In this ongoing series on film classics of the last century, we've looked at Sleepless In Seattle, My Little Chickadee, Tootsie, After Hours, Edward Scissorhands, Christmas in Connecticut, Desk Set, When Harry Met Sally . . ., Who Done It?, That Darn Cat!, Cactus Flower, Family Plot, House Sitter, and Outrageous Fortune. Film classics are the films that grab you, even on repeat viewings, especially on repeat viewings.
Our choice this go round?
Diamonds Are Forever.
It's a film where a near nude Lana Wood gets tossed out a high rise window.
A film where Sean Connery sports James Bonds' misogyny openly.
A film with a little suspense.
And multiple Blofelds but only one white cat.
Scratch that, more than one.
And, back to Blofeld, there's even one in drag.
It's a film where two women who battle Bond are seen as lesbians.
And where the two main villians are seen as gay lovers (Putter Smith plays Mr. Kidd and Bruce Glover plays Mr. Wint).
It's a film where Jill St. John's Tiffany Case wears multiple outfits.
She even fires a gun . . .
Forgetting to aim, but still.
Roger Moore brought camp to the James Bond franchise.
That is the argument made.
But Diamonds Are Forever (as Shirley Bassy reminds us over and over in the theme song) plays out like a Bond parody.
While other Sean Connery starring Bond films had humor, none were camp. Diamonds Are Forever demonstrates where Bond was headed for in the seventies.