Nothing More, Nothing Less- On Her Majesty's Secret Service at 50 (1969-2019)

Lovely photos. I'm sure Diana is saying it's bloody freezing.

Shame the Quarterdeck house burned down. I'm sure the new owners wouldn't mind if I popped by one day and asked: would you mind if I just drove my car into the drive for a second?

She does look like she'd rather be somewhere else. The PTS was one of the last scenes filmed wasn't it? Maybe she had one eye on her holidays.

As for Quarterdeck, there's no harm. It's a snooty little town Marlow where the location is, so it might work or go down a treat.

Great photos Hilly! That's one location the Bond tour could have taken us in 2007.

Thanks. Maybe, Marlow's a little out of the way but it would have been pleasant. Kitts managed to blag a way into the College of Arms when I met her, so if we had gone out west I'm sure we would have somehow managed to get into someone's home. I think I would have stepped over the doorway with: "It's French for Blofeld."

Hilly's post on the previous page probably can't be topped, so I'll just post what I said on Facebook last night about my annual festive rewatch -

'Now you all know I watch OHMSS at this time every year anyway, what with it being set around Christmas ... but this is its 50th anniversary year, so I'm going to say a bit more than usual.

On his screen debut (and first actor to attempt to fill Connery's frankly huge shoes) George Lazenby acquits himself ably, aided by the brilliant and beautiful Diana Rigg. This being one of the Bond movies that sticks closest to its source novel (including that emotional gut-punch of an ending) undoubtedly helps. There's some stunning cinematography, and John Barry's terrific score (and of course Louis Armstrong's gorgeous 'We Have All The Time In The World', one of the finest songs ever to grace the series).

Of course I look forward to April and Daniel's 007 swansong No Time To Die, but for now I'm going to sit back and enjoy George's one shot at it.

Bond ... James Bond. Britain's 'blunt instrument'.

Nobody Does It Better.'

Nice one Blunty. It matches my essay well if I may say so

I find myself curious what your FB audience will say. I know some of mine aren't Lazenby fans ha

13 'likes' and an old mate saying it's his favourite Bond flick of them all. Not too bad .

Nice, re-sult. I know from recent experience, the mention can kill conversations instantly.

Heh. I still get asked if Lazenby was the first Bond in black-and-white.

Very nice BI! Can't disagree with any of that.

Cheers gents.

Revisiting this I found ages ago. Would've been interesting to see this scene at least on the DVD special features somehow intact with the action and everything.

Nice ... those St Paul's steps have seen Cybermen stride down them in both Troughton and Capaldi Who stories, would've been cool if Bond running down them also had been included in OHMSS' final cut.

Those steps are where the Millennium Bridge now goes into. That picture of Laze on the steps is the one I got autographed and sparked him into him conversing with us.

It's funny how London has changed since 1969. I can sort of see why the scene was cut but surely it should be on a DVD somewhere by now? You look at the special features of recent releases and makes you wonder.

Hilly wrote:

Revisiting this I found ages ago. Would've been interesting to see this scene at least on the DVD special features somehow intact with the action and everything.

Agreed. Surely it's in a vault somewhere and would have been perfect to release as part of the 50th anniversary. Perhaps with an introduction from Lazenby himself.

after the above video, I decided on my days off this week, if I was passing, to capture some London OHMSS locations. If anything it shows how time marches on in fifty years.

"I went to the College of Arms, in the City of London, to see Sir Hilary Bray..."

regrettably, there's no easy way of getting the same angle as in the film. I stood on a central reservation to do this. In recent years the College has had some work done on it. I wanted to go into it like myself and Kitts did in 2007 but left it. The inside was much smaller than the film depicts, (where you see Lazenby go to the front desk), a set more or less. I won't lie, whenever I pass it, I hear the music from that scene.



Near as I could for the best shot of where you see Lazenby's publicity shot that I got autographed (I can repost that if anyone wants it, ha!). There's a very small matter of that in the past 20 years (already!?), the Millennium Bridge has been built so goes where Lazenby would've been.



this one did my veritable nut. I recall reading that the sign for Universal Exports in the PTS (where you see Hunt's cameo), was on a building in Parliament Square. So, I came over and saw things had changed. I did some quick googling and took two angles. The first is away from the square and the second is further up the pavement. Since 1969, the building adjacent to Parliament has been demolished (to make way for Portcullis House in 1999), so this might well be it. A website claims this building I stood next to, the old Treasury, was where Lazenby is filmed heading into MI6. I must've missed that.

Hilly, providing virtual OHMSS tours since 2019. Perhaps Lazenby did film his arrival to SIS before his resignation two weeks leave scene, but got chopped in the edit. OHMSS was, after all, the longest Bond film until CR.

Curiously, never seen Bond arrive at HQ, excluding temporary digs. Wonder if we'll return to Vauxhall when Bond #7 comes along. Seems a waste not to use the actual building.

Great pics, Hilly. London is a marvellous city (though arguably its best days are long behind it).

Thank you fellas. Yes, CJB, London's best days are sadly behind it in a lot of ways. I'd love to have been able to walk around before the Blitz when certain places were livelier.

Otherwise, as far as I am able, OHMSS locations are much beyond my reach.

As far as Bond turning up to HQ, Fields, I'd suspect the closest is the temporary or other MI6 places like Bladings in Daylights, the pyramid in TSWLM, etc.

My mind went to Bond and Tanner arriving to new digs in SF, and the new CIS building in SP. Wonder if there were any shots of Bond arriving at Vauxhall (mock up, naturally) in TWINE in the original edit (which was almost an hour longer, IIRC).

Love the little glimpses into MI6, be it the corridor or communications room in DN, the halls in TWINE, the connecting rooms in GE, DAD...

Heck we should all just show up outside one day dressed in our best 50's holdover office DN attire. I call comm head with styled hair, glasses and pullover sweater!

I'll go as the chap who fetches Bond from the club.

We got a separate thread for these vids but thought this appropriate for Hilly's thread. Plus, I'm sure he'd love to watch this.

And spoiler alert: they gush.

occasionally I find some bits and pieces I like the look of, something unique in its angle perhaps. I have a few of Lazenby and Rigg at some press conference where he has a gun, but for now we'll settle for these

"That one's the brake, Diana.
-Oh, I don't think we'll need that one."



"One more word about garlic, and between the eyes"







this poster intrigues, Laze mucking about with some of the Angels of Death...

Like that last one in particular ... 'I might be in a spectacular location, but right now I'm too busy having a nonchalant fag!'

Good finds, sir Hilly! What a poster. Imagine Daniel Craig doing that today? Those Angels would be replaced with Q, C and Tanner, no doubt.