BEHIND THE SCENES - DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

IMPORTANT NOTE: Many of the B&W stills of Sean Connery are Copyright Terry O'Neill. To purchase his work, visit http://www.beetlesandhuxley.com/

As always, if any Copyright holder or originator of any image is outraged by my usage of their works, they are more than welcome to contact me at; COASTWRITER@HOTMAIL.CO.UK , (Or to visit for a drink, should they prefer the gentlemanly option)

Filming in Amsterdam, Holland. (Top right) Bruce Glover (Mr.Wint) and Putter Smith (Mr.Kidd) arrive to commit murder (Bottom left)

(LtoR; Sean Connery at Frankfurt Airport, July 1971, with Lana Wood (Playing the unimproveably-named Plenty O'Toole) and Denise Perrier, filming the pre-title sequence)

Shooting the Penthouse sequence at Pinewood; Ken Adam's set was a show-stopper.

A L'Hotel; the glamorous suite at the Whyte House was, of course a studio set at Pinewood.

The futuristic Elrod House, designed by John Lautner and built in 1968 appears as Willard Whyte's Winter Villa. Bond fights bodyguards Bambi (Lola Larson) and Thumper (Trina Parks) to free Whyte.

Movie-making is 1% action and 99% preparation; in this case waiting.

Thumper shows where she got her nickname; Trina Parks becomes the first Afro-American Bond girl by raising a knee for womankind... OUCH!

Bond back on top.

Real life 'Willard Whyte' Howard Hughes was a friend of Cubby Broccoli, hence doors opened across Las Vegas; here Connery tries his luck between shots (One shot was delayed for him to collect his winnings), waits for his cue and just waits...

...and waits. In his hotel room (Top) choosing his wardrobe and on set.

Friendly Relations; it has been reported - perhaps not without substance, that Connery enjoyed the charms of both his leading ladies during production. Perhaps the most red-blooded of Bonds, Connery's dark looks and smooth/rough manner saw him regularly top 'World's Sexiest Man' polls.

NSFW? - not here; as this is a 'Safe for Work' blog (See my Tumblr blog for the un-censored images; Just click the 'Tales from the Jungle Room image to the right of this page) I have added modesty stars to the following shots - Connery posing with the legendary Showgirls of Las Vegas.

(Top) Perhaps the only time I've wished Connery would throw in the towel...

Denise Perrier was Miss World 1953 (France), Jill St. John is, of course, Tiffany Case and we've already met Trina Parks...

More relaxation; Terry O'Neill's images capture the lighter, more human side of being Bond.

Master Models made the satellite-launching rocket for the film; for more of their staggering work, go to http://www.mastermodels.co.uk/

Blofeld is played by Charles Gray, here posing with the Batho-Sub and for a make-up test. Out in the Nevada desert, Sean Connery discusses details. Bruce Glover and Putter Smith wait for their moment.

Eating, Driving, Walking. The Moon-buggy was made by Hollywood vehicle maker Dean Jeffries.

Not sure I'd want to fetch the ball... Connery plays his favourite game on the Moon and in the desert.

Waiting for Tiffany... this scene was shot at the Kirk Douglas house, Palm Springs.

Three Seans; two continents - the middle shot is at Pinewood, the others in Nevada. Terry O'Neill's image of Connery resting his hands on a coffin lid has become one of the Iconic images of the Twentieth Century.

This is the End... the final battle sequence. (Some shots were nearly ruined when pyrotechnics were detonated prematurely, but luckily some camera-men started rolling in time to catch the action.)

Behind the Scenes - Live and Let Die

 Above and Below; The New 007, Roger Moore relaxes with Producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman.

 Above and Below; Filming in New Orleans.

Above; Guy Hamilton directed Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, Live and Let Die and would go on to direct The Man with the Golden Gun. Here, he directs Gloria Hendry (Rosie) and Roger Moore (Bond)

Above; Geoffrey Holder and Jane Seymour on set. Holder plays Baron Samedi, the mystical Voodoo Loa. Seymour is Solitaire, a Voodoo High Priestess and clairvoyant.

Above; Dirctor Guy Hamilton confers with Roger Moore and Harry Saltzman at Lakefront Airport, outside of New Orleans. Below; Roger Moore posing somewhat awkwardly.

Above; a break from the fun for some serious action.

 Below: Cinematographer Ted Moore worked on films such as Dr.No, From Russia with Love (For which he won a BAFTA) Goldfinger, Thunderball, Diamonds are Forever, Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun (Although illness prevented him completing the picture)

Below: Filming at Pinewood Studios, England. Mister Big's lair.

 007 poses with a revolver.

Below: The legendary Ross Kananga. Passing his crocodile farm, the sign 'Trespassers will be Eaten' intrigued the producers. A colourful character, Kananga performed the stunt where 007 runs across the backs of several crocs, giving his name to the villain played by Yaphet Kotto. Sadly, Kananga died in 1978 age 32 of heart failure while spear fishing. 

 Below; The boat chase. One of the great stunt sequences, the production started with Roger Moore crashing a speedboat when it lost power, chipping a tooth. Many years later, Daniel Craig suffered an almost identical injury filming a boat sequence.

Guy Hamilton and camera operator Bob Kindred hang on as Roger Moore drives through the Bayou.

Above: Stunt Driver Murray Cleveland doubles for Roger Moore.

Below: Filming the hang-gliding sequence. Bill Bennett, the Australian hang-gliding pioneer doubled for Bond in the air, with Roger Moore suspended precariously over a cliff-edge for one sequence. Here, a point of view shot is being prepared.

Below; filming on the Kananga's lair set at Pinewood. Bond and Solitaire have to escape from becoming a Shark's dinner.

Below; Kananga and Bond fight to the death, the scene choreographed by Geoffrey Holder.

Below; Finally, as part of his contract, the new Bond insisted on an unlimited supply of his favourite Montecristo cigars.