# Opinions of Diamonds Are Forever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 27, 2017, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524 "2017-05-27T03:13:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/21 "2017-05-27T19:08:17Z")
If Tiffany was part of Blofeld’s smuggling operation, it’s not improbable that she would know who James Bond was. News must have by now trickled down to Ernst’s minions of their many encounters. Radical changes in Blofeld’s appearance were a staple bit in the Bond series. In _ **On Her Majesty’s Secret Service** _, f’rinstance (the book, not the movie), Bond sits directly opposite Blofeld at their first meeting/interview and cannot decide if it’s really him or not. That said, I wish they had kept Donald Pleasence in the role. Going from him to Telly Savalas to Charles Grey was really a bit much. Plus, he brought a creepiness to Blofeld that no other actor could match, like when he played Heinrich Himmler in _ **The Eagle Has Landed** _. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/22 "2017-05-27T19:28:22Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > “You don’t just kill James Bond then stand around…” Something like that. The biggest problem with JSJ’s character was she started out competent, playing an integral part in this international caper and the writers slowly turn her into a mindless bimbo by the end of the film. I don’t know about that. She gets Bond’s (fake) fingerprint and has apparently been stockpiling all the diamonds. She figures out who Bond is, evades the police who are following her once she picks up the real diamonds, creates a distraction so Bond can slip into the bad guy’s van, and collects Bond after the moon buggy chase. She even manages to switch the tapes in the computer at the end; not her fault that she put the real one back. I guess she doesn’t fire a gun very well during the battle on the oil platform, but she does a lot more than most Bond girls. > [@](#): > > But she was quite attractive. > > For a lady. 😉 Yes, but Bond didn’t care for redheads; terrible temper. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/23 "2017-05-27T20:38:20Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Kidd and Wint’s fiendish plan to get rid of Bond is to leave him in a pipe that will be buried in the desert? Really? Wouldn’t the guys burying the pipe notice a body lying in the pipe? Even if they didn’t, all Bond has to do is crouch-run to the access hatch, or maybe the end of the pipe. He was to be killed by the welding machine inside the pipe. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/24 "2017-05-27T20:44:50Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > He was to be killed by the welding machine inside the pipe. a.) I doubt it. Cite? b.) If so, it’s still inept c.) and the Welding Macxhine was pretty dasmned easy to defeat. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/25 "2017-05-27T21:48:18Z")
It was the weakest of the Connery Bond movies, and the book was one of the weakest of the Fleming series. Not as bad as _The Spy Who Loved Me_, but bad nonetheless. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/26 "2017-05-27T21:50:32Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > a.) I doubt it. Cite? > > b.) If so, it’s still inept > > c.) and the Welding Macxhine was pretty dasmned easy to defeat. Cite? For a movie? :sarcasm: ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2017, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/27 "2017-05-27T21:55:50Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > The biggest problem with JSJ’s character was she started out competent, playing an integral part in this international caper and the writers slowly turn her into a mindless bimbo by the end of the film. A hand-on-hip over-acting entitled bimbo. It was like she studied for the part watching a bad cartoon of ‘The Flintstones’ while smoking 10lbs of weed. > [@standingwave](#): > > But she was quite attractive. She managed to dispel any attraction the viewer might have had for her very quickly. * * * Some bond movies hold up over time & some fail. This fails to hold up in such epic fashion that apart from a very few scenes, its really bad. I honestly can’t watch it all the way through. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/28 "2017-05-28T02:00:44Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Bond goes to the desert retreat where they’re holding Willard Whyte and encounters gymnast jailers Bambi and Thumper, who do a real number on him. He apparently defeats them by holding their heads underwatrer. I don’t buy it. This ia apparently a common filmmaker position that the hero can’t hit women. Which is a stupid position when the women are as (theoretically!) competent and nasty as B&T. The Bond who can take on several henchmen at a time should have no trouble dispatching B&T without a lot of effort, despite their skills. But no, he has to get his ass kicked for a while. If Bond fought that poorly he’d be dead in the first reel of any movie. And then they surrended when they get their heads held under water! Lame! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/29 "2017-05-28T16:31:22Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > And then they surrended when they get their heads held under water! Lame! The water was just the medium through which they drank in Bond’s awesomeness. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/30 "2017-05-28T16:56:04Z")
The weakest Connery Bond movie was clearly Thunderball. Diamonds are Forever is enjoyable for the old Vegas scenes, but entire moon landing scene could have been left out to make it a tighter movie. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/31 "2017-05-28T18:02:19Z")
_“Well, if we destroy Kansas, no one may hear about it for years.”_ ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/32 "2017-05-28T18:52:27Z")
Im Plenty…Plenty O’Toole Named after your father no doubt ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/33 "2017-05-29T00:55:20Z")
I didn’t know there was a pool down there. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/34 "2017-05-29T01:05:05Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > The water was just the medium through which they drank in Bond’s awesomeness. Little-known fact: in order to get a bit of his own back against Bambi and Thumper, Willard White always made it a point, during his daily swim, to take a pee in that pool. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/35 "2017-05-29T03:36:57Z")
Poor Jimmy Dean. He said he was always asked about Bambi and Thumper but never got to meet them. They never did any scenes together. But I like he “Baja” bit and the one where Bert Saxby (Bruce Cabot) is killed in a gunfight and Dean says “Saxby? Tell him he’s fired!” as Saxby’s for-se rolls down the hill. First official Bond I ever saw and at the time, I didn’t know what was going on with the different threads. Now I realize it’s as much the film makers thought. But still 1,000% better than any of the Daniel Craig montrosities ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/36 "2017-05-29T06:22:35Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > The weakest Connery Bond movie was clearly Thunderball. Diamonds are Forever is enjoyable for the old Vegas scenes, but entire moon landing scene could have been left out to make it a tighter movie. \*\*\*Thunderball \*\*\*is worth watching just for the scenes with the Vulcan (and those with Fiona Vulpe :o ). And for Tom Jones’s theme song (he held the final high note for so long, he nearly passed out in the studio). The underwater scenes at the climax were very daring at the time, but could stand to be trimmed down by about two-thirds. In what seemed to be a marketing ploy at the time (but probably wasn’t), Mattel released a battery-powered sea sled for the original 12-inch GI Joe around the time the movie came out. I had a couple of those, and they were **awesome**! 🆒 I also love it when Largo gets the spear through his heart: “I think he got the point.” (Or was that on the beach with Domino? :dubious: ) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/37 "2017-05-29T06:27:21Z")
I think I remember now: Domino shoots Largo in the back on board the _Disco Volante_: **DOMINO:** I’m glad I killed him. **BOND:** _You’re_ glad?!? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/38 "2017-05-29T08:30:41Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > \*\*\*Thunderball \*\*\*is worth watching just for the scenes with the Vulcan (and those with Fiona Vulpe :o ). **Thunderball** is worth listening to just for Luciana Paluzzi’s voice. > [@](#): > > I also love it when Largo gets the spear through his heart: “I think he got the point.” (Or was that on the beach with Domino? :dubious: ) I fear you may be confusing it with the remake. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/39 "2017-05-29T10:49:16Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > **Thunderball** is worth listening to just for Luciana Paluzzi’s voice.I fear you may be confusing it with the remake. See the above. It was on the beach with Domino. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524/40 "2017-05-29T15:07:34Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > In what seemed to be a marketing ploy at the time (but probably wasn’t), Mattel released a battery-powered sea sled for the original 12-inch GI Joe around the time the movie came out. Oops! GI Joe came from Hasbro, not Mattel. Damn! :smack: Mattel made Tommy guns like Sgt Saunders carried (and, for a brief time, M3 Grease Guns). Those were \*\*awesome \*\*too! 🆒 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-of-diamonds-are-forever/787524.md?page=3)