Who knew that such a good movie could have such a bad title sequence?
In the wake of You Only Live Twice, Sean Connery decided to step down as James Bond because of issues like the increasing demands on his time as an actor. Naturally, Producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman had no choice but to recast the role for the sake of the franchise. After a long search with multiple front runners, the two men picked an Australian model by the name of George Lazenby after seeing him in a few ads for Fry’s Chocolate. A rational man might think that someone with no real acting experience would be a mess on the screen, but that was not the case with this film.
Against the odds, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was turned into a criminally underrated movie, even though it still has some flaws that wear it down a bit.
This Guy Is Different.
Bond goes undercover? Since when?
One of the most interesting aspects of this particular film has to be Lazenby’s performance. In many ways, his Bond is a bit more reserved than Connery’s wise-cracking assassin and incorporated several elements that would later be reflected in Timothy Dalton and Daniel Craig’s plays on the character. Of course, this Bond is still suave, confident, and a badass when he needs to be, but it seems like Lazenby, Peter Hunt, and Richard Maibaum took Connery’s criticisms to heart and made the character more human than he was up to this point.
In a master-stroke of casting, the production team put Diana Rigg in the film as Tracy di Vicenzo, marking an interesting turn from the supposed damsels of Connery’s films. While she certainly played a great love interest, Tracy is notable because the creatives tried to give her multiple sides, such as being a rather talented driver. Her character development is not quite as good as that of Vesper Lynd in 2006’s Casino Royale, but it’s something special that flies in the face of what is commonly thought about this era of film.
SPECTRE also returns in this film, albeit in a subdued manner. Telly Savalas makes a great Blofeld, partly because he brings out a sinister side of the character that just wasn’t there in the previous installments. This film also marks the final performance of Ilse Steppat, who did a good job as the primary henchwoman. I know that this seems rather vague, but that’s because the two of them deliver rather traditional performances until they figure into one of the darkest movie endings ever made.
The Story Is Unique.
Diana Rigg is a wonderful actress, and this is one of her best performances.
The plot of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is remarkable for its time in two important ways.
First, let’s take a look at the big picture. While the film has many elements that hew closely to the established formula, the critical differences make this film seem like something that John le Carré would have written. It’s a bit slower, more methodical, and doesn’t have as many explosions in it, but that’s because a huge chunk of the film is actually devoted to the classic tradecraft that spies used to adhere to in the time before the Internet. Bond develops a cover, dons a disguise, and tries to use his wits to uncover Blofeld’s latest plan.
I can’t think of a single Bond film before or since that has done that.
On top of that, the story balances its WMDs with a good love story that adds quite a lot of depth to 007. I happen to believe that Connery, Lazenby, and Moore are playing the same guy, so it can be said that this film explains his behavior before and after the fact. After all, he has to deal with something that would induce PTSD in any normal man, and it’s easy for a viewer to see why he is the way he is.
With that said, this movie isn’t the hallmark of perfection.
What Doesn’t Work?
I’m not going to knock this film too badly for its cornball visual effects. Remember, these are products of the time.
The plot and characters are worth a watch on their own, but I think that On Her Majesty’s Secret Service has two distinct flaws that keep it from the true greatness of films like Casino Royale.
In an odd twist, the musical score becomes distracting in two important areas: the opening title sequence and the love montage between James and Tracy. For some reason, the producers decided to run with an instrumental score for the opening, only to switch to a traditional song during the montage. It may seem like a small issue, but it isn’t because they could have switched it around and used the time in the film to develop Bond and Tracy’s attachment through words.
On the weirder side of things, some of the fight scenes are not all that good, especially in the first half. There are clear instances where one can see that the footage has been sped up to make the scene look a bit better, but some viewers might find that technique to be a bit janky in the face of what came before and after. It’s not awful beyond imagination, but it can easily remind the audience that they are watching a film instead of experiencing a story.
Conclusion.
What could have been?
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is not perfect, but it is a fascinating look at what Bond could have been before the arrival of Timothy Dalton and Daniel Craig. Sadly, we will never know what might have been because Lazenby was persuaded to step down after one film, but what a film it is! The story is good, the characters are great, and its effect on the overall franchise cannot be understated. And if nothing else, watch it for the ending. You’ll be glad you did!
Next Up: Buckle your seatbelt because Diamonds Are Forever is going to turn this retrospective into a bumpy ride!
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