25 Days of Bond (Day 7)

With the early departure of George Lazenby in the role of 007, who was signed on for a seven-picture deal but believed the hippie movement of the 1970s would kill the franchise, producers brought back Sean Connery hoping to recapture the old magic. Unfortunately Diamonds are Forever is the first stinker of the series in my opinion. Connery lacks the suaveness and ruthlessness of his previous outings, yet one thing that he does maintain is his charm in line delivery. One of this movie's greatest aspects is its one-liners. I've been including my favorite line from each film, but I just couldn't choose from the list in this one and added them all.

1. "Tell me, Commander, how far does your expertise extend into the field of diamonds?" "Well, hardest substance found in nature, they cut glass, suggests marriage, I suppose it replaced the dog as the girl's best friend."

2. "Weren't you a blonde when I came in?" "Could be" "I tend to notice little things like that - whether a girl is a blonde or a brunette." "And which do you prefer?" "Well, providing the collar and cuffs match."

3. It takes a bit to get to something visually interesting, but once it does it is the best fight of the movie. The elevator battle between Bond and Peter Franks is expertly choreographed and edited superbly. It builds the tension and gives the audience a real sense of confinement watching the two men fight in such a tight space.

4. "I didn't know there was a pool down there."

5. I've been to Las Vegas a couple of times and seeing what it looked like in the early 1970s is delightful. I can find familiar landmarks as Bond and Tiffany drive around the city, but at the same time I get to see the city at its pinnacle of cool.

6. The downtown car chase is a real highlight of the movie. Despite a little of it feeling over-choreographed (the parking lot sequence) and it ending on an editing continuity error, the entire thing is still quite thrilling.

7. "Thank you very much. I was just out walking my rat and I seem to have lost my way."

8. "Good morning, gentlemen. The ACME pollution inspection. We're cleaning up the world. We thought this was a suitable starting point."

9. One of the great things about this film series is it introduces American audiences to beautiful women from around the world, similar to the international locations being a draw for those of us who aren't globetrotters. So having an American actress in the role of the main Bond girl might be disappointing since, in theory, we would get to see her in other domestic movies of the era. However, Jill St. John is stunning. Her wardrobe is certainly one of the skimpiest in the series since she is introduced in a "nice little next to nothing" and spends the final battle in a bikini, but when you have a gorgeous woman like St. John I understand the choice.