Diamonds Are Forever (1971) is Still Forever!

By: Mark Cerulli

Published:
2026-05-26

Diamonds Are Forever, New Beverly Cinema, screening

Quentin Tarantino’s brick and mortar mecca for 35MM: his New Beverly Cinema in West Hollywood offered up the 1971 Bond classic, Diamonds Are Forever (1971), now rarely seen on the big screen. Even though it was smack in the middle of a Saturday (May 23, 2026), the lure of seeing Sean Connery in his final “official” 007 performance in a vintage Technicolor print was too much. I wasn’t the only one to feel Big Tam’s pull – the theater was almost full.

Although some Bond purists tend to lump Diamonds Are Forever on the lower end of the Bond cinema canon for its campy humor, it’s still one of my favorites. It was the first “new” Bond film my father took me to way back when and I still remember the cheer that went up the moment Connery swaggered on screen, delivering his trademark line, “My name is Bond... James Bond.” Fifty-five years later, another generation and another theater full of people laughed at Tom Mankiewicz’ witty dialogue and Sean Connery’s perfect delivery:

“My God, you just killed James Bond!”
“Is that who it was?”

Watching the film again, I was struck by how effortlessly Connery slipped back into the role that had made him a household name less than a decade earlier. Physically, he was in fine form and the elevator fight with martial arts expert Joe Robinson (who also trained Honor Blackman for roles in The Avengers series and Goldfinger) is still one for the ages. As Guy Hamilton himself once told me, “I got the two biggest guys I could find and put them in a confined space.” Back when I interviewed him for the Bond DVD documentaries, Joe Robinson told me that some years later he got into an elevator in an upscale London hotel with none other than Sean Connery. Both men looked at each other, laughed and said, “Not again!”

Jill St. John delivered a brassy, nuanced performance as Tiffany Case. Razor smart in real life, she played Tiffany’s helpless and clueless scenes like the ultimate naïve damsel in distress... yet she could deliver lines like, “I don’t dress for the hired help,” with a real hard edge. She also made movie history as the first American Bond Girl and the chemistry between her and Connery was real. Charles Gray was a cultured if world-weary Blofeld and lovely Lana Wood provided some real Vegas glam as Plenty O’Toole.

Several other From Sweden with Love friends appear in the film: Terry Mountain as one of Blofeld’s guards who was on the receiving end of Connery’s scalpels and real-life Vegas showgirl, Pat Gill as one of Shady Tree’s Acorns, a role frequently attributed to the late Valerie Perrine. Pat befriended Connery and took him on a “local’s only” tour of Sin City when filming wrapped each day. A highlight was bringing him to a private club for the mobsters who ran Vegas in those days. Fortunately, Connery was a hit – and didn’t get hit.

Veteran actor, our friend Bruce Glover and world-class Jazz bass player Putter Smith made a goofy yet lethal pair of hitmen right out of Fleming’s novel. “Mr. Kidd” was Putter’s first film role and he pulled it off with shy panache. His character’s fiery demise, given that he wasn’t trained in stunt work, is still a showstopper. As any Hollywood stuntman can tell you, fire stunts are among the riskiest in filmmaking and it was a real leap of faith for the musician to trust the Pinewood Studios crew. (And, indeed, the stuntman who doubled for him later in the scene, did receive serious burns on his wrists.)

All the other credits are, of course, top notch – Ted Moore’s cinematography made expert use of Vegas’ neon splendor and Ken Adam’s imaginative sets, especially Willard Whyte’s office and the opening plastic surgery lab (complete with lava pool) still look stunning on a movie theater screen. John Barry’s score is (in my humble opinion) one of the series’ best and few Bond title tracks can match Shirley Bassey’s soaring vocals – except, perhaps her timeless Goldfinger! The extended car chase in downtown Vegas still drew applause in Quentin Tarantino’s LA theater just as it did in the New York City theater where I first saw it in 1971.

Diamonds Are Forever is another example of Harry Saltzman and Cubby Broccoli’s filmmaking machine firing on all cylinders, producing a movie the public was hungry for -- which grossed over $43.8 million (over $350M today). Diamonds was the 3rd highest grossing film of 1971, bringing in another payday for United Artists and proving, once again, that Connery ruled the international box office as James Bond.

Fifty-five years after its debut, Diamonds Are Forever can still pack a theater! How many other movies can say that?

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Tag Cloud

Diamonds Are Forever (1971) is Still Forever!

“My God, you just killed James Bond!”
“Is that who it was?”

Fifty-five years after its debut, Diamonds Are Forever can still pack a theater! How many other movies can say that?

Tag Cloud

Tag Cloud

Diamonds Are Forever (1971) is Still Forever!

“My God, you just killed James Bond!” “Is that who it was?”

Fifty-five years after its debut, Diamonds Are Forever can still pack a theater! How many other movies can say that?

Tag Cloud

“My God, you just killed James Bond!”
“Is that who it was?”