Mankiewicz's theory makes sense, and explains the mentality of the producers. Granted, Ian Fleming's lesser novels, such as DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, might not translate well into cinematic material. One can understand why the filmmakers opted to go this route.

The general public isn't made up of James Bond purists. The people who flock to the Bond films are going to be entertained, as Mankiewicz states. The Bond purists, who have continually objected to the way James Bond has been handled on the screen since 1970, are relatively small in number. Mankiewicz told Bondage that he is a fan of Fleming's Bond, but believes that the change in the character for the films was necessary both commercially and cinematically. The Bond films, starting with Diamonds, became "romps," (to use Mankiewicz's word), and this, in part, explains their artistic decline in the seventies. Ironically, these movies made even more money than had the previous six. James Bond, apparently, is a successful commodity in almost any form.

Diamonds Are Forever employed both European and American crews. Locations were shot in Amsterdam and England with one group, and in Los Angeles and Las Vegas with the other. The production was completed in under eighteen weeks, so United Artists escaped having to pay Connery the $10,000-per-weekover-schedule salary guaranteed in his contract

The film was enormously successful when it was released in December of 1971—it appeared that the picture would outgross all the previous Bonds. The film is entertaining, without a doubt, with fast-paced action and spectacular settings. The dialogue is sometimes very funny, containing a few terrific one-liners. Guy Hamilton is back at the helm, giving the film the speed and polish that enhanced Goldfinger. But the prime asset of the film is Sean Connery's return as James Bond. This was proven in theaters around the world, when audiences cheered at Connery's first appearance on the screen saying those famous words: "The name is Bond. James Bond."

 

SCREENPLAY

Much of the screenplay was written by committee, as usual, with a lot of input from Broccoli and Saltzman, as well as Hamilton. Richard Maibaum wrote the first draft, and Tom Mankiewicz was brought in later for a rewrite.

The film differs a great deal from the novel. There are a few similar scenes in the first quarter of the film, but they are in an entirely different context. The plot now involves SPECTRE, rather than the syndicate known as the Spangled Mob. Good old Ernst Stavro Blofeld is in control once more (in the novel the villains are Mafia-style gangsters named Jack and Seraffimo Spang). The film harks back to the science fiction aspects of Dr. No and You Only Live Twice, involving the creation of a laser-equipped satellite which SPECTRE will use to blackmail (as usual) major government powers. The laser gun is powered by diamonds which have been smuggled from a mine in South Africa owned by the British. At the beginning of the film, the British know that the diamonds are being smuggled but are mystified because the gems are not appearing on the black market. Someone is apparently stockpiling them, and it's up to James Bond to infiltrate the smuggling pipeline and find out who the culprit is. Blofeld and SPECTRE were brought into the plot, apparently, to maintain a semblance of continuity in the cinematic saga. Bond would naturally be seeking revenge for the murder of his wife in the previous film. Therefore, in the pre-credits sequence, we see Bond attacking various people in different locations, demanding to know the whereabouts of Blofeld. Bond finally locates him in the act of creating duplicates of himself by means of plastic surgery. Bond breaks into the futuristic operating room and kills Blofeld (at least he thinks it's Blofeld). We learn later in the film that it was only one of Blofeld's duplicates, and the real villain is alive and well and threatening governments again.

This pre-credits sequence is very confusing and is over before the audience can fully comprehend what has happened. In a way, this is a problem with the entire film. The plot itself is overcomplicated, and several scenes cut in the final editing probably explained a great deal that seems missing from the released version. For instance, it's not totally clear that it is SPECTRE that is running the smuggling pipeline. It seems that a different organization is behind the operation, and SPECTRE has interfered and begun sidetracking the pipeline into their own coffers. After a couple of viewings, it becomes clear that the links in the pipeline—the dentist in South Africa, the elderly schoolteacher in Amsterdam, Peter Franks, and Tiffany Case—do not know they're working for SPECTRE. Wint and Kidd, the two homosexual SPECTRE assassins, begin killing the pipeline links; it's not clear until later that SPECTRE intended to close the operation once they had obtained all the diamonds needed to complete the satellite project.