The name is Bond. James Bond

When the legendary Sean Connery announced his first retirement from the role of the world's most famous secret agent, James Bond 007, producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman faced the daunting task of finding another actor to fill his shoes in the sixth installment of the series On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. A worldwide search settled on the then-29-year-old Australian model George Lazenby. Because Connery and Bond were fused together in the minds of cinemagoers, they were skeptical that anyone else could play 007– just as, for instance, we cannot think of anyone but Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. For this reason, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was initially under-valued and neglected. However, time has been kind to this excellent film, and today it is considered, in many circles, the best in the franchise.

After two frustrating years trying to locate the diabolical Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas), leader of the worldwide criminal organization SPECTRE, Bond is relieved of his responsibilities by MI6 chief M (Bernard Lee). While officially off the case, Bond meets the head of a crime syndicate, Marc-Ange Draco (Gabriele Ferzetti), who is aware that Bond saved the life of his daughter Tracy (Diana Rigg), and later spent the night with her. Draco tells Bond of Tracy’s troubled past, offering him one million pounds if he will marry her. Bond refuses, but agrees to continue romancing Tracy under the agreement that Draco reveals the whereabouts of Blofeld. Tracy discovers Bond's deal with her father and insists that he provide Bond with the information he seeks. Draco tells Bond that Blofeld has links with a lawyer in Bern, Switzerland. After a brief argument, Bond and Tracy begin spending time together. They eventually fall in love and tie the knot.

Bond goes to Bern and discovers papers suggesting Blofeld is the director of Piz Gloria, an allergy clinic in the Swiss Alps; and that he is trying to get the Royal College of Arms to recognize him as a count. Bond takes this information to M, who then allows him to go to Piz Gloria posing as genealogist Sir Hilary Bray. Supposedly he is to assess the director’s claim to the title of count, but in fact his mission is to ascertain whether or not the director is Blofeld, and what Blofeld’s plans for the institute are.

The film adopts an interesting narrative strategy for introducing Lazenby as the new 007 and establishing continuity within the series. At the end of the pre-title sequence in which Bond has saved Tracy from drowning herself and has had a vicious fight with two thugs, only for Tracy to run off leaving him alone on the beach, Lazenby looks at the camera and says "This never happened to the other fella" (A reference to Connery). At one point, Bond empties his desk and takes out props from earlier films (Honey Ryder’s knife from Dr. No, Red Grant’s garrote watch from From Russia With Love, and the miniature re-breather from Thunderball), while we hear composer John Barry's themes from those movies. Later on, Bond walks past a man who is sweeping the floor and whistling the theme to Goldfinger.

Ironically, while director Peter Hunt tries to strengthen the connection between On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Connery's Bond films, he moves out completely of the realms of technology fantasy of the previous installments and presents a quite realistic spy thriller. The film downplays the gadgets and focuses on story and characterization. Bond survives by his own physical skill and ingenuity; he uses his only gadget (a combined safecracker and photocopier) in the sequence in which he breaks into the lawyer's office. This has the effect of making Bond a more believable character. He is not a bigger-than-life hero; as a matter of fact, he seems, time and again, defenseless and anxious. This is especially evident in the scene at the skating rink, where Bond hides from his pursuers and is actually scared.

Nevertheless, the action sequences have all the ingredients one has come to expect from a Bond movie. The fight scenes are stylized and extremely physical, employing jump cuts and loud sound effects to accelerate the tempo and make the violence seem more real than it actually is. The ski chase down Piz Gloria is electrifying. Bond launches himself down the slope and heavily armed assassins give chase. What is great about this is the way the chase just will not end. Upon reaching the village, 007 knocks two gunmen out in a brutal fistfight. But the hunt does not stop here, it just turns into a car chase. A break follows, then the pursuit is renewed on skis. The end of this exciting sequence sets up the climax of the film. The explosive final assault on the mountain-top building is equally spectacular - director Christopher Nolan pays homage to the scene in his blockbuster hit Inception and he has acknowledged that On Her Majesty's Secret Service has immensely influenced his work.

As for George Lazenby’s performance, it is fairly adequate considering this is his first film role. His Bond is not as cocky and as suave as Sean Connery's, but he is more physical and more psychologically complete. Unfortunately, Lazenby would not get to grow into the role since this would be his only portrayal of the British spy. But contrary to popular belief, he was not fired by the producers; it was his agent, Ronan O'Rahilly, who talked him into refusing a lucrative seven-film contract on grounds that the series would die out in the 1970s.

All in all, On Her Majesty's Secret Service is truly a great movie which deserves to be held in the highest regard. It is one of the most exciting Bond outings, in standard action terms but also in dramatic substance.

28/30