Right, OK time to continue with my look at the Bond films having watched all the 60's Bond films at last I thought I would do a review of the one Bond film I haven't really properly watched up until now.
And this film could well be considered the odd one out as it was the only one to feature its Bond, George Lazenby and the film in question is of course On her majesty's secret service. But how does this Bond film stack up???? Well let's find out!
So before I start the usual warning is coming:
SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!
STORY
So the film begins with James Bond (Lazenby) in Portugal, saving a woman on a beach from committing suicide by drowning herself. Bond later on at a casino encounters the same woman, who is Countess Teresa "Tracy" de Vicenzo (Diana Rigg) and she invites him to her room to thank him for saving her life. Bond however when he arrives is attacked by an unidentified man who Bond manages to subdue and he later returns to his own room to find Tracy there who says she has no idea who the man was and the two of them then spend the night together.
The following morning, Bond is kidnapped by several men, including the one who attacked him and he is taken to meet Marc-Ange Draco (Gabriele Ferzetti) who is the head of the european crime syndicate, Unione Corse. Draco tells Bond that Tracy is his only daughter and he offers Bond a million pounds to marry Tracy but Bond refuses but he agrees to continue romancing her as long as Draco gives him the location of Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas) the head of SPECTRE.
Bond later returns to London where he has an argument with his superior, M (Bernard Lee) and he offers him his resignation letter, typed by M's secretary, Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) however Moneypenny manages to persuade M to give Bond two weeks leave to which Bond accepts. Bond then heads to Draco's birthday party in Portugal where Bond is reunited with Tracy and they begin a romance and Draco directs Bond to a law firm in Bern, Switzerland. Bond then manages to enter the office of a Swiss lawyer, Gumbold (James Bree) and breaks into a safe to find letters that show correspondence between Blofeld and London college of arms geneaologist, Sir Hilary Bray. Blofeld is corresponding with Bray so he can claim the title of Comte Balthazar de Bleuchamp.
Bond then travels to the Swiss Alps, posing as Bray to meet Blofeld, who is running a clinical allergy research institute. Bond meets twelve young ladies, who are patients at the institute who appear to be cured of their allergies. At night Bond sneaks into the room of one of the girls and he has a romantic interlude with her but finds at midnight she goes into sleep induced hypnotic state while Blofeld gives the ladies audio instructions for when they are discharged and sent home.
The next night however as Bond prepares to meet with another girl is rumbled by Blofeld and his henchwoman, Irma Blunt (Ilse Steppat). Blofeld then reveals his plan to Bond that he has brainwashed the young women, whom he has nicknamed the "Angels of Death" to distribute bacteriological warfare agents throughout various parts of the world. Bond however eventually manages to escape Blofeld as he skis down the Piz Gloria mountain and is persued by Blofeld and his men. Blofeld however nearly manages to locate Bond at a local village where Bond just happens to run into Tracy with whom he escapes with in her car.
Bond and Tracy then retreat to a barn during a heavy snow blizzard where they spend the night and Bond professes his love for Tracy and asks her to marry him to which she accepts. The next morning Blofeld and his henchmen catch up with Bond and Tracy as they flee again but Blofeld sets off an avalanche which buried Bond and Tracy, however they survive and Tracy is captured by Blofeld.
Bond then manages to return to London where M tells him that Blofeld has demanded a ransom be paid or else he will destroy the world's agriculture by using the brainwashed women and he wants to also be absolved of all his previous crimes. M also tells Bond that the Blofeld's demands will be met and his ransom paid but Bond protests and requests that he go after Blofeld but M refuses. Bond then contacts Draco to enlist his help to rescue Tracy and take down Blofeld and this leads into the film's action climax.....
THOUGHTS
After the retiral of Sean Connery from the role, On Her Majesty's Secret Service had alot riding on the Bond franchise given the success Connery had with the role and it left with some tough shoes to fill. And thankfully the film itself does not disappoint as it is a complex and densley plotted Bond film, which features some excellent action aswell as a different take on the character of Bond himself with him falling in love and wanting to marry and settle down although of course it all ends badly.
The film also features very effective villains with Blofeld now being a more proactive antagonist than we had previously seen from Donald Pleasance's depiction with the mastermind but here Blofeld is not afraid to get his hands dirty and get the job done which also lended a fresh perspective on the character.
The film itself had been in and out of production in previous years due to among other things, also the ongoing disputes with UA studios and Ian Fleming collaborator, Kevin McClory, which saw the the production put on hold. Roger Moore had been intended to be cast in the role after Connery left and they proposed to make The Man With The Golden Gun in Combodia but due to the political climate at the time, production was put on hold and Moore signed up for another series of his TV show, The Saint.
This left the part of Bond to be recast and with several actors in the mix it was eventually the Australian actor, George Lazenby who was cast in the role after Albert Broccoli and the film's director Peter R. Hunt saw the actor in a television ad. Lazenby after the film was offered a contract for seven films as Bond but he was convinced by his agent to turn down the role, which would then leave the role open again for recasting.
PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section contains spoilers!)
As for the performances well they are mostly pretty good overall so let's take a closer look at them.
Starting with George Lazenby who's performance as Bond has always split the critics and even audiences, which in a way is easy to understand why given that he had a tough job following Connery's acclaimed depiction of the spy. Personally however I think Lazenby does quite well in the role as Bond even if he isn't the strongest actor to have played the part, he does succeed in showing a different side to Bond, as a vulnerable man who falls for a woman who he ends up marrying only for things to go horribly wrong. But Lazenby also manages to show Bond's sly wit and charm and does more than well enough at handling the film's action scenes.
And Lazenby has some good scenes in the film that include his opening scene when Bond in Portugal goes to save Tracy from killing herself by drowning in the sea only for him to be attacked by some men. And in the confusion, Tracy manages to flee the scene using Bond's car to drive off to her car and she get's out into her own car and drives away leaving Bond to deliver that line "This never happened to the other fella!" as he makes a reference to Connery's Bond.
Another scene worth mentioning is the one when Bond is reunited with Draco and Tracy at his birthday. And Draco says to Bond "Bond, may I introduce my daughter, Teresa" and Tracy who is not too happy to see Bond, wearily says "We've already met" and Bond says "But each time is a renewed pleasure!" and Tracy gives Bond the cold shoulder and walks away. And Draco says to Bond "She likes you, I can see it" and Bond says to him "You must give me the number of your oculist!".
Then there is the scene where Bond and Tracy spend the night together in a cabin in the Swiss alps, hiding from Blofeld. And Bond in the scene asks Tracy to marry him and she accepts and he says to her after regarding sex "The proper time for this is our wedding night. And that's my New Year's resolution" and Tracy smiles saying "Whatever you say, Darling" and Bond says to her "And that is YOURS". And as Tracy goes up to sleep on a higher up section on the barn, Bond uses a pitchfork to push it down and falls into Bond's arms and he says to her "Its not New Year yet!" and they kiss.
And then we have the scene where Bond and Tracy the next morning continue being chased by Blofeld only for one of Blofeld's men to suffer a gruesome death at the hands of a snow blower as the man falls into it and we see his guts fly up from it. And as Bond looks back and sees this he quips to Tracy "He had lots of guts!" and they continue to try and flee from Blofeld.
Then comes the scene where Bond after he makes it back to London and with Tracey captured by Bloefled, he tries to persuade M to let him go after her but M refuses. So, Bond calls Draco and offers him to take down Blofeld with him and rescue Tracy by saying "I'd like to interest you in a demolition deal that requires certain aerial activity to install equipment!".
And last of all (SPOILER!) there is the scene when Bond get's married he drives off to his honeymoon with Tracy but they stop on the side of the road as Bond gives her a flower from the chain of flowers that are around the car. However at this point out of nowhere, Blofeld drives up with Irma Brunt who does a driveby shooting, leaving Bond alive but Tracy dead and Bond sadly cradle Tracy's body as a police officer on a bike appears. And Bond says to the officer "It's all right. It's quite all right, really. She's having a rest. We'll be going on soon. There's no hurry, you see. We have all the time in the world".
Telly Savalas next up is excellent in his role as the SPECTRE criminal mastermind, Blofeld, who has an ambitious scheme to blackmail the world. And Savalas's depiction of Blofeld is a refreshing one that sees Blofeld as a man of action rather than just an evil mastermind that sits behind a desk, stroking his cat and giving orders to his henchmen.
Savalas also has some great moments that include the scene where Blofeld, having invited Bond to his institute, who poses as Sir Hilary Bray, finally rumbles him and knocks out Bond and later brings him to him where he reveals his plan.
And in the scene Blofeld says to Bond who comes around "Merry Christmas, 007!" and Bond tries to put his Bray disguise but Blofeld says to him "No no no, Mr. Bond. Respectable baronets from the College of Heralds do "not" seduce female patients in clinics. On the other hand, they do get their professional details... "right". The De Bleauchamps tombs are "not" in the Augsburg Cathedral as you said, but in the Ste. Anna Kirch. Sir Hillary Bray would have known!".
And Blofeld then continues to elaborate on his plan to Bond as he tells him about the virus he intends to use if his demands are not met. And Blofeld says to Bond "With a difference. Our big breakthrough since last summer has been the confection of a certain... Virus Omega" and Bond says "Infertility" and Blofeld says to him "TOTAL Infertility! In plants and animals. Not just disease in a few herds, Mr. Bond. Or the loss of a single crop. But the destruction of a whole strain. Forever! Throughout an entire continent. If my demands are not met, I shall proceed with the systematic extinction of whole species of cereals and livestock all over the world!".
And last of all there is the scene where Blofeld, having kidnapped Tracy, offers her to stay with him and be his "countess". And in the scene Blofeld says to Tracy "Now, if you're very, very nice to me. I could make you my Countess" and Tracy says "But I'm already a Countess" and Blofeld says to her "Whereas if you displease me, I can promise you a very DIFFERENT estate!".
Diana Rigg is also great as Tracy and she must rank easily as one the best and most interesting Bond girls in the whole series.
Rigg also has has some good scenes that include the one where Bond meets with Tracy at the casino not long after he saved her life. And Tracy says to Bond "Why do you persist in rescuing me, Mr Bond?" and Bond says "Its becoming quite a habit, isn't it, Contessa Teresa?" and Tracy says "Teresa was a saint; I'm known as Tracy" and Bond says "Well, Tracy, next time play it safe and stand on 5". And Tracy says to Bond sharply "People who want to stay ALIVE play it safe!" and Bond says to her "Please, stay alive! At least for tonight".
Then there is the scene where Bond meets with Draco and Tracy and she seems annoyed and wary of her father's interference in her life. And in the scene Tracy wants to know what Draco wants with Bond and she says to him "Mr Bond wants information" and as Draco asks her "What are you talking about?" and Tracy says to him "You always taught me a good host supplies his guest's needs and without obligation". And as Draco is reluctant divulge any information infront of her, Tracy sharply says to him "Tell him, Papa! Tell him what he wants to know!" and Draco says "Please, please! Its nothing definite" and Tracy yells "Tell him, Papa, or you'll never see me again!".
Another good scene is when Bond and Tracy hide in a cabin for the night in the Swiss Alps from Blofeld. And in the scene they lie next to one another and Tracy asks him "What really happened up there, James?" and Bond says "Her majesty's secret service is still my job" and Tracy says "But there's nothing you can do about your job at the moment, is there?" and Bond quietly says "No". And then Bond asks Tracy to marry her and she accepts.
And lastly there is the scene after Bond and Tracy have married that they playfully talk with one another while they drive and Bond says to her "You know I didn't even send you flowers". And Tracy says to him "But you have given me a wedding present. The best I could have. A future!" and Bond gives her a flower from the chain of flowers attached to the car and he says to her "Mrs Bond...shut up! And don't eat it all at once!".
Gabriele Frezetti also does very well in his role as Draco, Tracy's father who wants her to marry Bond at his request.
And Frezetti has some good moments that include his first scene when Bond is taken to Draco and they discuss his daughter Tracy. And in the scene as Bond meets Draco, Draco says to him "My apologies for the way you were brought here. I wasn't sure you'd accept a formal invitation" and Bond says "There's always something formal about the point of a pistol!".
And as Draco discusses his daughter, Tracy with Bond, Bond says of her "I find her fascinating, but she needs a psychiatrist, not me" and Draco says to Bond "What she needs is a man... to dominate her! To make love to her enough to make her love him! A man like you!". And as Bond is set on refusing, Draco says to him "Listen to me...on the day your marry her, I'll give you a personal dowry of one million pounds in gold!".
Ilse Steppat also does well in her part as Blofeld's henchwoman, Irma Brunt who later (SPOILER!) kills Tracy in a drive-by shooting. Steppat plays Brunt as a typically stern villain and the closest villain to her up to that point in the series is Rosa Klebb in From Russia With Love (although Brunt may not necessarily be a lesbian like Rosa was!).
Steppat has some good moments in the film but I will only really mention the one where Brunt picks up Bond in a helicopter to take him to Blofeld's institute. And Brunt says to Bond during the flight up pointing to the institute "There is the Bleuchamp Institute for allergy research" and Bond says "What kind of allergies?" and Brunt says "All of them! The Count is a specialist in this field!".
Bernard Lee is also great again as M, Bond's superior at MI6 and he has some good moments too in the film that include the scene where Bond argues with M over his assignments and Bond then after tells Moneypenny to take a memo where he announces his resignation. And not long after, Bond is called back in to see M and he goes in, and M without looking up hands back Bond's memo and he says to him "Request granted!".
And Bond, rather stunned, goes back out to Moneypenny and says to her "Requested granted. Not even with regret" and Moneypenny says to him "What did you expect a nighthood?" and as Bond looks at the memo, opening it up he sees it was a request for "two weeks leave". And Bond then says to Moneypenny "Moneypenny, what would I do with you?" and he walks out cheerily and afterward, M clicks his intercom and says "What would I do you without YOU, Miss Moneypenny? Thank you!".
Lois Maxwell also reprises her role as Moneypenny nicely and she plays a small part in helping Bond reconsider his resignation (as already mentioned above!). And further to that scene Maxwell has a good moment where she tells Bond to open the memo that M has granted and Bond is surprised to see it says "Two weeks leave!". And Moneypenny says to Bond "Well, you didn't REALLY want to resign, did you?" and Bond smiles saying "Moneypenny, what would I do without you?" and Moneypenny says "My problem is that you never do anything WITH me!" and Bond smiles and says "Its a date! The moment I get back!".
And lastly Desmond Llewellyn even though his role is brief he is as good as ever as Q, the supplier of Bond's gadgets. And Des has a good scene near the end at Bond's wedding where he congratulates Bond on his marriage and he says to him "Congratulations, I must confess I've sometimes thought you a little..." and Bond says "Irresponsible?" and Q replies "That's the word! Excellent! Thank you! But this time, I can't complain" and Bond grins saying "Nor can I!".
DIRECTOR AND MUSIC
As for the film's director, Peter R. Hunt, he does a fine job with the film here and he shows he is quite adept at handling the film's action and he was previously a film editor and second unit director on previous films in the series, but this would be the only Bond film he directed. Hunt also deserves credit for providing a different take and tone to the series as he tried to make the film a bit closer to the actual spy novel. The only thing I'd say though is Hunt could have made some scenes a bit tighter as the pacing does drag a little but overall he does a fine job with OHMSS.
And lastly getting onto the music, John Barry once again provides an excellent and memorable score for the film which has a very recognisible instrumental Bond theme titled as "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and it features in the film's opening titles. Barry also makes use of more electronic instruments this time around than before to give the film a more hard edge sound (although I'm not sure if the opening Bond gun barrel theme quite works with the synth in it!).
And let's not forget the Bond song "We all have the time in the world" as sung by Louis Armstrong which was composed by John Barry and the lyrics penned by Hal David (Burt Bacharach's lyricist). And it remains as one of the best and most memorable Bond theme songs of the series even if sounds a little sentimental at times but I guess that's no bad thing.
FLAWS
As for OHMSS's flaws.....yeah OK it does one or two.
And to start off I think the film is just a bit too long winded and there are certainly some sequences that slow the film's pacing down that include Bond trying to escape from Blofeld first by leaving the inside of the lift and then exiting the institute on skis. The sequence in itself feels like it takes forever for Bond to leave the institute and get free even if it of course necessary. Plus some of the institute scenes feel a bit drawn out particularly where Bond poses as Hilary Bray and chats up the girls there as it starts to get a bit tedious.
Another issue I had was to do with Tracy and its not so much her character but it was more to do with her accent, which is a posh prim English one and given her father is Italian, she seems just a bit too posh and English to be her daughter. I mean the guy is Italian so unless her mother was English it doesn't quite add up that her daughter would have an English accent at all!
The film I would also say is a bit guilty of referencing its own previous films as seen in the opening scene where Bond says to the camera essentially breaking the fourth wall "This never happened to the other fella!". And this actually opens up the whole idea of maybe James Bond is just a code name for "00" agents as has since been theorised by plenty of fans. But then again we see Bond a bit later looking over props and gadgets from the previous films which suggests that he is the same Bond who was on those adventures. But at this point it feels like the film is trying to poke a bit of fun at the series which is fine but could see the series start to go down a slippery slope of self parody if continued this (which it would later on!).
I also thought the idea of the governments of the world bowing down to Blofeld's demands to pay him ransom money was a bit daft given that in Thunderball NATO was unwilling to pay SPECTRE ransom in exchange for two atomic bombs. And yet this is the same organisation that is making these demands and all of sudden the governments are just going to fold under pressure from Blofeld!
Another daft subplot was also to do with Bond posing as Hilary Bray in the first place because as soon as Bond get's to the institute, Blofeld will know who he is anyway given that surely he recognises him from their previous encounters (unless James Bond really is just a code name for different agents!). But I guess its all just part of Blofeld's masterplan to sucker in Bond and then do away with him once he is there.
Anyway that's it for the flaws.
SUM UP
So in summing up, On Her Majesty's Secert Service is certainly one of the more underrated Bond films and it is actually well worth a look as its intriguing plot, new take on Bond with George Lazenby aswell as a more physical hands-on Blofeld makes the film somewhat more refreshing. The film also deserves credit for having the gumption to end the film on a real down note with Bond's wife being killed, it certainly makes a change from Bond getting away with the girl.
It does still have some problems with its plot and the overall running time of the film is a bit too long as it was the longest Bond film up to this point with its run time of 2 hours and 22 minutes and yes Lazenby's Bond isn't the best but he's still not bad in the part. And if you haven't seen OHMSS then its definitely worth a look and if you have seen it before and didn't like it, its worth taken a second look.
Right, well that's it for now and I'll back again soon.
Till then bye for now.
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