Actor: Sean Connery
US Release Date: 17 Dec 1971
US gross, $ [adjusted]:43,819,547 [174,579,869]
Worldwide gross, $ [adjusted]: 116,000,000 [462,151,394]
World Premier - 17th December 1971
Locations: Japan, Cairo, Spain, London, South Africa, Amsterdam,
Los Angeles, Las Vegas, outer space, North Dakota, China, Baja
California.
Source for above info: The " mother " of all James Bond books - James Bond: The Legacy.
Happenstance
George Lazenby failed as Bond. Utterly. Hence Sean Connery returned in the role of James Bond. With remarkable success again.
The teaser starts with Bond (with obvious weight gain and toupee) scouting around for Ernst Stavro Blofeld who has killed his wife in On Her Majesty's Secret Service . He finds Blofeld (Charles Gray) and finally after disposing off a few Spectre goons, gets to dunk Blofeld in a mud vat. Shirley Bassey sings “Diamonds Are Forever” with the backdrop of non-descript titles. We are shown a myriad of visuals of pretty gals dancing around diamonds as white cats lick their privates.
Info taken from " MR. KISS KISS BANG BANG! ", the Granddaddy of all James Bond websites.Coincidence
Bond is introduced to a diamond smuggling racket, when he
along with M visit Sir Donald, who gives the background on
the diamond smuggling operation.
Sir Donald: Tell me Commander, how far does your expertise
extend into the field of diamonds?
Bond: Well, hardest substance found in nature. They cut glass,
suggest marriages, I suppose it replaced the dog as the girls
best friend. That's about it.
M: Refreshing to hear that there is one subject you are not an
expert on!
After the enlightening talk, Bond is dispatched to Holland,
posing as diamond smuggler Peter Franks. Here he meets Tiffany
Case (Jill St John),an American diamond smuggler with skimpy
dresses and ever-changing hair color(read: 100% pure babe).
Bond: Weren't you a blonde when I came in?
Tiffany: Could be...
Bond: I tend to notice little things like that, whether a girl
is a blonde or a brunette.
Tiffany: And which do you prefer?
Bond: Oh, providing the collars and cuffs match...!
Bond sets on to pursue Blofeld who is stockpiling the diamonds
to use in his deadly laser satellite capable of destroying
pre-selected targets on land, sea and air. The pursuit brings
him to USA, specifically Las Vegas which is like Eden for our
gambling, vodka swigging, gal charming stud.He meets two
assassins Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd who bury him deep under a road
in a pipe after a moon buggy chase.
Wint: If at first you don't succeed, Mr. Kidd...
Kidd: Try, try again, Mr. Wint.
But Bond being Bond comes out unscathed.
The first heavenly body, Bond meets in a Vegas casino is a
bimbette named Plenty O'Toole (Lana Wood) who is memorable
simply for her introduction.
Plenty: Hi, I'm Plenty.
Bond: But of course you are.
Plenty: Plenty O'Toole.
Bond: Named after your father, perhaps?
Plenty: You handle those cubes like a monkey handles
coconuts.
Later Bond takes Ms. O'Toole to check out how plentiful she
is, and Plenty goes into the bathroom. Bond turns on the
light and sees SPECTRE goons waiting for him.
Bond: I'm afraid that you've caught me with more than my
hands up!!!!
And Plenty makes a hasty exit through the window of the
hotel room and lands in the swimming pool.
Bond: Exceptionally fine shot.
SPECTRE thug: I didn't know there was a pool down there!
Bond escapes and then follows a chase through the streets
of Vegas with the police chasing Bond too. This is famous
mostly for the blooper.
Bond turns the 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 on the two wheels.
Bond not only drives the car balanced on only two wheels,
but also switches to the OTHER set of wheels while driving
down an alleyway narrower than the width of the car itself!
Yeah, he is Bond. He can do anything.
Enemy Action
Bond next gets on the trail of reclusive billionaire
Willard Whyte (Jimmy Dean), who he thinks holds a vital
clue to Blofeld's whereabouts. In this he again meets
Tiffany Case.
Tiffany: What's going to happen to me? You did talk to your
friend Felix about me.....
Bond: Mmmm...
Tiffany: Well, what did he say?
Bond: Something about 20 years to life. Nothing
important..!
Tiffany: 20 years to life......!!!!
Bond: Relax darling, I'm on top of the situation!!
And further he meets Bambi (Donna Garratt) and Thumper
(Trina Parks) who are left to guard Willard Whyte in his
forced seclusion.
Bambi: I'm Bambi.
Bond: Good morning, Bambi.
Thumper: And I am Thumper. Is there something we can do
for you?
Bond: I can think of several things off hand, but at the
moment I'm looking for Willard Whyte.
After a brief fight where our Majesty's servant gets his
rear kicked, Bond finally overpowers the dynamic duo.
Later he finds out about Blofeld's hideout on an oilrig.
Bond gets to the oil rig, rescues Tifanny(in a alluring
bikini) who is held hostage, co-ordinates a large-scale
aerial assault and destroys Blofeld's plan to control
earth. In the end, when Bond is relaxing with the
delectable Ms. Case, Wint and Kidd comes into Bond's
cabin on the ship, disguised as waiters. Bond recognizes
them and dispatches them to the depths of the sea. The
world and the Bond franchise was finally safe.
This movie earned twice as much as On Her Majesty's Secret Service did. Bond was back and back with a bang. But Sean said "Never Again" to portraying the suave agent. Surprisingly, Sean Connery, in 1983 returned as James Bond in Never Say Never Again produced exclusively by Kevin McClory. In 1971, EON started looking out for another star as James Bond. And finalized on a TV Star named Roger Moore who changed James Bond ..for the better of the franchise when he starred in Live and let die .
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