Code Name: Diamond Head
{{short description|1977 film by Jeannot Szwarc}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Code Name- Diamond Head FilmPoster.jpeg
| image_upright = 1.0
| image_alt =
| caption =
| genre =
| creator =
| based_on =
| writer = Paul King
| screenplay =
| story =
| director = Jeannot Szwarc
| starring = Roy Thinnes
France Nuyen
Gilbert Lani Kauhi
| narrated =
| music = Morton Stevens
| country = United States
| language = English
| num_episodes =
| producer = Quinn Martin
| editor =
| cinematography =
| runtime = 74 minutes
| company =
| budget =
| network =
| released = {{Start date|1977|05|03}}
}}
Code Name: Diamond Head is a 1977 American television spy film starring Roy Thinnes[https://web.archive.org/web/20201024182703/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7027ef04 BFI] as an undercover counterintelligence officer known as Diamond Head whose mission is to stop a rogue double agent from stealing the formula for a new chemical weapon.[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/462501/code-name-diamond-head Turner Classic Movies] Originally filmed as a pilot for a new television drama (which was never picked up by the networks), it was eventually used for The NBC Monday Movie on U.S. broadcast network NBC.
[http://www.mst3kinfo.com/daddyo/di_608.html Daddy-O's Drive-In Dirt][https://bandsaboutmovies.com/2020/04/17/code-name-diamond-head-1977/ B&S About Movies]
Plot
Johnny Paul (Thinnes) is a flashy gambler and ladies' man living on Oahu. In reality, he is an agent working for a secret US government agency. He is assigned to a mission to stop the theft of a deadly new gas, which has the potential to cause instant death upon contact. The substance was being secretly created by a top battalion of Marines at the request of a Pentagon official. However, a double agent had infiltrated the unit, killed the executive, and assumed his identity. Paul uses his image to get close to the double agent, who is known by the pseudonym "Tree". However, once his cover is blown, it's a race against time to stop Tree from selling the secrets to an unnamed foreign power.
Cast
- Roy Thinnes as Johnny Paul / "Diamond Head"
- France Nuyen as Tso-Tsing
- Gilbert Lani Kauhi as Zulu
- Ward Costello as Captain Macintosh
- Don Knight as H.K. Muldoon
- Ian McShane as Sean Donovan / "Tree"
- Eric Braeden as Ernest Graeber
- Dennis Patrick as Commander Yarnell
- Alex Henteloff as Dr. Edward Sherman
- Eric Christmas as Father Murphy
[https://www.tvguide.com/movies/code-name-diamond-head/cast/2000031203 TV Guide]
Reception and legacy
Kevin Thomas for the Los Angeles Times praised Jeannot Szwarc's direction, calling it "crisp and driving". Conversely, Thomas was critical of Paul King's script, finding it "too trite to succeed as the escapist entertainment intended".{{cite news|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|last=Thomas|first=Kevin|author-link=Kevin Thomas (film critic)|title=The Spy Game in 'Diamond Head'|page=15|date=May 3, 1977|via=Newspapers.com}}
The film was featured in a season six episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
=Home media=
The film is currently available only in VHS format. The Mystery Science Theater version was released in DVD format on March 27, 2012 as part of the 23rd boxset of the series.[https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/mst3k-volume-xxiii?product_id=1545 MST3K: Volume XXIII - DVD - Shout! Factory]
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0075862}}
- [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/code-name-diamond-head-v10153 AllMovie]
- [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UYtCE1ObwlE Excerpt of MST3K treatment on Shout Factory's official YouTube channel]
{{Jeannot Szwarc}}
Category:1977 television films
Category:1970s English-language films
Category:Films directed by Jeannot Szwarc