Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

One of the final James Bond movies to feature Sean Connery

Summary

-An investigation into diamond smuggling takes James Bond to Las Vegas, where he discovers a plan being concocted by a business tycoon

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

-Putter Smith: Mr. Kidd

-Bruce Glover: Mr. Wint

-Bernard Lee: M

-Desmond Llewelyn: Q

-Lois Maxwell: Miss Moneypenny

Did You Know?

-While filming in Vegas, Sir Sean Connery made the most of his time there. "I didn't get any sleep at all. We shot every night, I caught all the shows and played golf all day. On the weekend, I collapsed, boy, did I collapse. Like a skull with legs." He played the slot machines as well and even had to delay shooting a scene because he was collecting his winnings

-Director Guy Hamilton hated big American cars. He took an almost disturbing delight in trashing them in the various car chase scenes

-When Lana Wood was cast as Bond girl Plenty O'Toole, she was told during the scene where she is thrown out of Bond's room into the pool, the stunt team had to throw her into the pool "practically naked". She was assured that since it was to be filmed at night, no one would see her. Unfortunately for her, Las Vegas is a nocturnal city and everyone is actually more active at night. Despite what the filmmakers had told her, she had to endure people turning up to watch her come out of the pool, in soaking wet, see through underwear and heels

-Unlike most of the Bond girls, who were more calm, Tiffany is different. She is the first American Bond girl. She is loud, brash and argumentative. She is said to be an example of American women

-The outdoor elevator scenes were filmed at the now demolished Landmark Casino

-The machine inside the oil pipeline that Bond encounters is a Smart PIG (Pipeline Inspection Gauge). It's used to check the integrity of the pipes and to check for blockages

-Lana Wood had to stand on boxes for her scenes with Sean Connery because of height differences. She was given extra high heels to wear during the scene where Connery had to strip her out of her dress

-Sir Roger Moore was offered the role of James Bond at this point, but he could not due to scheduling conflicts with his commitment to the 1971 TV show The Persuaders!

-With all the references to caskets, cremation and other funeral-related topics, it's ironic to learn that Albert Broccoli, one of the producers, worked for The Long Island Casket Company as a salesman and manager and Sean Connery worked for an undertaker

-For her role in the 1972 film Endless Nights, Lois Maxwell had dyed her hair black. As a result, she had to wear a hat in the film during her role as a customs officer

-During the gas station scene, the Landmark Hotel & Casino can be seen. It was first built in 1963 but didn't open until 1969. It was imploded in 1995 to make room to expand the parking lot for the Las Vegas Convention Center

-The gaudy and tacky design of the Slumber Mortuary came from the experiences production designer Ken Adam had when visiting several funeral homes in the Las Vegas area

-In the car chase scene, the hotel under construction at the end of the street is in what is now Old Las Vegas. It's the same hotel that was used as "Biff's Place" in Back to the Future Pt. II

-The Japanese agent that encounters Bond is karate master Keinosuke Enoeda

-The name of the mob group that runs the mortuary, Slumber Inc., is a nod to the real life mob group Murder, Inc.

-During the release of 2015's Spectre, a special event was created called "The Black Girls of Bond". It was to highlight black actresses featured in the James Bond movies. It included Naomi Harris (Miss Moneypenny in 2012's Skyfall, 2015's Spectre). She was the first black British actress in the film series. It also included Halle Berry (Jinx from 2002's Die Another Day), Gloria Hendry (Rosie Carver from 1973's Live and Let Die), who happened to be Bond's first black love interest, Trina Parks (Thumper from this movie, who was also the first major Bond girl who was black). It was held at the California African-American Museum and hosted by the African-American Film Critics Association. The only women not present were Nicaise Jean-Louis (one of Drax's girls from 1979's Moonraker), Grace Jones (May Day from 1985's A View to Kill), Sylvana Henriques (the Jamaican woman from 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service), the first official black Bond Girl