TART’S HANDKERCHIEF

Contributed by: The Complete James Bond Movie Encyclopedia by Steven Jay Rubin

The phrase that James Bond (SEAN CONNERY) uses to describe the scent of Mr. Wint‘s (BRUCE GLOVER) aftershave, in Diamonds Are Forever. Rendered unconscious by knockout gas that staggers him in the Whyte House elevator, Bond is thrown into the trunk of Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd‘s (PUTTER SMITH) car and taken to a construction site, where he is placed in a concrete pipe that is later buried in the ground.

In the morning, Bond finds himself underground inside a flood-control pipeline. His only companion is a mouse. Speaking to the mouse, Bond indicates that one of them smells like a “tart’s handkerchief.”

The smell becomes a factor in the film’s final scene, when Wint and Kidd, posing as waiters on a luxury liner, enter Bond’s suite. Agent 007 recognizes the smell, confuses Wint with a bit of wine knowledge, and kills both of them in spectacular fashion.

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