ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE (1969, UK, 142m, PG) ****½
Action, Adventure, Crime, Romance, Thriller
dist. United Artists; pr co. Eon Productions; d. Peter R. Hunt; w. Richard Maibaum (based on the novel by Ian Fleming); pr. Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman; ph. Michael Reed (Technicolor | 2.39:1); m. John Barry; ed. John Glen; pd. Syd Cain; ad. Robert W. Laing.
cast: George Lazenby (James Bond), Diana Rigg (Tracy), Telly Savalas (Blofeld), Gabriele Ferzetti (Draco), Ilse Steppat (Irma Bunt), Lois Maxwell (Moneypen-ny), George Baker (Sir Hilary Bray), Bernard Lee (‘M’), Bernard Horsfall (Campbell), Desmond Llewelyn (‘Q’), Yuri Borienko (Grunther), Virginia North (Olympe), Geoffrey Cheshire (Toussaint), Irvin Allen (Che Che), Terence Mountain (Raphael), John Gay (Hammond), James Bree (Gebrüder Gumbold), Angela Scoular (Ruby), Catherine Schell (Nancy), Julie Ege (The Scandinavian Girl), Mona Chong (The Chinese Girl), Sylvana Henriques (The Jamaican Girl), Sally Sheridan (The American Girl), Joanna Lumley (The English Girl), Zaheera (The Indian Girl), Anouska Hempel (The Australian Girl), Ingrid Back (The German Girl), Helena Ronee (The Israeli Girl), Jenny Hanley (The Irish Girl).
The first Bond film not to feature Sean Connery proved to be a return to basics, eschewing the smirk-ing humour and excessive scope and gadgetry that had sneaked into the last entry in the series, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. Here, James Bond (Lazenby) woos a mob boss’s daughter (Rigg) and goes undercover to uncover the true reason for Blofeld’s allergy research in the Swiss Alps that involves beautiful women from around the world. This Bond film has an emotional centre, and it stands out as the most authentic adaptation of Ian Fleming’s source material in the whole series. Much has been made of Lazenby’s debut by critics, but they overlook the fact that it is by using Lazenby the makers have managed to capture the true essence of Fleming’s story. The film simply would not have been as successful had Connery remained in the role. That is not to say Lazenby is a better actor or a better Bond, merely that Connery had become so closely identified with the part, he would not have been able to add the vulnerability and sensitivity required without audiences becoming suspicious. Rigg is excellent as Tracy, the girl who Bond wants to spend the rest of his life with. Savalas’ Blofeld has more charisma than Donald Pleasance displayed in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. The photography in the Swiss Alps is stunning and Barry provides his best score of the series. The ski scenes are well-shot and dramatically played. The heart-breaking finale is unforgettable. The result is possibly the best Bond film of all and one that deserves re-appraisal. It is a shame Lazenby did not continue in the role as the producers shied away from authenticity and went for self-parody in Connery’s comeback, DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971) – an approach that would dog the Bond films for more than a decade.
