There is plenty to love about diamonds. In Hollywood, diamonds are always flawless (though the people wearing the diamonds are usually very flawed). Can you think of 8 movies in Hollywood that have immortalized the idea and image of a sparkling diamond? These 8 movies are some of the most popular suggestions and had audiences thinking about more than plot by the time the final facet glowed.
1. The Pink Panther
The Pink Panther didn’t refer to the pink cartoon cat but to a priceless diamond. Priceless, but valued at millions of dollars. In the film, this diamond was said to be the largest diamond in the world and one given Lugash princess Dala from her father. What made this diamond unique? The fact that whoever stared into the stone long enough would begin to see a moving panther. It’s up to Inspector Clouseau to outwit the “Phantom” and bring the Pink Panther back to its rightful owner. Oddly enough, while the phrase was used as a title for the entire series, the actual diamond only appears in half the number of films made. It looks like the diamond was the second scene stealer behind Peter Sellers.
2. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Marilyn Monroe explained it best in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes when she sang, “Men grow cold as girls grow old, and we all lose our charms in the end…but square-cut or pear-shaped, these rocks don’t lose their shape. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.” What better way to sum up how millions of people feel about this forever stone? In the film, to add emphasis to the song, Marilyn wore the Moon of Barada, a 25.95ct pear-shaped canary diamond. When it comes to idolizing diamonds as something beyond ordinary romance and gift giving, it doesn’t get any more sparkling than Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
3. Diamonds Are Forever
Before 1971, when Diamonds Are Forever was released, no stone enthusiast cared whether Mr. Bond lived or died. However, when they found out this 007 was investigating a large amount of missing diamonds stolen from the South African mines, things then became interesting! Mr. Bond goes undercover as diamond smuggler Peter Franks hoping to recover the merchandise. Not only a great movie co-starring diamonds, but also the greatest movie title ever mined from a stone-obsessed Hollywood.
4. Titanic
Would their love really have mattered if not for the blue diamond named “The Heart of the Ocean?” Everyone in the movie had a love affair with that diamond, including Rose who wore it for the legendary nude art scene, Jack whose spirit grabbed the diamond when an old Rose threw it in remembrance of him, and bad guy Cal who despite being a jerk did buy the beautiful diamond stone in the first place! Never before has a single movie glorified the diamond stone as a symbol of eternal love.
5. A Fish Called Wanda
On the other hand, A Fish Called Wanda demonized every lover who lusted after diamonds and each other in this irreverent 1980s comedy. What could bring all of these egomaniacal criminals and lowlifes together but a collection of diamonds worth $20 million dollars? Memorable performances by Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin and John Cleese carried the movie, but the collection of heisted diamonds served as the film’s ultimate motivation. Where are the diamonds? Why of course, as the movie says from the start, Wanda knows.
6. The Bank Job
The Bank Job is perhaps the most important diamond heist movie ever made since it told the true story behind a 1971 robbery of a bank in Baker Street, London-a crime that was never solved and with no jewels recovered. Why the unsolved mystery? Because of a D-Notice government gag order, supposedly to protect a prominent member of the British Royal Family. While The Bank Job does tell a true story, the screenplay speculates on what could have happened. The mystery is now locked away with the diamonds themselves!
7. Thief
Michael Mann’s Thief was a movie about as realistic as Hollywood could get when it comes to diamond heists. The screenplay was based on a real jewel heist robbery, and adapted from a novel that was penned by a jewel thief serving hard time while the movie was being made. In the film, legitimate robbery tools were used by the actors to add a note of authenticity. Hopefully this film didn’t give anyone ideas…
8. To Catch a Thief
Cary Grant plays John Robie, a reformed jewel thief, in this Alfred Hitchcock thriller. The film begins with Robie being suspected of robbing diamonds and gems from luxury hotels of the French Riviera. He sets out to clear his name and along the way meets heiress Frances. Frances believes him and proves her love for him by helping him escape. Not to worry, the real thief is exposed in the film’s finale but not before one last look at those precious jewels!
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