Honestly, most James Bond henchmen follow a pretty standard template. You’ve got the giant with metal teeth, the guy with the razor-rimmed hat, or the silent, muscular bodyguard who exists just to get punched. But then there’s Mr Wint and Mr Kidd.
They are weird. Truly, deeply strange.
If you’ve watched Diamonds Are Forever (1971), you know the vibe. They don't look like assassins. They look like a suburban couple who might complain about the HOA or spend too much time at a jazz club. Yet, they are arguably the most prolific killers in the entire 007 cinematic universe. While most villains wait for the third act to do their dirty work, Wint and Kidd spend the first forty-five minutes of the movie basically on a world tour of creative homicide.
The Assassins Who Actually Enjoyed Their Jobs
Most henchmen are just clocking in. Oddjob is loyal, sure, but he isn't giggling. Mr Wint and Mr Kidd? They’re having the time of their lives.
In the film, they are portrayed by Bruce Glover (father of the eccentric Crispin Glover, which explains a lot) and jazz musician Putter Smith. This casting was a stroke of genius or madness, depending on who you ask. Putter Smith wasn't even an actor; the director saw him playing bass at a club and decided his "beatnik" look was perfect for a cold-blooded killer.
They have this bizarre, courtly way of speaking. They always call each other "Mister." They finish each other's sentences. They trade puns like they’re performing a dark vaudeville routine. After drowning an elderly schoolteacher in a canal, Kidd takes a photo of the body, and they joke about sending it to her students. It is unsettling. It's supposed to be.
What the Movie Got Right (and Wrong) About the Novel
People often forget that these guys weren't just a screen invention. Ian Fleming wrote them into the 1956 novel Diamonds Are Forever, but the book versions are way darker.
- The Spangled Mob: In the book, they aren't working for Blofeld. They are enforcers for the Spangled Mob, a Vegas-based crime syndicate.
- The Cruelty: The book duo is less about puns and more about "stomping." In one infamous scene, they put on football cleats and literally kick James Bond into unconsciousness.
- The Phobias: Fleming gave Mr Wint a pathological fear of travel. He has to be paid extra just to get on a plane and wears a name tag that says "My blood group is F" because he’s convinced he’s going to crash.
The movie kept the "implied" relationship but turned the volume up on the camp. In 1971, the idea of "gay villains" was a trope that Eon Productions leaned into hard. They’re seen holding hands, and there’s a recurring bit where Mr Wint is visibly jealous if Kidd mentions another woman is attractive. Is it a bit dated? Yeah. Does it make them more memorable than 90% of other Bond goons? Absolutely.
Why Their Death Scene Is the Most "Bond" Moment Ever
The finale on the SS Canberra is pure 007 gold. After failing to kill Bond with a cremation oven and a buried pipeline, the duo decides to go out with a literal bang. They pose as stewards serving a romantic dinner of "La Bombe Surprise."
The giveaway? The smell.
Bond remembers Mr Wint’s specific, overwhelming cologne. It’s such a small, human detail. Bond doesn't out-muscle them; he just uses their own eccentricities against them. He douses Kidd in brandy and sets him on fire (at which point Kidd jumps overboard) and then attaches a bomb to Mr Wint’s "tails" before flipping him over the railing.
"He certainly left with his tails between his legs," Bond quips. It’s a terrible joke. But for Mr Wint and Mr Kidd, it’s the only appropriate eulogy.
Their Lasting Legacy in Pop Culture
You can see their DNA in everything now. Every time a movie features a pair of polite, quirky assassins who talk about mundane things while preparing a hit—think Pulp Fiction or Killing Eve—they owe a debt to these two.
They broke the mold of the "super-soldier" henchman. They proved that villains could be terrifying not because they were physically imposing, but because they were completely detached from the gravity of what they were doing. They were just two guys on a business trip, picking up souvenirs and making bad jokes while the bodies piled up.
How to Appreciate Mr Wint and Mr Kidd Today
If you’re a Bond fan, or just a student of weird cinema, here’s how to really "get" these characters:
- Watch the deleted scenes: There’s a famous cut scene of them killing Shady Tree that shows just how cold they were meant to be.
- Read the 1956 Fleming novel: Compare the "Brooklyn Stomping" scene to the movie’s more cartoonish violence. It’s a completely different experience.
- Listen to Putter Smith: Seriously. Look up his jazz work. Knowing the "pretty-boy" assassin is a world-class bassist makes his performance even more surreal.
Mr Wint and Mr Kidd remain a fascinating anomaly. They are a product of their time—equal parts disturbing, hilarious, and problematic. They remind us that the best villains aren't always the ones trying to take over the world. Sometimes, they're just the guys serving the dessert.