Character information
Name(s):	Plenty O'Toole
Hair/eye color:	Hazel (Eyes), Dark (Hair)
Height/weight:	5'2" (Height),
Nationality:	American
Status:	Deceased
Behind the scenes
Role:	Bond girl
Portrayed By:	Lana Wood
First Appearance:	Diamonds Are Forever (Film)
Last Appearance:	Diamonds Are Forever (Film)

Plenty O'Toole is Bond's opportunistic would-be girlfriend from the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. She was played by actress Lana Wood, younger sister of Natalie Wood.

Film biography

Plenty is first seen in the casino of the Whyte House Hotel in Las Vegas. 5'2", shapely, dark haired, dark eyed, Plenty O'Toole is a very beautiful young woman, and her beauty is enhanced greatly by a low cut purple satin dress that places emphasis on her cleavage, as does her golden and diamond necklace.

Standing at a craps table, her apparent boyfriend, "Maxie", runs out of money and asks her back to his place. With a smile, she politely dismisses his advances and walks away. Her attention is suddenly called back to the table by a high-spending James Bond, posing as diamond smuggler Peter Franks. Walking over to him, she introduces herself and offers to help.

Opportunistically drawn to Bond, she is impressed by his gambling skills and latches herself onto his arm. Bond uncharacteristically tries to send her away with a $5000 chip and a thank-you, but she proves persistent and invites herself back to his suite. Arriving at the room, she abruptly kisses him. Bond responds by undressing her—unzipping her purple satin dress, stripping her down to a necklace, purple high heels and transparent pink panties. Anticipating a night of passion, Plenty excuses herself to the bedroom where she takes off her necklace. Suddenly the lights are switched on, revealing a group of thugs waiting in the shadows.

Forced out of the bedroom by a third goon, her arms folded across her bare chest protectively, the nearly naked Plenty is lifted and hurled out of the bedroom window. She falls several floors before landing in the swimming pool below with a splash. Shocked and furious, she swims away. Bond commends them for an exceptionally fine shot, only to be told by the head thug that he didn't know there was a pool below.

The next morning, Plenty visits Tiffany's home—presumably to confront her rival for Bond's attentions, although her precise motivation is never revealed. Unfortunately for her, she encounters Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, (Who think she is Tiffany Case)  promptly murder her  by drowning her in the swimming pool, either because they mistake her for Tiffany or because they want to silence an inconvenient witness. The discovery of Plenty's body becomes a major factor in winning Tiffany over to Bond's side.

Deleted scenes

In a scene cut from the theatrical release of film, Plenty and Bond share a dinner together in the hotel's restaurant, while being serenaded by a mermaid harpist. Noticing that the mermaid is drawing Bond's attention, she abruptly invites herself back to his room to "thank him properly". At the very least, to walk him back to his door. Despite appearing disinterested in the persistent Plenty, Bond agrees to her request. The scene was to immediately follow Plenty's suggestion that they go for a drink.

In another scene deleted from the film, a soaking Plenty wearing nothing but a white towel returns to Bond's room in hopes of retrieving her clothes and is shocked to find Bond making love to Tiffany Case. Sneaking over to the woman's handbag she she finds a card with Tiffany's address. A decision which would lead to her death the following morning.

Both deleted scenes are included on the DVD of Diamonds are Forever and subsequent Blu-Ray releases.

Behind the scenes

Lana Wood was cast as Plenty O'Toole following a suggestion of screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz.^[1] While filming the scene of finding Plenty O´Toole drowned in Tiffany's swimming pool, Wood actually had her feet loosely tied to a cement block on the bottom. Film crew members held a rope across the pool for her, with which she could lift her face out of the water to breathe between takes. The pool's sloping bottom made the block slip into deeper water with each take. Eventually, she was submerged but was noticed by on-lookers and rescued before drowning for real. Wood, being a certified diver, took some water but remained calm during the ordeal, although she later admitted to a few "very uncomfortable moments and quite some struggling until they pulled me out."^[2]

Images

The death of Plenty.

Add a photo to this galleryAdd a photo to this gallery

References