57 replies to this topic

[iBond]

I will never get over that lame elephant scene with the slot machines...ugh wow...

[jaguar007]

I will never get over that lame elephant scene with the slot machines...ugh wow...

Yes, they deleted the scene with Sammy Davis Jr and more importantly the scene where Plenty goes back into Bond's room, yet they keep the elephant with the slot machines in!!!!!!!????????

[scaramunga]

Well, here's the background to DAF from the now defunct 007Forever.com. You can take what you can from it.

The story that brought Diamonds to the screen is clouded in numerous re-writes and a number of different plots.

The first draft, was originally going to start off very differently, and was to do something that seems a bit odd. The pre-title sequence was to be the wedding and death of Bond`s bride, (taken from OHMSS) and was to lead into a different story altogether, after that.

The original drafts also featured a new villian, the twin brother of Auric Goldfinger (who was to be played again by Gert Frobe), and the plot was revenge for his twin. Broccoli and Saltzman liked the idea at first, but later rejected it as being "too far off of the original premise of Fleming`s novels." Also, his revenge was to done by killing Bond`s bride, (tying up loose ends, and such.) Dick Maibaum even had a fantastic line written for Bond`s first encounter with Goldfinger`s twin: "I think you knew my brother Auric. Mother always said he was a bit retarded." The line got dropped when the whole storyline got jettisoned.

The villians from the book, the Spangled Mob, were considered, but not right for the time, so Blofeld returned. Also, many actors were considered for the role of 007, before Sean stepped back into it. Those considered included Burt Reynolds and Roger Moore but the producers flat out rejected Reynolds (because he was American). Reynolds was chosen by MGM/UA execs, trying to cash in on his status as one of the world`s biggest male movie stars (at the time) Well, we all know Moore got the role more than a year later in Live and Let Die.

Another interesting point stricken from the first few drafts was the climactic fight. Originally it was set to take place in a salt mine in Baja California and 007 was somehow supposed to grab hold of a weather balloon that was attached to a fleeing speed boat being driven by Blofeld. When the boat stops, Blofeld turns around to see Bond way up in the sky dangling from the balloon and says:

"Mary Poppins I presume?" He shoots Bond down and the fight begins.

Another draft of the film had the climactic showdown on Hoover Dam. A flottila of U.S. forces had surrounded Blofelds boat in an attempt to corner him and force him into surrender.

When Bond asks Felix for the real merchandise, an extremely sheepish Q is surrounded by customs officers. On the table in front of them is a large wooden leg with shoe and sock on it, open at one end.

FELIX (re: Q): Ask him to do his Long John Silver imitation for you someday. It`s a riot.

Sammy Davis Junior had a cameo in the film. This was cut during post-production:

SAXBY: Hey, I just got a call from Mr Whyte. Understand you haven`t signed your contract yet. What`s the problem?

DAVIS: The money, if you can believe it. Considering your boss is a billionaire, for God`s sake. Do me a favour, Bert. Trundle on up to that penthouse of his and talk to him for me.

SAXBY: You kidding? I run this place for him, and even I haven`t seen Willard Whyte for three years.

Then after Bond has entered the room, Davis says that you could eat off him!

Bond has drinks with Plenty. The waiter presents Bond with a wine. Bond shakes his head sadly in front of an impressed Plenty, and sends it back.

PLENTY: Hey! I didn`t think you could really do that. I bet they charge you for it.

BOND: I thought you were paying.

PLENTY: Well, it was still a very classy thing to do. (suspiciously) Say listen, you aren`t a knight or anything like that are you? I mean-

BOND: A mere commoner, I`m afraid.

PLENTY: (taking his hand) Don`t feel bad. Doesn`t make any difference to me. I`m a Democrat.

The following exchange occurs in bed with Tiffany Case:

TIFFANY: Peter? I think we`ve got a problem.

BOND: You forgot to take your pill.

TIFFANY: Nothing as trivial as that. (pause) You`re not going to tell me where the diamonds are, are you?

At the tail end of the circus sequence, the gorilla rushes out after the agents:

MAXWELL: Let us through! We`re agents!

GORILLA: Agents? (turns, yells off) Hey, wait! We need an agent!

GOONA (to Gorilla): I guess they didn`t dig the act.

When Bond uses the dart gun to sneak up to see Willard Whyte (and instead finds Blofeld), he mutters to himself, genuinely upset, "So help me, Q, if I fall I`ll kill you."

After Whyte tells Bond "I`ll have him steam around in circles for you."

BOND: If you`re ever in London-

WHYTE: After what I`ve seen of the world in the last couple of days? As soon as I get the kitty litter out of my john it`s back to the old-

The tag scene was different in the shooting script:

On board, Kidd and Wint bring the food. Kidd tells Bond that "Monsieur is wanted in the radio room. A telephone call from Mr Willard Whyte."

Bond tells Tiffany that he won`t be a moment, hands money to Kidd and asks him to keep the dinner warm, will you?

Kidd replies, "But Monsieur does not have to pay us for what we are about to do."

The Radio Operator tells Bond that somebody must have played a joke on him. "I could live five times over before Willard Whyte called this tub."

Bond realizes that he`s been had.

Back in the cabin Tiffany is in short nighties, now spreadeagled, tied down to bed, gag in mouth. Hanging above her is the sizzling pot of boiling oil, attached by rope. Wint and Kidd have attached the rope to the handle. They open the door two inches. It tilts - a drop falls. It burns a smoking hole in the pillowcase next to Tiffany`s head.

Bond climbs outside boat, and using a long rope, he lowers himself over the side.

Meanwhile, a maid goes from door to door. Kidd and Wint wait patiently. When Bond - or the maid - comes back and opens the door, Tiffany will be burnt.

Just as the maid is about to open the door, Bond pushes off the side of the ship with his feet and sails through the porthole feet first. He sails in, makes a swipe at the oil pot and rope, misses, lands in a pile at the other side of bed. Kidd locks the maid out just as she`s about to push door open.

The oil pot teeters precariously back and forth.

Bond leaps for the top of the soup toureen, grabs it. Wint yells for Kidd to pull rope. Kidd ranks on rope and the oil pot turns over. Bond passes the upside-down tureen lid over Tiffany`s face, catches the oil, throws it into Wint`s face.

He screams - Bond pushes him hard to one side, impaling him on a sharp point of carved ice Cornucopia, killing him. Kidd has passed skewers through Sterno flame - they are now ablaze. He jumps Bond from rear. Bond twists away, grabs brandy bottle, breaks neck of it on table, and slings brandy at Kidd. Flames shoot up Kidd`s arms - his whole body is on fire. Bond yanks blanket from bed, wraps it around Kidd, smother flames. He picks up the bundle, stuffs it through and out of the porthole, looks down at Tiffany. She`s still bound and gagged, tied to bed, legs spread apart.

Thanks for the post! I'm a huge fan of Diamonds Are Forever. It's too bad the scripts aren't more readily available to see what actually was in them and all of the modifications as well.

Even asking people who worked on the film sometimes really can't recall things that may have been scripted too.

It terms of the tone and lightness of Diamonds Are Forever, it was intentional to make the films lighter and to have a much different feel than OHMSS. I love OHMSS, but at the time of Diamonds I think the producers wanted a different kind of film to bring back the audiences and have it lighter especially set against the news of what was happening in Vietnam too.

[The Shark]

There is no continuity.

[Davy]

I kinda disregard DAF totally in continuity terms. It's such a poor film that it's nt hard to do this. There are many continuity issues in the franchise but none more troublesome than the Blofeld one between OHMSS and DAF.

[jaguar007]

You pretty much have to disregard continuity in ANY James Bond movie including CR and QoS (as evidenced in the dates on the video from CR and invitation from QoS).

[Leo R.]

YOLT ends with Blofeld lost in Japan.
DAF begins with Bond looking for Blofeld in Japan.

Hmmm..?

[J B]

YOLT ends with Blofeld lost in Japan.
DAF begins with Bond looking for Blofeld in Japan.

Hmmm..?

That's an interesting way to see it. I think it could have been Japan in that one scene in Diamonds are Forever, and seeing as Blofeld is in Japan at the end of You Only Live Twice, that's possible. Blofeld also leaves behind the scenes at the end of Diamonds are Forever, hence OHMSS. That's how I see it.

[Dustin]

Thanks for sharing such a massive amount of background about DAF. I've heard about some of it but most is perfectly new to me. The fight with Tiffany tied to the bed sounds interesting but surely more confined and ludicrously complicated.

[TheREAL008]

If Roger Moore had signed on to play Bond beforehand, DAF would partly have made a better movie.

[Miles Miservy]

I always felt that Sean Connery's last film SHOULD have been OHMSS (by far, one of the most significant & poignant movies of the entire series). George Lazenby should have done DAF because, through no fault of his own, Lazenby was just not taken seriously. That being said, DAF was kind of a spoof onto itself, also not to be taken seriously (between Blofeld in drag & 007 making out w/himself in Amsterdam, 'nuff said.) That could've been interesting to see, particularly if Lazenby went on to play Bond in LALD.

...but I digest.

Edited by Miles Miservy, 13 May 2011 - 12:52 PM.

[The Shark]

If Roger Moore had signed on to play Bond beforehand, DAF would partly have made a better movie.

Why? Connery was designed for the kind of wit DAF excels in. Moore would have been too young, and out of his league.

[Biggy1954]

Before the Craig era, the James Bond series was never supposed to have much continuity. With a few exceptions like returning characters such as Jaws, Valentin Zukovsy, and Sheriff Pepper, the occasional references to Tracy's death, and references to Dr. No in From Russia With Love, each film exists in their own time and space.

Someone on the Internet movie database described OHMSS as the "Halloween III of James Bond movies." Indeed, it is OHMSS that seems out of place in the film series.

[00 Brosnan]

OHMSS is a good film as it is, but I'd trade the existence of DAF completely for an OHMSS starring Sean Connery.

EDIT: ...an in-shape Sean Connery that is.

If Roger Moore had signed on to play Bond beforehand, DAF would partly have made a better movie.

I don't know about that, but you may be right. I think DAF is far sillier than any film Moore did.

Connery was designed for the kind of wit DAF excels in. Moore would have been too young, and out of his league.

Too young...for what? Moore is older than Connery.

Edited by 00 Brosnan, 15 May 2011 - 09:24 PM.

[The Shark]

Connery was designed for the kind of wit DAF excels in. Moore would have been too young, and out of his league.

Too young...for what? Moore is older than Connery.

Yep, but he acted and looked about a decade younger than Connery, at the time.

[00 Brosnan]

Connery was designed for the kind of wit DAF excels in. Moore would have been too young, and out of his league.

Too young...for what? Moore is older than Connery.

Yep, but he acted and looked about a decade younger than Connery, at the time.

I don't understand. What in DAF isn't appropriate for a "younger looking" Moore to handle?

[The Shark]

Connery was designed for the kind of wit DAF excels in. Moore would have been too young, and out of his league.

Too young...for what? Moore is older than Connery.

Yep, but he acted and looked about a decade younger than Connery, at the time.

I don't understand. What in DAF isn't appropriate for a "younger looking" Moore to handle?

Its dry humour requires an experienced, tough-as-nails actor, comfortable in the role. Not a fresh faced rookie.

[LTK_(1989)]

YOLT ends with Blofeld lost in Japan.
DAF begins with Bond looking for Blofeld in Japan.

Hmmm..?

That's an interesting way to see it. I think it could have been Japan in that one scene in Diamonds are Forever, and seeing as Blofeld is in Japan at the end of You Only Live Twice, that's possible. Blofeld also leaves behind the scenes at the end of Diamonds are Forever, hence OHMSS. That's how I see it.

The problem with that is that Blofeld does not recognize Bond in OHMSS.


I agree with Leo that the similarities between YOLT and DAF - also including a space-themed plot and no Irma Bunt - connect them as it discards OHMSS from the series.

This manages to also go both ways, however. While YOLT is briefly seen in Binder's titles, OHMSS ignores YOLT just as much as DAF forgets OHMSS. Lazenby's Bond's reminiscent rummaging through his desk drawer shows that the character has had similar experiences as Connery's Bond - a romance with Honey, a train fight with Grant, an underwater adventure in Nassau. But YOLT? It is not mentioned.

So, is Connery's Bond the exact same as Lazenby's Bond? Obviously, they both play Ian Fleming's James Bond - so no "code name" theory here. What I mean is: Does Connery finish up with Kissy in Japan and later wind up in Portugal where he meets Tracy for the first time? I think not. I have always maintained the idea that Connery has his era's timeline - from DN to FRWL to TB to YOLT to DAF - and Lazenby has his story, which is not particularly connected to Connery's timeline. Connery's Bond never married; Moore has his own timeline as well but his Bond was married - same with Dalton and Brosnan. Craig, well, he is getting a better reboot treatment than Lazenby got - continuity-wise, that is - but, then again, it was not Craig's fault that Lazenby turned down the seven picture deal that Cubby and Harry delivered on a gracious silver platter.

OHMSS seems to me to sort of hover over the series, rather than be directly woven into it. This is by no means a knock on the film, it has long been one of my favorites but its fairly strict dedication to the novel is both a strength and a weakness in that it stays true to what makes the novel wonderful but strays far from the series' established continuity by simply having Blofeld not recognize Bond when the two come face-to-face. The events of OHMSS, specifically the death of Tracy, becomes a part of who Bond is later in the series - but only after Connery cashed his check and said goodbye to the role for good (until 1983 anyway).


Just a thought - I might be alone on it but it makes sense to me.

Edited by LTK_(1989), 17 May 2011 - 09:48 PM.

[Mr. Blofeld]

I think the last two Connery films are in their own alternate continuity, just like in Never Say Never Again, where Bond has seemingly gone through the gamut of his official series adventures... but without Blofeld or any man named Largo.

OHMSS is the lynchpin for the later Bond films, not YOLT/DAF; they get rightfully ignored.

[O'Cookmate]

Diamonds are Forever, for me, is the most frustrating film of the entire franchise and as a result is one I barely ever watch. There are a number of Bond films I don't like, but they are at least made more watchable by some redeeming feature. I genuinely struggle to find anything to like this film. But I digress - this isn't a review thread. If there is to be a continuity in the Bond films (I like to think there is some), then this film does muddy the waters. I see little evidence to suggest this film follows OHMSS and don't like to believe it does. So do we place it in a seperate canon or place it before OHMSS? I think there are convincing arguments for both of these. I don't like to write off any of the EON films, so I'm inclined to place it before OHMSS.

But, however we look at it, the producers seriously botched up the continuity of the Blofeld trilogy to the extent that it ruins my enjoyment a little bit. Te Connery era was going so well until that point. I appreciate that such a direct serialisation wasn't the producers' intentions, but it was a seriously missed oppurtunity. And one reason I actually rather like Quantum of Solace (even if it is deeply flawed) is because it attempts to explore some of the ground that the series failed to in the 60s.

I have read one alternative theory on another forum, and it's one that I quite like, even if I don't quite buy into the Bond as a codename theory. This theory states that Connery is essentially Bond #1 and when he retires, he's replaced by Bond #2 (Lazenby) but this Bond is given compassionate leave when Tracy's murdered and Bond #1 is brought out of retirement to fill in for his replacement. After the events of Diamonds are Forever, Bond #2 is brought back to MI6, this time played by Roger Moore. This accounts for Bond and Blofeld failing to recognise each other, the substantial differences between Connery and Moore's portrayals and the lack of an emotional response from Bond during Diamonds are Forever.

[AMC Hornet]

There is such a thing as overanalyzing.

If your first exposure to 007 is the UE boxed set of DVDs, then it's easy to order them however you want. If, however, you grew up seeing the films in release order it's not so easy to ignore their original chronology, or to even want to.

It's also arrogant to assume that the producers were deliberately altering their own timeline ("Now that we've made DAF, let's just pretend that OHMSS takes place before YOLT, but we won't tell anybody that that's what we're doing.").

?

When you're done trying to figure out what the Cubby, Harry and the boys were thinking forty years ago, join me over at vulcanwarrior.net and we can figure out why there's no NX-01 on Picard's wall of old Enterprises.

[Miles Miservy]

There is such a thing as overanalyzing.

If your first exposure to 007 is the UE boxed set of DVDs, then it's easy to order them however you want. If, however, you grew up seeing the films in release order it's not so easy to ignore their original chronology, or to even want to.

It's also arrogant to assume that the producers were deliberately altering their own timeline ("Now that we've made DAF, let's just pretend that OHMSS takes place before YOLT, but we won't tell anybody that that's what we're doing.").

When you're done trying to figure out what the Cubby, Harry and the boys were thinking forty years ago, join me over at vulcanwarrior.net and we can figure out why there's no NX-01 on Picard's wall of old Enterprises.

There is evidence of that even before, if you consider that 007 tries to infiltrate Piz Gloria (OHMSS) even though he & Blofeld already faced each other in Japan (YOLT)

[AMC Hornet]

It's also arrogant to assume that the producers were deliberately altering their own timeline ("Now that we've made DAF, let's just pretend that OHMSS takes place before YOLT, but we won't tell anybody that that's what we're doing.").

There is evidence of that even before, if you consider that 007 tries to infiltrate Piz Gloria (OHMSS) even though he & Blofeld already faced each other in Japan (YOLT)

You mean you actually believe that's what EON was doing?

[Colorshade]

I have read one alternative theory on another forum, and it's one that I quite like, even if I don't quite buy into the Bond as a codename theory. This theory states that Connery is essentially Bond #1 and when he retires, he's replaced by Bond #2 (Lazenby) but this Bond is given compassionate leave when Tracy's murdered and Bond #1 is brought out of retirement to fill in for his replacement. After the events of Diamonds are Forever, Bond #2 is brought back to MI6, this time played by Roger Moore. This accounts for Bond and Blofeld failing to recognise each other, the substantial differences between Connery and Moore's portrayals and the lack of an emotional response from Bond during Diamonds are Forever.

Those theories are flat out stupid. What about the ever changing Blofelds, Moneypenny referring to all the "different" Bonds as one and so forth? It's obviously one character, I don't get why people try to make sense out of something that makes lesser sense.

I think the producers or whatever tried having it both ways with Diamonds Are Forever. In one way, they're avenging Tracy's death (for about five minutes), but at the same time, he's in Japan in the beginning (although it could be coincidental). Bond films are not the best at continuity, you just have to let your mind go and not think about it so much. But as I take it, they are in chronological order.

[DaveBond21]

I have read one alternative theory on another forum, and it's one that I quite like, even if I don't quite buy into the Bond as a codename theory. This theory states that Connery is essentially Bond #1 and when he retires, he's replaced by Bond #2 (Lazenby) but this Bond is given compassionate leave when Tracy's murdered and Bond #1 is brought out of retirement to fill in for his replacement. After the events of Diamonds are Forever, Bond #2 is brought back to MI6, this time played by Roger Moore. This accounts for Bond and Blofeld failing to recognise each other, the substantial differences between Connery and Moore's portrayals and the lack of an emotional response from Bond during Diamonds are Forever.

Those theories are flat out stupid. What about the ever changing Blofelds, Moneypenny referring to all the "different" Bonds as one and so forth? It's obviously one character, I don't get why people try to make sense out of something that makes lesser sense.

I think the producers or whatever tried having it both ways with Diamonds Are Forever. In one way, they're avenging Tracy's death (for about five minutes), but at the same time, he's in Japan in the beginning (although it could be coincidental). Bond films are not the best at continuity, you just have to let your mind go and not think about it so much. But as I take it, they are in chronological order.

Agreed. Indeed, I believe that whenever Bond is saving a woman from drowning (and that has happened in a few of them - notably OHMSS, TSWLM, FYEO, AVTAK, TND, TWINE and DAD), I believe he is thinking of Vesper.

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[Aston V8]

No continuity, no code name, just movies made to be enjoyed. Enjoy them.

[elizabeth]

No continuity, no code name, just movies made to be enjoyed. Enjoy them.

[Ozzman313]

I exclude it, its way too cheesy and Sean didn't look like he was having a good time.