The Chicago Traveler

After watching today’s flick, I have to admit that I didn’t see anything Chicagoan. However, several websites (including IMDb) attest that Chicago was one of the filming locations for Diamonds Are Forever, the seventh spy film of the British James Bond series. Despite the lack of a Chicago sighting, I am willing to justify viewing the film and blogging it as a tribute to Las Vegas, where I’ll be traveling next week with friends.

Loosely based on Ian Fleming’s novel of the same name, James Bond (Sean Connery) impersonates a diamond smuggler to uncover his connections and stop potential stockpiling of South African diamonds. He travels to Amsterdam to meet one of the smuggler’s contacts, Tiffany Case (Jill St. John). Bond (disguised) and his new henchwoman take a large collection of fake diamonds from Amsterdam to Los Angeles to give to yet another smuggler, Shady Tree (Leonard Barr). Tree, upon realizing the diamonds are fake, heads back to his comedian job in Las Vegas, pursued by Bond. However, Bond finds Tree murdered… and finds Case waiting in his room. After some *ahem* “discussion,” Bond sends her to retrieve the real diamonds at Circus Circus.

A few of Bond’s allies follow Case in an effort to acquire the diamonds, but they lose track of her. Our hero surprises the beautiful criminal at her home, revealing his identity. She’s already passed the real diamonds along to the next link in the chain, but she agrees to help Bond on his quest. The two “good guys” will soon find that the diamonds they’re pursuing are just a small piece of a very intricate and evil plot.

The plot of Diamonds are Forever is ridiculously complicated. The diamonds change hands several times, and then it turns out the diamonds are meant for an even bigger purpose, leading to yet another complicated storyline. But what makes this movie watchable is its gem, the one and only James Bond. Whether he’s trapped in a coffin, driving a moon buggy (don’t ask), or dodging six police cars in downtown Las Vegas, Bond is calm and cool in his ever-stylish tuxedo.

Then there’s the nostalgia of seeing the Sin City of the early ‘70s. Seeing casinos like the Sands, the Dunes, the Landmark, the Riviera, and the Mint in their prime… none of them may have the same bells and whistles that today’s casinos on The Strip have, but they certainly had a glamour and neon shine that was all their own. Like I said, this movie may not have been distinctively Chicago in nature, but it was certainly worth it to see the heyday of Fremont Street.

And for many, the final gem, of course, are the bikini-clad women that are the essential ingredient to any Bond film…

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