Diamonds Are Forever at 50

When the world of James Bond had a Gotham City crossover!

Diamonds Are Forever made its premiere this week 50 years ago. Oddly, movie fans in West Germany and Turkey had their chance to see the film, beginning on Tuesday, 14 December 1971. It took three more days for the movie to see the light of day in the United States and Canada, and even longer for other countries, including the United Kingdom.

The movie would mark Sean Connery’s return as the famed British secret agent, and he was paid a hefty chunk of change for this. While many 007 fans don’t hold the movie in such high regard, the film is honestly one of the more unique entries in the entire James Bond series. Given how movies were at the time, it was also very much a product of its times.

But one special feature of this film is its connection to the 1966 Batman series.

The obvious connection, of course, is Jill St. John, who plays leading lady Tiffany Case. Initially slated to play Plenty O’Toole (any relationship to Peter?), with Faye Dunaway as the choice to play Ms. Case, director Guy Hamilton had other ideas. Hence, Ms. St. John lands the lead role, and Lana Wood (sister of Natalie) that of Ms. O’Toole.

But there’s more than that.

When Sean Connery wanted to leave the James Bond role in 1967, one of the first actors contacted for replacing him was none other than Adam West. Mr. West declined, telling the producers that the character should be played by a British actor. But can one imagine if Batman and Molly could have been in the same motion picture in 1971? By this time, the 1966 Batman series was enjoying a sort of revival because ABC’s broadcast of the 1966 Batman movie proved to be a ratings smash.

But there’s also another connection, in that Sid Haig, who played the Royal Apothecary to Victor Buono’s King Tut in a second season outing in late 1966, also shows up as an attendant at Slumber, Inc. He doesn’t have much time in the film, but it shows that the Gotham City crowd made its way into a 007 film.

Several James Bond fans don’t hold this movie up in high regard. Sure, the film may not be on the level of 1964’s Goldfinger, which Mr. Hamilton helmed. And the overall film production has a feel that can be best described as a cross between The Avengers and The FBI; the latter seems to have a presence with all of those Ford vehicles present in the film. But the fight scenes are good, and gadgets are kept to a minimum. The movie also has a lot of sharp dialogue, and the characters are quite memorable.

And Molly the Mole herself, Jill St. John, is given more to do with this role than many other Bond ladies. Her real edginess and moxie showed how times were changing in the early 1970s, and it was a real contrast to previous leading ladies. Her characterization has some flaws to it, and she can sometimes provide some comic relief, but she remains one of the most interesting Bond ladies of all time.

On the whole, it’s best to take the movie on its own terms, and to understand the era in which it was filmed. At worst, it’s the guiltiest of pleasures, but we rate this as a personal favorite 007 outing.