Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

In an effort to find out what has become of large quantities of vanishing diamonds that the British government feels pay be stockpiled in order to depress the diamond market, James Bond (Sean Connery) infiltrates a diamond smuggling ring. This leads him to Las Vegas, a reclusive billionaire (Jimmy Dean) and his old nemesis Ernst Blofeld (Charles Gray) and discovers a more nefarious use of the diamonds than stockpiling. This was Connery's last outing as 007 and directed by Guy Hamilton who helmed GOLDFINGER. The film lacks the polish and glamour of the previous entries, partly due to the Las Vegas locales which lack the allure of the Swiss alps, the Caribbean, Istanbul or Japan. The Bond girls, Jill St. John and Lana Wood, are rather commonplace though St. John has one great moment shooting a machine gun in a bikini and high heels as the force of the gun propels her backward into the sea. Still, it's a solid effort in the Bond franchise with several highlights like the Bambi and Thumper confrontation and Bond confronted with two Blofelds though the two gay villains (Bruce Glover, Putter Smith) are overplayed stereotypes. John Barry provides the lovely score which includes one of the very best Bond songs, the title tune sung by Shirley Bassey. With Bruce Cabot, Laurence Naismith, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell and Desmond Llewelyn.