Diamonds *** (1975, Robert Shaw, Richard Roundtree, Barbara Hershey, Shelley Winters) – Classic Movie Review 11,051

‘Diamonds Were Forever.’

Director Menahem Golan’s 1975 US/ Israel heist caper thriller Diamonds stars Robert Shaw, who cherishes a gem of a role – twin parts actually as a diamond merchant industrialist who plans a $100 million diamond Tel Aviv vault break-in and his security device-maker twin brother who designed its security system.

Diamonds is an acceptable thriller, flashy rather than sparkling, but enlivened by the succulent acting from Shaw, Richard Roundtree, Barbara Hershey (then Barbara Seagull) and Shelley Winters.

Roundtree plays ex-con and thief Archie and Hershey his lover Sally, who are industrialist Shaw’s unwilling accomplices in the diamond robbery, and Winters plays abrasive American tourist Zelda Shapiro.

It is effectively written by Menahem Golan and David Paulsen, with more twists than credibility, and efficiently directed by Golan, with pretty travelogue views of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Roy Budd provides the good score.

Talk about life imitating art: the Graff Jewellery Store in Knightsbridge, London, used as Charles Hodgson’s work place, was robbed of £1.4 million worth of jewels on 11 September 1980. The robbers’ haul included the Marlborough Diamond, then valued at £400,000.

Also in the cast are Shaike Ophir [Shai K Ofir], Gadi Yagil [Gadi Yageel], Yosef Shiloach [Joseph Shiloach], Jona Elian [Yona Elian], Yehuda Efroni, Yossi Graber (as Joseph Graber), Bomba Tzur (as Bomba Zur) and Aryeh Moskona (as Arie Moscona),

Diamonds is directed by Menahem Golan, runs 120 minutes or 103 minutes (video), is made by AmeriEuro Pictures and Euramat Films, is released by AVCO Embassy Pictures (1975) (US) and Fox-Rank (1976) (UK), is written by David Paulsen and Menahem Golan, is shot by Adam Greenberg (Eastmancolor), is produced by Harry N Blum, Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, is scored by Roy Budd and is designed by Kuli Sander.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,051

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