Having been relieved from Operation Bedlam, a mission whose ultimate goal is the assassination of Blofeld (Telly Savalas), Bond resigns from MI6. M, however, only approves a two-week leave, during which time the spy tracks a lawyer connected to Blofeld to a mountaintop resort. Posing as a genealogist, Bond soon realizes that, although the retreat is harmless on the surface (dominated by a number of ladies of varying ethnic backgrounds), there is a fiendish plan behind it all. And the man responsible for the plot, which includes unleashing a deadly virus across the globe, is Blofeld, and Bond vows to put a stop to the SPECTRE ringleader.
Although
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) performed well at the box office and was one of top grossing U.S. films of the year, it was unfairly dismissed (as was its star) in the James Bond series. George Lazenby was the first actor to portray the cinematic Bond other than Sean Connery, who had decided to leave the series following
You Only Live Twice in 1967. Producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli had spotted Lazenby, who was working as a model, in a television commercial. Considering that this was the Australian actor’s debut in a leading role, Lazenby does moderately well. He’s most likely the least popular actor to portray Bond, and though he is considerably less charismatic than the other men, it was Lazenby who passed on the opportunity to find his footing as 007 and make the character his own. On the advice of his agent, he refused a seven-movie contract to play Bond, believing that the series would fall out of touch in the upcoming decade. Unfortunately, not only did the series continue to thrive, Lazenby also was unable to secure the short-lived popularity he’d garnered during the production and release of
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Though some people have suggested that the film would have been superior with Connery, this is not necessarily true. One of the reasons is that Lazenby almost becomes a supporting player in the movie, as he is outshone by actors and the settings around him. If Sean Connery had the lead, neither the producers nor the actor himself would have allowed the spotlight to turn away for so much of the film’s running time. There is also the fact that, to a certain extent,
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is a love story, one that focuses a great deal on the burgeoning relationship between Bond and Tracy. A spy such as 007, who shares his bed more often than sleeps alone, choosing to be with just one woman is much easier to accept with an actor like Lazenby, who comes across as exposed and vulnerable. Audiences would have shunned the idea of an already established Connery giving up his philandering ways.
It seems as if Lazenby takes a backseat when sharing screen time with the movie’s villain and the leading lady. Diana Rigg, fresh from her role as Emma Peel on the hugely successful British TV series,
The Avengers, is nothing short of hypnotic in
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Tracy is an enigma, seemingly callous at the film’s beginning but sweet and bright as the romance between her and Bond grows. By the end, she’s fully engaged in the action with the men. It’s not so much that the MI6 agent was wooing her (as Tracy’s father had wanted), but more like Bond was spellbound from the minute he met Tracy. There’s also the fact that Rigg is one of the world’s most beautiful women, every movement graceful and seething with untold seduction. Similarly, Telly Salavas as Blofeld proves much more charming than the film’s hero. In one of their scenes together, Blofeld is holding his cigarette in an unusual manner (almost like a knife), such that it’s difficult to take your eyes away from him. It’s telling that the movie’s most interesting scene is the one with Blofeld and Tracy, as he holds the woman captive. The villain is cordial, not cruel, and the “damsel in distress” is decidedly playful, not frightened. It’s a scene that almost makes a viewer hope that Bond waits a few more minutes before saving Tracy.
Much like Lazenby’s co-stars, the action scenes jump into the foreground, sometimes overshadowing Bond (like when he’s literally covered under an avalanche). Director Peter R. Hunt had worked as an editor on previous Bond films, including
From Russia with Love (1963), in which Hunt helped establish a basic formula for the series, with a pre-credit sequence and perceptibly tight editing.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was Hunt’s directorial debut, a rousing, action-packed Bond entry that more than holds its own with the films of today. There are several strong sequences of hand-to-hand combat throughout the narrative, but the final 50 minutes are amazing, including a 15-minute chase sequence with Bond on skis, on foot, and in a car (and Tracy driving), a second ski pursuit, a full-on assault littered with bullets, bodies and multiple explosives, and the most exciting bobsled sequence audiences are likely to see.
Hunt’s action sequences are so impressive that it’s easy to forget that the film was made over 40 years ago. Action films of recent, including
The Bourne Identity (2002) and its sequels, and even the most recent Bond film,
Quantum of Solace (2008), are defined by rapid-fire editing. Hunt’s film is of a similar style, to the point where it’s interchangeable with today’s movies (the credited editor of
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is John Glen, who, like Hunt, would eventually move to the director’s chair). Hunt keeps everything moving at a stupefying momentum. Simple techniques such as limiting the use of rear projection in the skiing and bobsled scenes and including explosions in the tightly edited structure (as opposed to focusing on them with multiple camera angles) is a way to drop the audience into the action. Just like the characters, viewers do not have the time to concentrate on a singular occurrence, let alone take a breath. This method actually makes, as a for instance, both ski chases more exciting than the one in a later Bond film,
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).
Hunt’s film is even a precursor to Hong Kong action films of the 1980s, popularized by such directors as John Woo and Tsui Hark or a star such as Jackie Chan.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, like the Hong Kong films, includes stylized action (Bond sliding across ice as he repeatedly fires his weapon), females who are more than capable in fighting men, and a person using whatever means available as a weapon (Tracy throws bottles, uses her fingernails, and even works a decorative wall to her advantage). Additionally, Hunt incorporates the action scenes so well that he actually foreshadows them. During Bond’s trek to the retreat, viewers can clearly see the slopes and bobsled track. There’s also Tracy behind the wheel early in the film (before she expertly outmaneuvers the baddies while driving through a car race in progress), and the ladies at the retreat in a game of curling, near the place where Bond slides and fires. In one scene, there is an ongoing Portuguese-style bullfight. Hunt focuses not on the bull being dominated but rather the bull charging the forcados, a group of eight men who confront and attempt to subdue the bull. Not to compare Tracy to a bull, but in the movie, two men, both of whom are bigger than her, try to overpower her. But, like the forcados, they underestimate their target and fail to subdue a strong opponent.
In the pre-credit sequence, after Tracy quickly leaves without a word of thanks, Bond says, “This never happened to the other fellow,” while Lazenby violates the fourth wall and eyes the camera and the audience. As the credits roll, characters from preceding Bond films are shown (mostly the women), and following Bond’s resignation, he goes to pack his things, including gadgets from earlier films (such as the breathing apparatus from 1965’s
Thunderball). These moments superfluously acknowledge the fact that Connery is not present.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is at its best when it becomes its own film: a strong and beautiful leading lady, a charming villain, incredible and breathtaking action sequences, all leading to an ending that lingers for days. The end result explains the likely point to hiring an unknown actor to portray James Bond: though the man playing 007 may become a celebrity, it is not he who makes the series a success. It’s a collaborative effort, a film defined by the team.
This is the second film of what has come to be known as the “Blofeld Trilogy,” beginning with
You Only Live Twice and ending with
Diamonds are Forever (1971). Although Blofeld is a character in films preceding
You Only Live Twice, his face is never shown. The Blofeld Trilogy are the three films in which the villain is entirely revealed and is a much more active character.
Rigg is not the only connection to
The Avengers. Joanna Lumley appears as one of the ladies at the retreat (most clearly at a dinner scene), and she went on to star as Purdy on
The New Avengers. Lois Maxwell, who plays Moneypenny, starred in an episode of
The Avengers during the season with Honor Blackman, who played Pussy Galore in
Goldfinger (1964). And, for another Bond-
Avengers link, Patrick Macnee, who was John Steed throughout the
Avengers series (as well as
The New Avengers), would make an appearance alongside Roger Moore in 1985’s
A View to a Kill.
Apparently finding it too difficult to work “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” into lyrics, the film’s opening credits run only with John Barry’s score. In the movie, the audience witnesses Bond’s family crest, adorned with the motto, “Orbis Non Sufficit,” which is Latin for “The world is not enough.” This would be the title of a Pierce Brosnan Bond film (and is next month’s “Bond Is Forever” selection) in 1999.
This film has grown on me, and it seems to improve every time I watch it. I would definitely recommend it to someone who hasn’t seen it, but I would likewise implore that someone who didn’t like it gives it a repeat viewing. What does everyone think of
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service? Any fans of the film? Any George Lazenby advocates?
Bond is Forever will return next month with The World is Not Enough (1999).
