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

Yeah, that poster is intriguing isn't it? I reckon someone stumbled on Lazenby backstage...

Valid points on Craig. I think Phoebe Whaller-Bridge would have kittens if she saw that.

Hilly wrote:

Yeah, that poster is intriguing isn't it? I reckon someone stumbled on Lazenby backstage...

Certainly explains Rigg's absence.

Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang wrote:

Hilly wrote:

Yeah, that poster is intriguing isn't it? I reckon someone stumbled on Lazenby backstage...

Certainly explains Rigg's absence.

That it would. Maybe that's why the Angel of Death is wielding a machine gun, Riggster came at Lazenby wielding a knife.

Hilly wrote:

Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang wrote:

Hilly wrote:

Yeah, that poster is intriguing isn't it? I reckon someone stumbled on Lazenby backstage...

Certainly explains Rigg's absence.

That it would. Maybe that's why the Angel of Death is wielding a machine gun, Riggster came at Lazenby wielding a knife.

Or garlic.

Yes, the most potent weapon of a Bond girl in the 60s apparently.

Well, I'll do it here, so to speak, I'm revisiting OHMSS.

Hilly, this is news?

Well, lads, first time on blu-ray!

I'm far too easily impressed you know. I mean watching Jaws last year for the first time in blu was like watching it anew, my original Galactica episodes...anyway, here we go.

ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE

the PTS seemed a little, er, blue and Tracy and Bond's chat at the casino seems brighter. But man those purples are so vivid. Random thought. Imagine if that was Casino Royale and had the film used its loaf and actually had the casino in Royale-les-Eaux (I mean, c'mon Babs, casino ROYALE for a reason) we could've had some thinly linked, er, link to OHMSS.

I'll say it again, Lazenby had a look about him as he walked. Like Connery's panther like stride, it's not a cock-of-the-hoop stride but there's something about it you believe on one hand he's your average [maybe quite cool] chap and yet, deep down, liable to rip your throat out if pressed. This is another, small reason why a second or third or whatever Lazenby outing is missed. Could imagine his entrance into the casino at the Whyte House, surveying the tables or as he walks down the Strip plagued by memories of Tracy and gathering thoughts of revenge. Even perhaps standing on that island at the alligator farm watching the beasts snapping at him. Physicality matters with Bond, he doesn't need to be a hulk. It's in the walk, it's in the posture. With Connery, Lazenby, Brosnan and even Dalton, they looked say average chaps on the street, handsome chaps at that, who could be found in the City, in the clubs, in Soho for entertainment but were professional killers. I omit dear Sir Roger, as honestly he never quite had the killer feel. He had the stride and the class but, well.

And the balls on Lazenby. He's, what almost 30 when he starts on this endeavour. Young, inexperienced, a little hotheaded and too sure of himself perhaps off camera but he handles himself well. The odd moment that probably isn't polished but as said elsewhere, this all helps him in this film. This film is Bond at his most emotional, vulnerable even and there's enough with Lazenby that shows it.

Like how Bond's initial decline to Draco is after "she's very attractive but..."

And when Draco says some of his best men have defected. I wonder if at Piz Gloria Draco had revenge in mind. He's El Capo after all.

Still my favourite Bond/Moneypenny and Bond/M interactions of the series. M has the air initially of a disgruntled father perhaps and is firmly in tune with my image of Fleming's M (especially in OHMSS where Bond goes to Quarterdeck at Christmas to discuss Blofeld and the chaps from the Ministry show up). Oh how criminal we didn't get some longer version of Quarterdeck on film or with Lazenby. Could see Lee's M tossing the Christmas crackers aside. "Mrs Hammond would insist despite my requests."

Every scene in this film does strike me sometimes as being unique to the Bond series. Draco's ranch or villa one such scene, the montage, Gumbold's safe...Yes alright they happen to this one film but there's a feel about them.

And the montage, well, excellent. If anyone is to be sold that James Bond falls in love with Tracy, this does most of the work. I assume that the montage takes place over a few weeks maybe. In the book almost a year passes I think from when they first meet to her rescuing him in Samuden. Criminal that Louis Armstrong's song didn't become a hit until many years after he passed.

Now I like to spot, especially in a film I've seen over a hundred times, little bits. Is it me or as Bond comes out of Gumbold's office after cracking the safe, as Lazenby sweeps his gaze around the corridor he momentarily catches the camera? Or at Quarterdeck, as M receives Hammond, after Hammond says Commander Bond is here, there's a flicker of the eyelids. Mild irritation?

Overthinking Hilly.

The blu seems to come into its own for the journey to Blofeld's hideaway. The snow seems as bright and luminous as that day and the music is still as good, blu or not. Though I found myself thinking that the blu gave us Lazenby's voice for his Sir Hilary scenes...ahem.

Such is this film, I visualise Piz Gloria's interiors as we see it when reading the book. I'm not sure if he did, but Hunt it feels was keen on getting the feel of the book onto the film and everything with it. I know that he wanted to take Bond back to basics almost, away from relying on gadgets or being overwhelmed by them.

Do like how Lazenby seems completely bored listening to the nonsense Blofeld is bashing on about when he first meets him. Just like how in the book Bond found it tedious.

For the first time I felt an air of danger, of menace when Bond is confronted by Blofeld after waking. There's a quiet edge to Savalas' Blofeld -for one he has the physicality to match Lazenby's Bond (you can't imagine Pleasance or Gray's Blofeld hopping onto skis to go after Bond). But Blofeld has too much faith in the authorities if he thinks that Bond would be quite useful as a bargaining tool. Bond would be discarded like he never existed. I'm willing to bet Lazenby's Bond never bothered packing his cyanide.

Tracy's appearance is as good in blu as before. From here on Tracy comes into her own. She's in charge, she has the tools and she's going to save Bond.

Still love the look Bond gives Tracy in the car at the race, she has her tongue out, she's enjoying herself and he gives he a brief "are you fucking enjoying this?" kind of look. Oh, if only Eon went nuts in 1970, convince Lazenby to stay on, redo the end of OHMSS and we have the wild and wacky adventures of Mr and Mrs Bond. If Rigg hated Lazenby then she wouldn't ever.

If Hunt was willing to cause an avalanche just for OHMSS can you imagine subsequent films?

Wish there were alternate takes of Tracy's fight with Gunther. Some classic Emma Peel jabs and karate kicks. Bounce his head off the desktop just as Bond walks in. "That's my girl!"

The ending is still crushing. Can any film really still have that effect after hundreds of viewings? You know what's coming, you know that's it as far as Lazenby is concerned and yet, you see that damn Merc sneaking up and then...boom. It's over.

And so am I.

Superb write up, Hilly! Refreshing to see this acknowledged:

Hilly wrote:

Physicality matters with Bond, he doesn't need to be a hulk. It's in the walk, it's in the posture. With Connery, Lazenby, Brosnan and even Dalton, they looked say average chaps on the street, handsome chaps at that, who could be found in the City, in the clubs, in Soho for entertainment but were professional killers.

Hamburg Break In/Out springs to mind.

I agree the Bond/Moneypenny scenes are perhaps the best in the series because of the poignancy. Bond tossing her the hat is as good as it gets. Oh but then there's FRWL's exceptional use of Moneypenny...Though there's a case for any of the 60s Moneypenny scenes (YOLT aside), and dare I say it, GE and TND.  

Wonder if Bond reporting to M after the avalanche could have occurred at Quarterdeck? I found much of Bond, M and the Ministers discussion in the book to be riveting material so a shame, as you say, that we don't get that realised on screen.

Nice write up.

I've had a hankering to watch OHMSS lately though also feel like I should wait for Christmas, which is of course the optimal season to be watching the film.

When was the last time you watched it, CJB? Or any Bond movie, for that matter?

I'd say anywhere between 6 and 12 months ago for OHMSS.

Watched DAF a couple of weeks ago by accident as it was on the teevee.

I'd say I'm only averaging about 3 or 4 Bond films per year these days.

CJB wrote:

I'm only averaging about 3 or 4 Bond films per year these day

And Diamonds Are Forever was the last one you watched? That'll do it.

"Armed...and dangerous."

That's not a gun he's holding up...

There's no point creating another thread for it so we'll ask it here. I was murmuring to myself about OHMSS other night and a little question came to mind.

Bond meets Tracy in the PTS, notes the car of course and after the titles, pulls up at the hotel and observes the car's there. Asks the hotelier etc...

Bond's wearing a fresh suit than the PTS. In the book, the whole thing's tied together. He eventually catches up with Tracy at Casino Royale. Somehow I always figured this was the case in the film. Has Bond changed clothes at the beach? Or has somehow he caught up with her a day on?

Little things I know but lately I find I observe these films to the inch...!

Never given it much thought, simply took it as either later in the day or the next. Makes sense that Bond could have changed at the beach - regardless of whether he's on assignment or on holiday, there's a good chance he'd have his luggage with him, and would want to get out of those clothes after his splash in the waves.

It is nitpicky but my mind works in such ways now. That's a deleted scene right there, Bond getting undressed on the beach. Drive the women nuts.

Tis that time of year once more and so, I've done it twice earlier in the year, we go again.

The first viewing since Dame Diana passed and so the viewing focuses on her a little more. It's also roughly around the 51st anniversary. Sobers me to think one day I'll be watching this for the 60th, 70th, maybe 80th anniversaries, God alive I might still be kicking for the 100th!

Anyway, rein it old chap.

It is hard to find new things about a film you've seen a few times but what a ride. In the first twenty, Lazenby has struck a balance of sorts for humour, action and all in between. Action: the punch up in the hotel room (strikes me no stunt double here at all or body double, or else the editing is that quick you don't notice) and humour. Always chuckle at his "mystery tour, hmm?" -lines like "I can think of something more sociable to do" etc. Indeed, the way he is with Tracy in the bedroom when she turns up. Pissed, not in the mood really, not for that initially. Wanting the gun, frustrated by her. Pushing her away. Some will say bad acting here, but his "get dressed". Just get out of my sight woman.

Also there's something at the card table as Lazenby deals. Either Laze is not in the mood, can't find his feet or whatever, he looks like he'd rather be somewhere else. Sort of suits Bond, in the book of course by the time he's at Casino Royale, he's considering quitting the service, had enough of BEDLAM and is spinning his wheels. Tracy's shot past him like a bullet and well...even Casino Royale and Royale-les-eaux doesn't do what it used to.

It did make me wish Peter Hunt had been in a position to do Casino Royale the novel. The camera angles at the table are decent. The fight scenes would be, I suppose edited like TB/OHMSS but you wouldn't need the Madagascar/Venice bits. And it'd be in France too.

Anyway. The film boasts, to me, best interactions of Bond with both M and Penny. Q is N/A in this sense, Bond doesn't really have much to do, not officially, with Q. Bernard Lee has good moments with both Connery and Moore, but from the off it's like the books. "That's all, that's all!" one reason why doing the book's scenes at Quarterdeck could've worked purely for Lee and Lazenby. Lee's M confronted with Christmas crackers alone. The "request granted", I mean this is all what became lacking after a point. I'll lay my head on the block and it's probably the deepest performance M wise since FRWL ("Yesh, well there was this one time M and I were in Tokyo").

Tracy if played by anyone else, even Deneuve, might have been somewhat lacking. Dame Diana having just left Avengers, has that edge action-wise (and you suspect had she not been, Tracy wouldn't have been involved in fighting per se).

As in a separate thread, musically it remains a delight. I do wish the medley for Bond's office was on the OST, as much as it's obviously just pieced together like Red October's end credits. Someone on YouTube has the theme in isolation, I'll link it in the music thread.

Draco is damned likable from the off and it's one reason, though the book is linked to the literary OHMSS more than the film, that I don't care for Draco turning villain in the Benson Bondverse. I entertain the thoughts sometime of a world where Tracy lived, Bond quits the service and Draco is delighted to see his grandchildren every so often.

And still, the daring of putting a song in the film itself and a love song at that. I can only imagine what audiences in '69 thought.

Starting to think Gumbold needed his own tv special. "I shall be back in an hour!" reckon he's actually German, ex-Gestapo, likes a power trip and someone slipped the Playboy in his newspaper to test the waters.

There was a focus on the alpine flight. It's a scene for a start that would be out of place in another Bond film without a Barry track to accompany it. I was quietly struck, still, by the fact it appears Steppatt and Lazenby were in the helicopter for some of the journey. I figured it was some rather good backprojection. One further thing I like about this film, as much of it as possible is in a real setting, there's studio bits along the way but Hunt seemed to try his best in this regard, in cars, copters, Piz Gloria etc.

Ah, the Angels of Death otherwise known as Lazenby's ticklist. There's a TV series that wasn't: "Blofeld's Angels".

"Their allergies cured, these girls now fight for the genius of the underworld. Using their looks, their skill, their minds, their mission is to triumph against the forces of good..."

Close your eyes and Campbell is in fact played by Michael Caine. "This peak belongs to me!
-What the whole bleedin' thing! Coming up here causing a fracas!"

In seriousness by now, we have gotten well into the Piz Gloria scenes and here, as elsewhere, book and film appears to marry. I wonder if they missed a trick not doing the death of the SPECTRE man on the bobsled run. That high pitched scream waking Bond, the girls gossiping about the man as Bond eavesdrops. I still wish we had Lazenby's voice, it's not a huge quibble but I never felt the need for Bond to be dubbed here. Presumably in the book Sir Hilary phoned a couple of times but it was his physical description more of concern (and judging by the reaction of the Bray family member, Bond was a dead spit for Hilly as it was).

Do love Blofeld rumbling Bond for the fudging of the church detail. If Blofeld was a little off in his intro, a little airy perhaps, it's all go. Never has decorating a Christmas tree had such an edge of danger. Surely one of the few films that the bad guy and his henchmen don't leave Bond much chance for tomfoolery, the goons straight off grabbing Bond's arms as he stands from the sofa. Had I been Gunter, as they shove him in the cable car barn, I'd have bashed Bond's head on the doorframe.

The escape from Piz Gloria starts a sequence that rates amongst the best scenes in the series. The escape has the OHMSS theme helping it along and some decent shots, then there's Bond and his flight to the ice rink and salvation, the car chase up to the barn, the barn scene having some of the most emotional moments really going and then the ski chase up to avalanche.

Of course, Bond's options by the time he reaches Samuden are slim. The goons and Bunt are everywhere (I only noticed this time that Big Sideburns has a black eye from the fracas in the cow shed). I'm sure Connery could've conveyed that helplessness, hopelessness that Bond has but Lazenby does the job. And you never can beat Tracy turning up. Diana Rigg never looked finer outside of the Avengers. She didn't really seem to sport longer hair much and everything just ties together here. Appearance, the smile, the fact she's there to help. (Though there's the thought of her lurking round the place in the hope of bumping into James. "One winter sportsman"). She overcooks the turn but no panic and twig the look on her face as Bond kisses her and says "good girl", almost like Rigg didn't expect it.

The "How do we get out" line seems out of sync, as the next shot of Tracy she has her tongue out grinning. The line makes her sound panicked. Or unnerved anyway.

Then of course, at some point, it has to end. Boom.

Some decent pictures maybe, that I certainly haven't seen

Thanks for sharing that, Hilly - there aren't enough pictures of Catherine v Schell in the world.

There aren't really. I've not seen her in much outside of Bond but for the Pink Panther film and Space 1999. Knockout. Can't say she's feeling the altitude in that photo.

The Beeb Beeb Ceeber showed a Morecambe & Wise special today, Dame Diana as guest...seemingly pinching her OHMSS dress...

Pinching a dress from OHMSS? I thought she hated Tracy's wardrobe!

Nice write up Hilly. I have to say Lazenby being dubbed doesn't irk me. We know he's already met Blofeld in the years prior, so he's trying to mask his identity. Also we get some pretty good voice acting from Mr Baker, i.e. "just a slight stiffness coming on..."

I've not read anywhere but it has to be the same dress. Or maybe the BBC's dresser half-inched it somehow. I am intrigued myself.

It's very similar. For her to renounce one and not the other is curious enough.

It is rather though I'm looking at those images and I know Ernie Wise was dubbed "short fat man with hairy legs" by Eric Morecambe but Dame Diana looks immense. She gets her kit off in one sketch which for Morecambe & Wise is positively risque. Sings and dances too. She did any of that in OHMSS, Lazenby would never have waited until New Year (ahem).