Ranking EVERY James Bond Henchman From Worst To Best
27. Peter Franks (Diamonds Are Forever, 1971)
A dangerous thug once again in the blonde, bruising mould of Red Grant, Peter Franks is a key cog in Blofeld’s diamond smuggling ring.
Franks is initially apprehended by MI6, who plan for 007 to borrow his identity in going undercover. This works for a time, until Franks kills his captors and escapes. Rather than assume there’s something wrong, however, Franks simply heads on to Amsterdam and carries on with his job, as if nothing had happened. If nothing else, his professional attitude is admirable.
It’s there that he encounters 007, in an amusing sequence where Bond poses as an enthusiastic local before engaging him in a brutal close-quarters elevator fight. Franks really distinguishes himself in the brawl, reacting with catlike quickness when Bond rather clumsily attempts to sucker-punch him from behind.
He gives 007 quite a deal of punishment, in fact, and for the briefest of moments, Bond seems to be in trouble. That is until, in typical 007 fashion, he makes full use of his surroundings in incapacitating Franks with a fire extinguisher.
Still, up to that point, Franks had proven himself a tough customer, and who knows, in a different setting with time to prepare, he might’ve been even more of a threat.