Sean Connery has always been synonymous with the action hero James Bond. His suave, unfazable persona forged a healthy career for the actor. Yet some of his best scenes are often the most overlooked. They showed just how versatile an actor Connery could be, and how he was able to ramp up tension while adding layers of depth to the narrative. So what were his most overlooked movies?
Diamonds are Forever
There are countless Bond movies in which to see Connery shine, but his final outing is criminally overlooked. It is the roulette scene in Diamonds Are Forever where he really hits his stride. This time, he is in a casino known as the Whyte House, where he plays alongside Bond girl Plenty O’Toole. All of this is against the backdrop of a chase to hunt down an international diamond smuggling ring.
When the film was released in 1971, the world of casinos and roulette was still a closed book to many, which seemed exotic and far off. Yet, roulette online gaming has made it more accessible to people from wider walks of life and demographics. Logging on to play online, it is easy to sample a wide range of variations from European, French, and American versions. There are now even live dealer options, which let players connect to a croupier in a studio.
Connery managed to keep this mystique around the game, even making it seem cooler with his own betting strategy. This is now known as the Bond Roulette tactic, which involves covering two-thirds of the number on the table to increase the chances of a win to 66%.
Outland
Humans have a habit of romanticizing situations that are actually far from glamorous. The concept of travelling to space is one of these, as has been the cinematic fascination with the Western. This is what makes Outland such a unique proposition. Essentially a cowboy movie set in space, it shows none of the glitz and glamour you would expect of either genre.
Connery plays a Marshall on one of Jupiter’s moons. At the facility, he runs into a criminal plot, the investigation of which is hampered by a myriad of human affiliations, both physical and mental. From the pull of gravity and the isolation of living in spacesuits, to the last chance saloon attitude of the workers on site, Connery sums up a world of desperation, albeit on another planet.
The Man Who Would Be King
Michael Caine and Sean Connery had a long friendship, starting when they met at a theatre production of South Pacific. Oddly, they only had two cinematic outings together, one of which was this adaptation of a novel by Rudyard Kipling.
It follows the tale of two ex-British army officers during the time of the British Raj. Setting off on an adventure, they end up in Karifistan, where one of them is mistaken for a god. Imperialistic overtones aside, the two work so well as it seems they are so akin to the characters in the movie itself: Two gentlemen who have, and always will be, setting off looking for life’s big adventures.