Actor John Gavin (Janet Leigh's lover in Psycho) signed on to be Bond but was cast aside when Connery was wooed for an astounding $1.25 million. He donated the money to charity.
This is Blofeld's last appearance as a Bond villain (not counting the comic beginning of For Your Eyes Only).
Sean Connery recieved the highest salary in movie history to return to the Bond series ($1 million), which he then donated to charity.
When Bond climbed the Whyte House, he was actually climbing the Las Vegas International Hotel (now called the Las Vegas Hilton).
Howard Hughes owned the hotel and rather that asking for money to film there, he asked for a 16mm print of the finished movie. Needless to say, Hughes was a huge fan of the series.
Because the public deemed it unfashionable to smoke, Bond did not in Diamonds are Forever
During one sequence, the namplate on the desk of Burt Saxby says "Albert R. Saxby" - a "joke" from the crew of the movie.
In the scene were Bond is taking a bath in his casino suite, Sammy Davis Jr. is on the cover of the magazine 007 is reading. Originally, Sammy Davis Jr. was to make a cameo in the movie, and the scene sequence was actually shot. However, director Guy Hamilton felt the scene to be too much, and it was cut in post-editing.
The entire movie idea orginated from a dream that producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli had in which Bond was captured by a man pretending to be Howard Hughes. Broccoli was very good friend with the mogul, and the character Willard Whyte was based on Hughes.
John Gavin was signed to play Bond (AN AMERICAN?), but obviously that wouldn't have worked even though his screen tests were OK. But not as shocking as the fact Burt Reynolds was even considered to take hold of the 007 reigns.
When Bond steals the moon buggy from Willard White's research lab, you can see that the left rear wheel of the vehicle is loose. This is confirmed during the chase scene when one of the security cars wrecks in the desert. In the frame you can clearly see one of the moon buggy's wheels rolling free. In the following scene, the moon buggy is shown driving away into the distance with all four wheels attached.
When 007 and Tiffany Case are being chased in Tiffany's red mustang, 007 drives on two wheels to get through a narrow alley. Upon entering the alley the car is seen on it's left wheels, but on the exit it's driving on it's right wheels.
Connery was offered to return for DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. He was thought to have received $1 million plus the picture fee which he donated to the Scottish Education Trust (a charity he set up himself). I addition he was promised a percentage of the films profits, a $10 000 per week over-schedule clause and an agreement from United Artists to fund two films of his choice.
In early versions of the Diamonds are Forever screenplay, the villain was originally based upon Auric Goldfinger's twin brother. Gert Frobe was also talked into playing the part, before the idea of Cubby Broccoli's dream (an individual based on Howard Hughes) as the background plot.
Jill St. John, in real life, was a close friend of the late actress Natalie Wood, sister to Lana Wood. Currently, she is married to actor Robert Wagner, who was Natalie Wood's husband, and close friend.
