyone else.

This film's Bond Girl is Jill St. John as Tiffany Case. She doesn't need plastic surgery to change her appearance. She changes her wig several times in the film.

Do you prefer her as a brunette or a redhead? It's a tough choice. She's also a blonde the first time Bond meets her. Is she a Good Bond Girl or a Bad Bond Girl? It's not clear until the end of the film. She seems to be playing both sides.

Willard Whyte is being held captive by Bambi and Thumper. The scene where James Bond has to battle them to free Willard only lasts three minutes, but I've watched it over and over again on repeat. It's so thrilling. The girls laugh while they're beating him up. It's all a game to them.

This is Bambi, played by Lola Larson.

This is Thumper, played by Trina Parks.

James looks happy when Thumper embraces him. Silly man! He should know better than to trust a girl with a name like Thumper. A few seconds later her knee hits him in a delicate place.

Bambi has strong thighs.

He doesn't stand a chance.

They push him into the swimming pool to finish him off.

To be honest, I don't know how he survived this attack. James Bond has a navy background, so maybe he's an expert in underwater combat. I don't know. When the CIA agent Felix Leiter arrives to save Bond, Bond has already overpowered the girls.

There's a very good car chase that takes place in the narrow streets of Downtown Las Vegas. It must have been difficult to get a permit to film the chase.

The critics don't like this film as much as "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". I find it almost as good. They're both excellent films.

Success Rate:  + 14.1

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