STUFF YOU GOTTA WATCH - On Her Majesty's Secret Service

ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE

(1969)
With George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas, Gabriele Ferzetti, Ilse Steppat, Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell
Directed by Peter Hunt
Reviewed by JL and JB

Australian model George Lazenby made his only appearance as James Bond in a film largely ignored back in '69 by a public that either missed Sean Connery, or to whom Bond films had become passé. Today, ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE is recognized by fans as one of the high-water marks of the series, with Lazenby as one of its main assets. Lazenby may not have had the most polished acting technique, but he succeeded in playing 007 as a flesh-and-blood human being, rather than a cartoon hero. Diana Rigg, widely acknowledged as the greatest of Bond girls, is more than up to the challenge of portraying a woman with enough smarts, savvy, looks and physical prowess to be credible as a genuine love interest for Bond, rather than just another one of his bed partners.

The film itself offers more character study than is the norm for Bond films, but there's no shortage of action sequences, conspicuously free of gadgets though they may be. It took some time before the film and Lazenby could shake the bum rap they received at the time of the film's release, but ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE now ranks a strong third on many fans' lists of Greatest Bond Films (behind GOLDFINGER and FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE), while Lazenby is now regarded as one of the all-around best Bonds. ½ - JL

The Nehru Jacket? Hey, I may be evil but I still love the Beatles! The first non-Connery James Bond film has the best Bond girl, the best Blofeld, and the best Connery substitute available at the time. The theme song is also superior, and thankfully, it is an instrumental (imagine trying to write lyrics for a song titled "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"!). The plot, when the film finally gets around to revealing it, is absolutely ridiculous. Blofeld will wipe out all life on earth unless he is granted amnesty and a phony title? There's got to be easier ways to go legit. But that's what makes Blofeld a "super villain", an "evil overlord" or, if you will, a "wacked out loony tune". In any case, Telly Savalas makes for one of the most oddly likable Bond baddies, his suave and sophisticated handling of the dialogue playing nicely against his thuggish looks.

George Lazenby has admitted letting fame and fortune go to his head, which, along with public disappointment with the film, led to this being his one and only Bond film. If you ignore the undeniable fact that he is not Sean Connery, he is quite good, especially in the action scenes. Occasionally, but not often, you get the feeling that he is in a bit over his head. If only he had been given a chance to grow into the role, then perhaps things would have been different. But it was not meant to be. After Sean Connery's one-shot return in the silly DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, the Bond films when into a dark period that would have been described by poet John Greenleaf Whittier thusly: "For all sad words of James Bond lore, the saddest are these: Roger Moore." - JB

HOW TO TALK LIKE A BOND VILLAIN

"In a few hours, the United Nations will recieve our Yuletide greetings. The information that I now possess, the scientific means to control, or to destroy, the economy of the whole world."