Henchmen: Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd
Two of my favourite henchmen from the Bond universe are Wint and Kidd from the film Diamonds are Forever. The pair are American assassins presumably in the employ of Blofeld and SPECTRE, although this is never explicitly confirmed. They seem to specialise in various unusual forms of murder and conduct themselves in an otherwise polite manner, often finishing each other’s sentences. As a kid I found them uncannily chilling, I think because of their cold businesslike manner.
They clearly take great pleasure in their work and seem to complement each other on gruesome murders with an appealing brand of black humour. They are actually more than the best of friends and there are a few heavy hints that they might be lovers. This was also the case in the book. They are seriously psychopathic and near the beginning of the film they photograph an old school teacher they have drowned in an Amsterdam canal and joke about sending the picture to the kids she taught.
Later in the film they drown Plenty O’Toole by giving her cement boots but it is done in a swimming pool and at a depth where she can almost breathe but not quite so as to maximise her horror. They also use a scorpion to murder one unfortunate man and they are equally at home with technology using a timed bomb to blow up a helicopter. In a deleted scene they kill off another henchman called Shady Tree by firing a gun which causes a bang flag to pop out before shooting him for real. In the book they are less creative when it comes to despatching their prey but they are equally sadistic and it is obvious they get off on causing pain.
When it comes to Bond their elaborate attempts at assassination merely allow him time to escape or be rescued. They lock him in a coffin at a crematorium and send him into the flames, and then they attempt to bury him in a pipe in the desert before finally going for a bomb. Bond sees through their waiter disguises though and they try the direct route with Mr. Wint strangling Bond as Mr. Kidd throws flaming skewers at him. Predictably they meet their match in Bond and a nasty end follows.
Mr. Wint was played by Bruce Glover who enjoyed a long acting career starting out in television programmes like Perry Mason and the Mod Squad before graduating to various small parts in films. He is the father of Crispin Glover and still works as an excellent character actor.
Mr. Kidd was played by Putter Smith, an American jazz musician who is a talented composer, bassist and teacher. He had never acted before and got the part after director Guy Hamilton spotted him on stage at a gig in Hollywood in 1969. He made another couple of acting appearances after Diamonds but for the most part it was a one time deal.
Wint and Kidd were a very odd double act but their wit, creepy polite demeanour and penchant for imaginative methods of murder made them terrific characters. It is a shame they didn’t survive to make a second appearance.
