Mr Wint and Mr Kidd are fictional characters in the James Bond novel and film Diamonds Are Forever. In the novel, Wint and Kidd are members of the Spangled Mob. In the film they are henchmen for Ernst Stavro Blofeld. In the film Mr Wint is played by Bruce Glover and Mr Kidd by Putter Smith.

Mr Wint and Mr Kidd in ‘Diamonds Are Forever’.

Novel biography: In the novel, the duo have a less flamboyant role. As killers and “enforcers” to the Spangled Mob, it is their mission, among other things, to make sure the smuggling of the diamonds and everything connected to it go off without a hitch. If something does goes wrong, Wint and Kidd (they are never referred to as “Mr” in the novels) are sent to “persuade” the perpetrators to never make a mistake again. They are obviously quite sadistic and give evidence of enjoying their jobs.

From London to New York City it is their job to tail whoever is smuggling the diamonds internationally to ensure that the smuggler doesn’t get any ideas about going into business for themselves. For this, the duo take on the likeness of American businessmen who call themselves “W Winter” and “B Kitteridge”. Whenever Wint and Kidd are not portraying the businessmen, however, they are wearing ski masks so no one can figure out who they are.

Although they are both hardened assassins, Wint is pathologically afraid of travel. When he does have to travel, he wears an identifying nametag and a sticker that says “My blood group is F”. He also has to be paid a special bonus by his employers. Because of his phobia, Mr Wint picks up the nickname “Windy” – although no one would dare call him that to his face. Kidd is nicknamed “Boofy.” Felix Leiter suspects that they are homosexuals.

In a ghost town outside of Las Vegas, the leading gangster, Seraffimo Spang, penetrates Bond’s cover and details Wint and Kidd to torture Bond to learn his true identity. Wint and Kidd then perform a “Brooklyn stomping,” kicking Bond into unconsciousness while wearing football cleats, after which Tiffany Case helps him escape.

The duo are shot by Bond after they abduct Tiffany on the Queen Elizabeth. Bond comes to her rescue by climbing down the side of the ship and diving into their room via the porthole. They have a gun battle, and Bond kills them both.

Film biography: Mr Wint and his partner Mr Kidd are assassins working for Ernst Stavro Blofeld (it can be assumed, though the pair share no scenes with their employer). Their assignment is to kill everyone in the diamond-smuggling ‘pipeline’ that has been diverted to facilitate Blofeld’s scheme to build a giant laser satellite. They are quite possibly psychotic, undoubtedly sadistic – photographing the body of the old lady (Mrs Whistler) they have drowned in the canals of Amsterdam, for example, and joking about sending the pictures to the primary-age children to whom she was the school teacher.

The two use numerous methods of killing their targets (or trying to), some highly creative:

• Placing a scorpion down the shirt of a South African dentist
• Using a radio-controlled bomb to blow up a helicopter shortly after killing the dentist
• Sealing Bond in a coffin and sending him into a crematorium furnace
• Putting Bond into a length of pipeline to be buried in the desert outside Las Vegas
• Tying the feet of Plenty O’Toole (mistaking her for Tiffany Case) to a concrete block and throwing her into a swimming pool.

Their final attempt to kill Bond and Case takes place on a cruise liner after Bond foils Blofeld’s plot. They pose as stewards in the couple’s suite, serving them a romantic dinner consisting of oysters andaluz, shashlik, tidbits, prime rib au jus and Salade Utopia. Dessert is a Bombe Surprise – in the most literal sense, since a bomb is really hidden in it. However, Bond links the smell of Wint’s cologne to his misadventure in the pipeline and quickly realises that something is wrong. After tasting a glass of Mouton Rothschild ’55, Bond casually remarks that he had expected a claret with such a grand dinner. When Wint replies that the cellars are unfortunately poorly stocked with clarets, Bond exposes the henchman’s ignorance, sharply replying that Mouton Rothschild is in fact a claret.

Realising Bond has blown their cover, the pair immediately turn against him. Kidd ignites the shashlik skewers, aiming to attack Bond while Wint ttied to strangle him. During the struggle, Bond first neutralises Kidd by splashing courvoisier on the flaming shashlik, setting him on fire. Within seconds, he is engulfed in flames, and in desperation jumps overboard, apparently already dead as he hits the water. After Bond eliminates Kidd, Case throws the dessert at Wint but she misses, and it reveals the bomb hidden in the bombe. When Wint is distracted by the sight of the bomb, Bond gains the upper hand against him, pulling the villain’s arms between his legs and tying his hands and the bomb together with his coattails. Bond hoists Wint overboard, and the bomb explodes as he falls into the water.

It is hinted in the film that the two are lovers, even holding hands in one scene. The archetype of the incredibly polite pair of villains has been parodied numerous times, as “Mr Wink and Mr Fibb” in Codename: Kids Next Door, as “Mr Touch and Mr Go” in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and (to a far more ridiculous extent) the characters “Fat Man and Little Boy” in Sin City. Mr Croup and Mr Vandemare from Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere franchise are also an example.

See also:

• Bond henchmen