Movie Moments XXIV: The Man Of A Thousand Faces (Or Maybe Just Seven...Sort Of)

Ernst Stavro Blofeld. He's been played by at least seven people, some just voices, some just bodies for voices, and four in the flesh. Today, we turn our attention to two of them, beginning with the Blofeld played by Charles Gray (who you may recognize as the narrator from The Rocky Horror Picture Show) in the movie Diamonds Are Forever. Now, you all know how I feel about Willard White in that particular movie, but his little bits of dialog aren't the only moments I watch the movie for. No siree bob, Willard aside, perhaps the most surprising moment of the entire film wasn't even a scene of violence. It was when Tiffany Case followed a certain woman carrying cat through the casino only to be pushed into a car where it was revealed that the woman was in fact Blofeld in drag. The first time I ever saw it, my first thought was, "You sir, make for a very ugly woman." My second was, "You also sort of look like Dame Edna." Although, I did like the fact that even though he was wearing sunglasses, he took the time to apply eyeshadow. That, folks, is what you'd call dedication.

(See what I mean?)

Of course, since this isn't just Movie Moments XXIV: The Blofeld Edition, there has to be another, right? Correct you are, my friend. There is. If the audience would direct its attention to another little film called You Only Live Twice, where the archfiend was played by Donald Pleasence. Thank you. Ah, Donald Pleasence. I feel sorry for you, sir, truly I do. First, you think you've solved your James Bond problem by orchestrating his murder, then you find out you were wrong, and then the cat goes nuts.

Folks, don't let that sleeping, presumably happy, cat in picture one fool you. As you can see in picture two, once those explosions started going off, that feline was mad and scared and it was all the guy could do to keep a hold on it. (Let this be a lesson to all you aspiring filmmakers: If the villain has a cat, it would be better for everyone, cat included, if you could find some reason why said villain wasn't holding the cat when the explosions start. Perhaps hand it off to a henchman who can take it off screen, presumably to a waiting escape pod?) All I can say is that I hope for poor Donald's sake that that jacket he was wearing was heavily padded. That said, it did make for a memorable moment, and one that I always seem to catch.