Lana Wood didn’t just walk into the frame of Diamonds Are Forever; she basically owned it the second she sashayed across that high-stakes gambling floor. It was 1971. Sean Connery was back, getting paid a then-unheard-of $1.25 million to put the tuxedo back on, and the franchise needed someone who could match that rugged, slightly exhausted charm. Enter Plenty O'Toole.
Honestly, the name alone is peak Bond camp. Lana played it perfectly—naive, opportunistic, and undeniably gorgeous. But the story of Diamonds Are Forever Lana Wood is way more than just a girl in a purple dress getting tossed out of a window into a swimming pool. It’s a mix of Hollywood tragedy, missed opportunities in the editing room, and a career that was forever defined by a few weeks in Las Vegas.
People forget she was only 25.
She wasn't some newcomer, though. Being the younger sister of Natalie Wood meant she’d been in the industry since she was a toddler, but this was her chance to step out of that massive, often suffocating shadow. And she did. For a few scenes, she wasn't Natalie’s little sister. She was Plenty.
The Plenty O'Toole Problem: Why Her Role Felt Short-Lived
If you watch the movie today, Plenty’s exit feels... abrupt. One minute she’s flirting with 007 at the Craps table, the next she’s being defenestrated by Slumber Inc. goons. It’s a classic Bond Girl fate, but the reality is that Lana Wood filmed a lot more than what made the final cut.
Director Guy Hamilton ended up trimming a significant subplot that would have given Plenty a bit more agency—or at least more screen time. There’s a famous deleted scene where Plenty actually returns to Bond’s hotel room later that night. She catches him with Tiffany Case (Jill St. John). It’s awkward, it’s funny, and it makes her eventual demise in the swimming pool feel a lot more personal rather than just a random casualty of being in the wrong room.
Why cut it? Pacing.
The producers felt the movie was dragging in the middle. They wanted to get to the oil rig. They wanted the moon buggy chase. So, Lana’s character development was sacrificed on the altar of 1970s action beats. It’s a shame, really, because Lana brought a specific kind of "working-girl" vulnerability to the role that most Bond Girls of that era lacked. She wasn't a nuclear physicist or a secret agent; she was just a girl trying to catch a break in Vegas.
The Connery Connection and Behind-the-Scenes Tension
You can’t talk about Diamonds Are Forever Lana Wood without mentioning the chemistry. It was real.
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Lana has been very open in her memoirs—specifically Natalie: A Memoir by Her Sister and her later book Little Sister—about the fact that she and Sean Connery had an affair during filming. This wasn’t just a "showmance" for the tabloids. It was a complicated situation, especially since Connery was married at the time to Diane Cilento, and Lana was navigating her own tumultuous personal life.
She’s described Connery as incredibly charismatic but also very private. On set, they had to maintain a professional veneer, but the spark is visible on screen. Look at the way he looks at her during the "named after your father?" joke. That’s not just acting; that’s two people who are very comfortable with each other.
But it wasn't all glamorous.
Vegas in the early 70s was hot, dusty, and controlled by the mob. Filming at the International Hotel (now the Westgate) meant dealing with real crowds and the constant noise of the casino floor. Lana recalled the grueling hours and the pressure of being in a "comeback" Bond film. After the lukewarm reception of George Lazenby in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the stakes were sky-high. If this movie failed, the franchise might have died with it.
The Tragedy That Redefined Her Legacy
It’s impossible to separate Lana Wood’s time as a Bond Girl from the shadow of 1981. When Natalie Wood disappeared off the Splendour, Lana’s life changed forever.
Suddenly, she wasn't being interviewed about her work in Peyton Place or her iconic turn in Diamonds Are Forever. She was the grieving sister demanding answers. For decades, Lana has been the loudest voice calling for the investigation into Natalie’s death to be reopened. She’s faced off against Christopher Walken and Robert Wagner in the court of public opinion, never backing down from her belief that the full story hasn't been told.
This search for justice essentially sidelined her acting career.
When you look at her filmography, there’s a distinct "before" and "after." Before, she was a rising starlet who had successfully transitioned from child actor to adult sex symbol. After, she became a crusader. It’s a heavy burden to carry, and it makes her lighthearted performance as Plenty O'Toole feel even more poignant in retrospect. It was one of the last times the world saw her just being an entertainer, before she had to become a detective.
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What Most People Get Wrong About the "Pool Scene"
Everyone remembers the pool scene. Plenty is found floating face down, wearing nothing but her heels, having been mistaken for Tiffany Case. It’s a dark, cynical moment in a movie that is otherwise quite campy.
But here’s the trivia bit: Lana Wood actually did a lot of her own stunts.
While a body double was used for the actual "toss" out the window (for obvious insurance reasons), Lana had to spend hours in that water. She’s joked in interviews about how unglamorous it actually was—shivering in a heated pool that wasn't actually that warm, trying to look "elegantly dead" while the crew fussed with lighting rigs.
There’s also a persistent rumor that she and Jill St. John didn't get along.
Jill and Lana had history. Jill had been involved with Robert Wagner, Natalie’s husband, and the tension between the two women on the set of Diamonds Are Forever was palpable. They reportedly refused to speak to each other unless the script required it. Decades later, at a Bond reunion event, the feud reportedly flared up again, proving that Hollywood grudges have a longer half-life than most isotopes.
The Enduring Appeal of Plenty O'Toole
Why do we still care about a character who has maybe ten minutes of screen time?
It’s because Lana Wood understood the assignment. She knew Plenty wasn't a deep character, so she gave her a personality that felt lived-in. She played her with a wink. In a film series often criticized for its treatment of women, Lana’s Plenty feels like she’s in on the joke. She knows the world she lives in.
She also represents the end of an era. Diamonds Are Forever was the bridge between the gritty 60s Bond and the pun-heavy, over-the-top Roger Moore era of the 70s. Lana was the perfect bridge for that transition—classic Hollywood glamour mixed with a modern, slightly cynical edge.
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How to Appreciate Lana Wood’s Contribution Today
If you're a Bond fan or a film history buff, don't just watch the theatrical cut. To really see what Lana was doing, you have to dig a bit deeper.
- Watch the Deleted Scenes: Most Blu-ray editions of Diamonds Are Forever include the "Plenty comes back" sequence. It changes the whole vibe of her character. You see her as someone with a bit of "spunk" rather than just a victim.
- Read "Little Sister": If you want the unfiltered truth about the Connery affair and the tension with Jill St. John, this is the source. Lana doesn't hold back. It’s a raw look at the industry from someone who was chewed up and spat out by it.
- Compare her to the "Searchers" Era: Watch Lana as a child in The Searchers (playing the younger version of her sister's character) and then watch her in Bond. The range is actually impressive when you realize she’s been hitting marks since she was five years old.
Lana Wood might have been named Plenty O'Toole as a gag, but her impact on the 007 mythos was substantial. She provided the warmth and the stakes that Connery’s Bond needed for his "grand return." She wasn't just a girl in a pool; she was a survivor of the Hollywood machine who, for one brief moment in 1971, was the most famous woman in the world.
The reality of being a Bond Girl is often a double-edged sword. It grants immortality but often kills a serious acting career. Lana navigated that better than most, even while dealing with a family tragedy that would have broken anyone else. When you see her on screen now, don't just see the purple dress. See the woman who lived through the Golden Age, the Bond craze, and the darkest mystery in Tinseltown history.
Actionable Takeaways for Film Buffs
- Look for the nuance: Next time you watch the casino scene, watch Lana's eyes, not just her outfit. She’s playing a character who is constantly scanning the room for her next meal—it’s a great piece of physical acting.
- Context matters: Remember that this was Connery's big "payback" movie. The energy on set was frantic, and Lana was the "calm" in the center of that storm.
- Support the legacy: Lana is still active in the fan community and often appears at conventions. Unlike many stars of her era, she embraces the Bond legacy wholeheartedly.
The story of Lana Wood in Diamonds Are Forever is a reminder that there are no small parts, only small actors. And Lana Wood was never small. She was Plenty.
Next Steps for Deep Diving into 1970s Cinema History
To get the most out of your retrospective, track down the 2006 documentary The Bond Girls Are Forever. It features Lana Wood discussing her role with Maryam d'Abo. It provides the necessary context on how the role of women in the franchise shifted specifically because of the way Lana and Jill St. John were written in this film. Seeing Lana speak about the role forty years later adds a layer of maturity and reflection that you won't find in any contemporary 1971 interview.
Also, if you are interested in the technical side of how those "lost" scenes were recovered, look for the work of film restorationists who worked on the Bond Ultimate Editions. They detail the painstaking process of finding Lana’s cut footage in the MGM vaults, which had been mislabeled for decades. It’s a fascinating look at how much of a movie’s heart is often left on the cutting room floor.