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On Her Majesty\u2019s Secret Service<\/em> is my favorite movie. Not just my favorite James Bond movie, but my favorite movie. I watch it at least once a year, and it never fails to thrill me and to move me.<\/p>\n I revel in nearly every moment, from George Lazenby\u2019s daring plunge to one knee during the opening gun barrel sequence to the bullet-shattered windshield in the haunting final image. Both of these scenes are paired with John Barry\u2019s rejuvenated, Moog-enhanced version of the Bond theme, and the fact that the meaning of the famous music changes so drastically over the course of the film \u2014 rousing at the beginning, harshly ironic at the end \u2014 explains what makes OHMSS<\/em>\u00a0special among the Bond films.<\/p>\n OHMSS<\/em> is unique within the series for a number of reasons. Most obviously, it features Lazenby\u2019s one and only appearance. Less obvious to the casual filmgoer, OHMSS<\/em> is the only Bond directed by Peter Hunt, the editor of all five previous films who created the muscular pace instrumental to the the series\u2019 early success. Hunt gives OHMSS<\/em> a vibe and narrative purity none of the other films shares. It is the only time a director had more control over a Bond than producers Harry Saltzman and Cubby Broccoli, and for various reasons we\u2019ll explore in a bit, Saltzman and Broccoli (and later, Broccoli alone) made sure that never happened again.<\/p>\n For many years, OHMSS<\/em> was the film beloved by Bond fans but ignored by the public. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t count,\u201d was the general attitude. \u201cIt stars that guy nobody remembers.\u201d Yet the movie\u2019s reputation steadily improved, and by the time it was available on DVD in all its widescreen-glory, even the masses were willing to agree it ranks as one of the very best 007 films. For me it is the best of them all because it most successfully captures the experience of reading an Ian Fleming novel.<\/p>\n This, too, can be attributed to Hunt. When he landed the assignment he knew he would be bringing one of Fleming\u2019s best novels to the screen. He was determined to go back to basics and shed the fantastic that had invaded the films, the extravagant gadgetry of Thunderball<\/em> and SPECTRE\u2019s volcano lair of You Only Live Twice<\/em>. In this script Bond would be virtually gadget-free, and production designer Ken Adam, whose futuristic sets made the recent films larger than life, would not participate in OHMSS<\/em>.<\/p>\n OHMSS<\/em> was the first Bond movie after Sean Connery\u2019s departure, and Brocolli and Saltzman, along with the executives at United Artists were anxious whether the series could continue without its superstar. Hell, let\u2019s face it, they were terrified. That makes the choice of Lazenby, a model with no acting experience best known to the British public for carrying around a crate of Big Fry chocolates in television commercials, so puzzling. But Lazenby broke stuntman Yuri Borienko\u2019s nose in his action screen test, impressing Hunt with his masculinity. Believing his candidate had some acting in his background (Lazenby lied), Hunt was convinced he could coach a decent performance from the untested leading man. Broccoli and Saltzman backed their director\u2019s choice, one of the many decisions they would later regret. But perhaps Lazenby\u2019s greatest qualification was that he was brash and foolhardy enough to believe he could follow Connery.<\/p>\n After toying with such terrible ideas as subjecting Bond to plastic surgery, the filmmakers decided to address Connery\u2019s absence head-on. Lazenby is introduced in a marvelous pretitle sequence where he is first glimpsed in oblique closeups and the from the back. Lazenby\u2019s face isn\u2019t revealed until he saves Tracy (Diana Rigg) from drowning and announces, \u201cMy name\u2019s Bond \u2014 James Bond.\u201d Two thugs immediately assault him, and Lazenby gets into an aggressive brawl that shows off the newcomer\u2019s prowess. (Of course, the fact that Bond allows two assailants to sneak up on him on a deserted beach really throws his spying skills into question.)<\/p>\n As the fight winds down, Hunt and screenwriter Richard Maibaum prepare for their coup de grace. While Bond is still occupied with the goons, Tracy steals his Aston Martin, drives as far as her Cougar parked near the road, then peels off (love all those tires squealing on sand!). Watching her drive away, Bond says, \u201cThis never happened to the other feller.\u201d Bang into the titles with John Barry\u2019s stirring instrumental march.<\/p>\n Some people hate this scene. They say it goes too far into shattering the fourth wall. I love the moment, and think it is a playful way to say hello to the new Bond and goodbye to the old. If Lazenby were looking into the camera I would agree with the fourth-wall criticism, but he\u2019s not. His eyes are on Tracy\u2019s car. In an earlier draft of the script the line was \u201cThis never happened to Sean Connery,\u201d and that really would have been carrying it too far. The existing line has a sly double meaning. Sure, in the exchange between Lazenby and the audience, the other feller is Connery. But we don\u2019t know whom Bond the character is referring to. The other feller might be Bulldog Drummond. Or Simon Templar. Or perhaps someone he knows, the sanctimonious 008.<\/p>\n I believe the line is perfect. Not only does Lazenby get his first signature moment (and he won\u2019t have many), but Hunt signals OHMSS<\/em> will not be Bond as usual.<\/p>\n This is the story where, while pursuing his nemesis Blofeld into the Swiss alps, Bond falls in love and marries. It is a union that ends tragically. I apologize if I spoiled it for you, but I figure if you read this far you already knew how things turned out.<\/p>\n To compensate for Lazenby\u2019s inexperience, the filmmakers for once hired a classically trained, established actress to play Bond\u2019s intended. Diana Rigg already was popular with spy fans for playing Emma Peel on The Avengers<\/em> when she was cast as Tracy diVincenzo. Rigg is the best actress ever cast to play Bond\u2019s leading lady, so it is no surprise that Tracy is the best of them all. No other actress would come close until Eva Green appeared as Vesper Lynd in 2006\u2019s Casino Royale<\/em>, and it amuses me that the two female characters that Ian Fleming seemed to care the least about, Tracy and Vesper, would become the most fully realized on the screen.<\/p>\n Rigg is undeniably beautiful, but once Tracy (improbably) overcomes her suicidal tendencies from the beginning of the film, she displays an independent streak and a fun-loving feistiness new to the series. We have no doubt that Rigg would make James Bond, the world\u2019s most commited bachelor, consider marriage. Like many people I tend to cry at the movie\u2019s ending, but lately I also choke up when Tracy appears at the skating rink. The moment is so beautiful, matching Fleming\u2019s description almost word for word.<\/p>\n OHMSS<\/em> features one of the series\u2019 stronger casts, with Italy\u2019s Gabrielle Ferzetti as Tracy\u2019s father, Corsican mob boss Marc Ange Draco, and Germany\u2019s Ilse Steppat as Blofeld\u2019s frightful henchwoman Irma Bunt. A pre-Kojak\u00a0<\/em>Telly Savalas was cast as SPECTRE boss Blofeld. Blofeld is more of a hands-on leader in OHMSS<\/em> than in his other appearances, getting out of his chair to lead the ski pursuit of Bond. Savalas is the best of the screen Blofelds, more imposing than Donald Pleasance in You Only Live Twice<\/em> and less ridiculous than Charles Gray in Diamonds Are Forever<\/em>. The sad fact is, though, that Blofeld was a more memorable villain when he was just a torso stroking his white Persian cat and speaking with Eric Pohlmann\u2019s chilling voice.<\/p>\n Maibaum\u2019s script gives two of the series\u2019 stalwarts, Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell, their finest scenes. Lee seldom had the opportunity to really act when playing M, OHMSS<\/em> allows him a second to contemplate Blofeld\u2019s ransom demands. \u201cCurious thing, snobbery,\u201d he muses. It\u2019s a lovely moment. Maxwell appears to be the one cast member who enjoys her time with Lazenby (the actress admitted as much years later), so the Bond-Moneypenny rapport remains as strong as ever. At his wedding, Lazenby\u2019s Bond says farewell to Moneypenny with a touching gesture, tossing her his hat. She catches it with a tear in her eye. The wedding scene is one of the rare times when Lee, Maxwell and Desmond \u201cQ\u201d Llewellyn appear on screen together. It may be the only time. I\u2019m racking my brain, but I can\u2019t think of any other instance.<\/p>\n Watching OHMSS<\/em> from the vantage of the present, where most action sequences are assembled with CGI and resemble video games, the film\u2019s technical accomplishments are astounding. The ski and bobsled chases, masterfully edited by future Bond director John Glen, rank with the series\u2019 finest action sequences. Not only was the stuntwork daring, so was the photography. Cameraman Willy Bogner captured much of the action while skiing backward with a camera between his legs. He also did this on the bobsled run, which would inspire a riskier chase in Glen\u2019s first Bond movie, For Your Eyes Only<\/em>.<\/p>\n Much of OHMSS<\/em> is simply gorgeous. The movies still had a travelogue appeal at the time, and the helicopter journey to Blofeld\u2019s alpine lair, Piz Gloria (an actual resort still in business today and the first place I will visit should I ever win the lottery) is stirring thanks to Michael Reed\u2019s cinematography and the thrums of John Barry\u2019s finest 007 score (which includes the exquisite love song he composed for Louis Armstrong, \u201cWe Have All the Time in the World.\u201d)<\/p>\n I have often heard film critics and fellow Bond fans acknowledge the superior script and technical work in OHMSS<\/em>, but then say, \u201cIt would be the best James Bond movie if only Sean Connery were in it.\u201d I reject that. First of all, there is a litany of conditions that must be fulfilled to place Connery in an OHMSS<\/em> of the same quality. Foremost is Connery still wanting to play the character. That would not have been the case after 1967, no matter how good the script.<\/p>\n The producers had mooted OHMSS<\/em> as early as 1964 as a follow-up to Goldfinger<\/em>, But an\u00a0OHMSS<\/em> made at that time would have been as expansive as Thunderball <\/em>or You Only Live Twice.\u00a0<\/em>In one of Maibaum\u2019s early story treatments, when Bond rescues Tracy from drowning, he doesn\u2019t carry her from the sea. Instead, Bond drives his Aston Martin into the water, where it converts into a submersible. Hunt probably would not have been given the chance to direct prior to 1968, and it\u2019s unlikely another director would have been as faithful to Fleming\u2019s text.<\/p>\n But let\u2019s pretend a younger, amenable Connery was cast in an OHMSS<\/em> directed by Hunt. It\u2019s still a dubious proposition. For the story of OHMSS<\/em> to work, particularly the ending, Bond must be vulnerable. From Goldfinger<\/em> onward, Connery\u2019s Bond was invulnerable, Superman in a tuxedo. I\u2019m not saying Connery didn\u2019t have the ability to play Bond as vulnerable, but after Goldfinger<\/em> I doubt the audience would have accepted it.<\/p>\n For many reasons, OHMSS<\/em> required a new actor as Bond. And I accept Lazenby as the right actor for the time. Sure, his inexperience shows and his reaction scenes in the first act are awkward. As Lazenby sits opposite Ferzetti and Lee trying to focus on their dialogue, his jaw seems uncomfortable, as if it would rather detach itself from Lazenby\u2019s face and go take a nap somewhere.<\/p>\n Yet Lazenby\u2019s athleticism in the fight scenes cannot be matched, and his acting improves as the film progresses, reaching its fruition in the proposal scene. More than any scene in the entire series, this one puts the greatest demand on the actor playing Bond. Think about it. The actor must convince us that James Bond 007, poster boy of the Playboy Philosophy, wants to settle down with one woman. This could make Daniel Craig\u2019s knees tremble. Diana Rigg\u2019s presence helps Lazenby enormously, but his performance in this scene (which Hunt patterned after the \u201cWalls of Jericho\u201d exchange in Frank Capra\u2019s It Happened One Night<\/em>) is quiet, gentle, thoughtful and utterly convincing.<\/p>\n So if Lazenby was so good in OHMSS<\/em>, what happened to him? I suspect the average filmgoer still believes Lazenby was fired because the movie flopped. Wrong on both counts. OHMSS\u00a0<\/em>was not a blockbuster on the scale as Connery\u2019s previous three\u00a0films, but it was a solid hit. Box-office returns were no reason to fire Lazenby, and he wasn\u2019t fired.<\/p>\n He quit.<\/p>\n The story is a bizarre one. By all accounts, including his own, Lazenby\u2019s ego ballooned the moment he was cast as 007. A year before the public would see his film, Lazenby believed the mere fact he was playing James Bond already made him a superstar. His best friend at the time was Ronan O\u2019Rahilly, Britain\u2019s offshore rock \u2018n\u2019 roll radio impresario and the inspiration for Richard Curtis\u2019 Pirate Radio<\/em>. O\u2019Rahilly convinced Lazenby that Bond was a fad of the 1960s that wouldn\u2019t last into the 1970s and that continuing to play Bond would kill his career. And so while OHMSS<\/em> was still before the cameras, George Lazenby made the worst career decision of the 20th century and announced he would never play James Bond again. Years later Lazenby would acknowledge this was a bone-headed move.<\/p>\n Hunt wasn\u2019t making friends either. OHMSS<\/em> would go over schedule and over budget and he would continually clash with his producers as well as his star. When OHMSS didn\u2019t prove to be a runaway success, the public would blame Lazenby, but Saltzman and Broccoli and United Artists privately blamed Hunt along with his insistence on creating a tense, serious action film faithful to Fleming.<\/p>\n Perversely, the finest film in Broccoli and Saltzman\u2019s series became the model of everything they wanted to avoid in the future. In their desire to run from all that\u00a0OHMSS <\/em>represented, they turned the next film, Diamond Are Forever<\/em>, into the dumbest, sloppiest mess in the series\u2019 history. But Connery had returned so it was another substantial box-office hit, and the producers felt vindicated in their artistically disastrous decisions.<\/p>\n The success of Diamonds Are Forever<\/em> dealt a hit to OHMSS<\/em>‘s reputation. Thankfully, quality cannot go ignored for long and as more people discovered Hunt’s neglected masterpiece, the more admired it has become. I have loved OHMSS<\/em> since the day I saw an uncut print at a James Bond convention in 1981. From that day it has been my favorite film and the Bond movie I considered the best. I used to say \u201ceven with George Lazenby,\u201d but now I say \u201cespecially with George Lazenby.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/31.media.tumblr.com\/eca357edfa3cec51d6dddc192d7168e8\/tumblr_inline_n6lxbacHKC1sqr9zc.jpg?w=700&ssl=1\")
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