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On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film)

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For the Ian Fleming novel, see On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Template:Infobox Film Bond On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the sixth film in the EON Productions James Bond series and the only one to star George Lazenby as British Secret Service agent, Commander James Bond, and the first and only film in which Bond settles on a single woman and marries her. Lazenby was the second official James Bond, the first having been Sean Connery, who later returned to the role in the following film, Diamonds Are Forever (1971). This is the only Bond film to be directed by Peter R. Hunt, who before was a film editor or second unit director on every previous film. On Her Majesty's Secret Service was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman. The film is considered by many to be the best Bond movie ever made.

Overview

In 1967, after five successful James Bond films, Sean Connery quit the role. In his place Albert R. Broccoli initially chose actor Timothy Dalton; however, Dalton declined, believing himself too young and Connery too good to replace. Harry Saltzman considered Roger Moore, but he was unavailable, because of his popular television programme The Saint. Saltzman also briefly considered Jeremy Brett, later to become internationally reknowned for playing Sherlock Holmes, for the role of Bond after seeing his performance in My Fair Lady but Broccoli eventually chose Australian George Lazenby after the actor arranged an "accidental" encounter with the producer. Lazenby dressed the part, by sporting several sartorial Bond elements, such as a Rolex Submariner wristwatch and a Savile Row suit, (ordered, but uncollected, by Connery) Lazenby recalled in an interview;[1]. Broccoli noticed Lazenby as a Bond-type man, physique and the character elements, and offered him an audition.

Diana Rigg (Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo, Tracy Bond), later was cast because the producers wanted an established actress opposite neophyte Lazenby; before On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Diana Rigg was the popular heroine Emma Peel in The Avengers.

Filming began at Piz Gloria, Switzerland, in October 1968 and wrapped in Portugal, in May 1969.

A belief persists that this film performed poorly at the box office, or that it was a failure, but this is untrue. It was the second-highest-grossing film, worldwide, of 1969, outgrossed only by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The film grossed $87,400,000 (USD worldwide), $24 million less than Connery's previous film, 'You Only Live Twice' (1967). With inflation accounted, this film earned more money than three of Roger Moore's Bond films, as well as Timothy Dalton's two films, and still outgrossed Connery's unofficial Bond film Never Say Never Again (1983).

George Lazenby did not reprise the role in Diamonds Are Forever. He thought the tuxedo-clad secret agent would be archaic in the sexually liberated 1970s. He had been offered a seven-film contract, had signed a letter of intent to star in Diamonds Are Forever, and was even paid an initial fee installment (which he refunded) before declining.

Whereas adverts for the previous film, You Only Live Twice stated: "Sean Connery IS James Bond," those for On Her Majesty's Secret Service downplayed the fact that another actor played the protagonist. Notably, George Lazenby's name appears below the title —the only time the Bond actor was not named above the title.

More than 30 years after its release, critical reaction to the film remains sharply divided. Many casual Bond viewers tend to be negative; among their reasons are the lack of gizmos, Lazenby's arguably stiff performance, and the long running time. But Bond aficionados generally view it as one of the best in the series, citing the movie's spectacular action sequences, its faithfulness to the original novel, and its emotional depth, which remained unmatched until the entire Bond franchise was rethought in Casino Royale.

Plot summary

Template:Spoiler The cinematic On Her Majesty's Secret Service is a close adaptation of the novel with only a few sequences added.

The pre-title sequence briefly shows Miss Moneypenny, M and Q discussing the whereabouts of 007, whose location is unknown. The scene shifts to Portugal, where James Bond is driving his Aston Martin DBS on a Portuguese coastal highway. Suddenly, from behind, a woman in a red Mercury Cougar convertible roars up and overtakes him. Soon, he encounters the same car parked at the roadside. Using a telescopic rifle sight, Bond spies her walking into the tall waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Realising she intends suicide, Bond drives down to the shore, runs into the surf, and carries her from the sea. He brings her to consciousness and introduces himself, simultaneously revealing his face for the first time. After a fight with two thugs, from which Bond emerges the victor, the girl takes Bond's car, drives it up the beach to her Cougar, jumps behind the wheel and speeds away. Bond comments, "This never happened to the other fellow", initiating the title credits.

File:DianaRigg as TeresaBond.jpg
Diana Rigg as Countess Tracy di Vicenzo

After the title sequence Bond checks into a hotel; on arriving he spies the girl's red Cougar parked before the hotel. Inquiring about the car's owner, the manager tells him it belongs to Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo. Later, in the casino, Bond encounters her gambling; she places a bet she cannot pay, and, when she loses, he rescues her by paying it. Tracy invites him to her room to thank him; at her room, a thug emerges behind Bond and brawls with him. After defeating him, Bond returns to his room, there finding Tracy. After Tracy threatens to kill him for a thrill, Bond disarms Tracy, slaps her, and questions her about the thug in her room. Tracy disavows knowledge of the thug. Bond suggests that the presence of those men indicates she is in trouble; Tracy has nothing to say, but seduces Bond in payment for the casino rescue.

File:Gabrieleferzetti.JPG
Teresa's father Draco (Gabriele Ferzetti)

In the morning, she is gone (leaving full payment for her casino loss and a red carnation); Bond discovers she has checked out of the hotel. Later that morning, as Bond leaves the hotel, several men kidnap him — including the thug from Tracy's room — and lead him at gunpoint to meet Marc-Ange Draco (Gabriele Ferzetti) — the head of the Union Corse, the biggest European crime syndicates (second in size only to SPECTRE).

Bond recognizes Draco immediately and provides Draco with a fairly complete profile of himself, but Draco reveals one hidden item: Tracy — the woman Bond rescued — is his only daughter. Draco reveals more of her troubled past and offers Bond a personal dowry of one million pounds sterling — in gold — if he will marry her. Bond refuses, but agrees to continue romancing Tracy under the agreement that Draco reveal the whereabouts of Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas), the head of SPECTRE.

Bond returns to MI6 but is angered to be told he has been relieved from the task of hunting Blofeld, causing him to tender his resignation. After M accepts the letter without objection, Bond learns that as Moneypenny was recording his dictation she changed the wording to request two weeks leave. Realising he can pursue Blofeld on his time off and not quit MI6, he thanks her and heads for Draco's birthday party in Portugal.

At the party, Tracy discovers Bond's deal with her father and strong-arms him into providing Bond with the information he requested. Draco tells Bond that several of his Union Corse men recently defected to Blofeld, and that his next line of pursuit should be a law firm in Bern, Switzerland. After a brief argument, Bond and Tracy begin a whirlwind romance, portrayed as a musical montage backed by Louis Armstrong's rendition of "We Have All the Time in the World."

Bond and Tracy go to Bern with Draco to investigate the lawyer's connection with Blofeld. Searching the man's office, Bond finds Blofeld's correspondence with the London College of Arms: Blofeld is attempting to lay claim to the title 'Comte Balthazar de Bleuchamp' — de Bleuchamp being the French form of the Blofeld surname. His College of Arms correspondent is geneaologist Sir Hilary Bray, who confirms Blofeld's pursuit of the title and agrees to cooperate with Bond. The discovery is the solid lead he needs; he visits M at home and is granted permission to recommence investigation of Blofeld.

File:Irmabunt.JPG
Irma Bunt

Posing as Bray, Bond visits Blofeld, under the pretence of verifying the genealogical and physical characteristics of his de Bleuchamp ancestry. Blofeld has established a clinical research institute atop Piz Gloria, an alp in Switzerland. Disguised as the effete, foppish Bray, Bond meets ten beautiful young women from around the world. They are patients of the institute's clinic, ostensibly undergoing unorthodox psychological and immunological treatments for food allergies and phobias. In fact, the women are unknowingly being brainwashed to distribute, at Blofeld's command, bacteriological warfare agents throughout their parts of the world.

James Bond's lasciviousness betrays him to Blofeld's henchwoman Irma Bunt, who captures him during a second visit to the bed of one of the "patients". Bond escapes imprisonment in the cable-car machinery room of Piz Gloria, escaping by skiing down Piz Gloria despite being chased by Blofeld and his henchmen. He reaches the village of Mürren during its winter festival and there encounters Tracy, who is in Switzerland looking for Bond (having been told his whereabouts by her father). After successfully disposing of their pursuers via a car chase including a demolition derby, a blizzard forces them to a remote barn. Bond declares his love for Tracy and proposes marriage to her; she accepts. Next morning Blofeld captures them both by trapping them in an avalanche of his own creation.

File:Blofeld.JPG
Blofeld (Telly Savalas) and James Bond (George Lazenby)
Blofeld's mountain-top hideout (Piz Gloria)

Blofeld holds the world to ransom with the threat of destroying its agriculture, using his brainwashed patients to release bacteriological agents which target vital types of livestock and food plants. His price is amnesty for all past crimes and recognition of his 'Comte Balthazar de Bleuchamp' title. Since M will not allow Bond to lead an assault on Piz Gloria, Bond contacts Draco at Draco Construction to arrange a "demolition job" of Blofeld's headquarters (thus destroying the radio equipment controlling the brainwashed girls).

The raid is successful and Bond and Blofeld are the last to escape before the institute is detonated by Draco's assault team. The pair engage in a furious bobsled chase down Piz Gloria, with Bond leaping onto Blofeld's bobsled after he destroys Bond's own sled with a hand grenade. Eventually Blofeld is snared by the neck in low overhanging tree branches, ripping him out of the bobsled and leaving him dangling in a low-hanging tree. The bobsled then crashes but Bond escapes without serious harm.

Bond and Tracy marry in Portugal. They drive away in the Aston Martin, pulling over to the roadside a few kilometres later to remove flowers from the car. As the newlyweds are exchanging professions of love, a black Mercedes approaches. Blofeld, in a neck brace, is driving, and Irma Bunt, his passenger, fires at the newlyweds with an MP-40 submachine gun. Despite several bursts on the vehicle, Bond is unharmed. He quickly enters the car and then speaks to his wife, only realising when she fails to answer that she has been killed. Moments later, a motorcycle policeman finds the grieving groom cradling his dead wife. Fingering her wedding band, Bond turns and explains that she's tired and is just sleeping, uttering the phrase: "We have all the time in the world".

Cast

Angela Scoular as Ruby Bartlett

Crew

Soundtrack

Untitled

Once again, the soundtrack to this James Bond adventure was composed, arranged, and conducted by John Barry; it was his fifth successive Bond film. The opening theme proved a difficult composition; usually these are eponymous, and include the film's title in the lyrics, and the film became the first in the series to deviate from this rule. (Currently, the other exceptions are "All Time High" from Octopussy, the three-tune medley from Dr. No and "You Know My Name" from Casino Royale; "Nobody Does it Better" from The Spy Who Loved Me includes the title in the lyrics.) John Barry felt it would be difficult to compose a theme song containing the title On Her Majesty's Secret Service unless it was written operatically, in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan; director Peter R. Hunt allowed an instrumental title theme. The theme, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", is used in the film as an action theme alternate to Monty Norman's "James Bond Theme", as is the case with Barry's previous "007" theme. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was remixed in 1997 by the Propellerheads and was featured as a theme in the trailers for the 2004 Pixar animated film The Incredibles.

The 1962 "James Bond Theme" by Monty Norman, first played in Dr. No, was heard for the last time in a Bond film to date. The 1962 version has played since Sean Connery's tenure from 1962 to 1967. Since then, the Bond theme has been rearranged in many ways after OHMSS.

Barry also composed the love song, "We Have All the Time in the World", sung by Louis Armstrong. With lyrics by Burt Bacharach's regular lyricist Hal David, it is heard during the Bond–Tracy courtship montage, bridging Draco's birthday party in Portugal and Bond's burglary of the Gebrüder Gumbold law office in Bern, Switzerland. "We Have All the Time in the World" often is mistakenly referred to as the opening credits theme. It was Louis Armstrong's last recorded song (he was dying of cancer at the time). At the time, the song barely made an impact on the charts. Years later though, it became very well known, thanks largely to its use in a Guinness advertising campaign, and is now considered among the finest of Barry's songs for the franchise.

Track listing

  1. "We Have All the Time in the World"
  2. "This Never Happened to the Other Feller"
  3. "Try"
  4. "Ski Chase"
  5. "Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?"
  6. "Main Theme"—On Her Majesty's Secret Service
  7. "Journey to Blofeld's Hideaway"
  8. "We Have All the Time in the World"
  9. "Over and Out"
  10. "Battle at Piz Gloria"
  11. "We Have All the Time in the World"—James Bond Theme
  12. "Journey to Draco's Hideaway"

Bonus Tracks on 2003 Release

  1. "Bond and Draco"
  2. "Gumbold's Safe"
  3. "Bond Settles In"
  4. "Bond Meets The Girls"
  5. "Dusk at Piz Gloria"
  6. "Sir Hillary's Night Out (Who Will Buy My Yesterdays?)"
  7. "Blofeld's Plot"
  8. "Escape From Piz Gloria"
  9. "Bobsled Chase"

Vehicles and gadgets

Main articles: List of James Bond vehicles and List of James Bond gadgets
  • Aston Martin DBS — This car is seen in the movie in four scenes: in the pre-credits teaser, outside Bond's hotel, briefly outside a jeweller's shop, and as Bond and Tracy's wedding car. Nothing is known about what kind of gadgets are installed, except for a rifle with a telescopic sight mounted in the glovebox.
  • Radioactive Lint — In the beginning of the story, Q is showing M a homing device made of radioactive lint: "When placed in a person's pocket, the anti-personnel and location fix seems fairly obvious." M is more concerned with a location fix of 007. Reportedly, director Peter Hunt had a disdain for the multiple gadgets of previous films, so the creation of the seemingly silly radioactive lint (coupled with a general lack of gadgets in the film otherwise) was seen as his response to this.
  • Safecracker — A small (for its time) device consisting of a flexible cable ending in a grapple meant to be fitted on a typical safe combination lock. The machine would then examine the lock, figure its combination, and open the safe. Additionally, the safecracker has an integral photocopier, to copy secret documents, and minimize the chance of the owner's learning of the break-in if the documents went missing. It is implied that the device is slow-working, as it takes an entire lunch hour to crack the safe. As demonstrated in the film, the device isn't very practical; aside from its slowness it requires support to transport the large device to the site and again to remove it after the job is done (in this film, a fellow agent passes the device to Bond using a crane from a neighbouring construction site).
  • Two gadgets from previous films appear in the scene where Bond, having just resigned, cleans out his desk. He takes out Red Grant's garotte watch from From Russia with Love and the rebreather he used in Thunderball. Also shown (but not a gadget) is Honey Ryder's knife from Dr. No.

Locations

Film locations

Shooting locations

Italics indicate the locations in the movie portrayed by each shooting location.

Trivia

  • In the first scene a steel plaque bearing the designation "Universal Exports"—the cover name for the British Secret Service—reflects a man walking across a street. This is director Peter R. Hunt in a Hitchcock-style cameo appearance.
  • The gunbarrel in On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the only one to date that 'wipes' Bond when the blood falls from the top of the screen, removing George Lazenby. It is also the only gunbarrel sequence in which Bond drops to his knee when firing.
  • This is the first film, in the official series, in which M's house is seen.
  • Lazenby breaks the fourth wall, prior to the opening credits, by saying that the girl's running away was something that "...never happened to the other fellow", while looking at the camera. Sean Connery also broke the fourth wall by winking at the camera in the non-EON Bond film, Never Say Never Again.
  • For insurance reasons Lazenby was not allowed any skiing in the film: he did sneak in some skiing, and ended up skiing underneath the cable car taking Broccoli up to Piz Gloria.
  • Originally, On Her Majesty's Secret Service was to have opened with Bond undergoing plastic surgery to disguise him from his enemies (his fake death in Japan, in the previous adventure, having failed). The intention was to allow an unrecognizable Bond to infiltrate Blofeld's hideout, and help the audience accept the new in actor in the role.
  • The building used for Blofeld's clinic, Piz Gloria, is a restaurant atop the Schilthorn in the Bernese Oberland. Access is by cable car (from either Mürren or Stechelberg). It was unfinished when the filmmakers sought locations; EON Productions paid to finish it in return for exclusive use of the property during filming.
  • To maintain canonical continuity, the title credits comprise Bond Girl and Villain images from the series. Other reminders are the depiction of several pieces of memorabilia from previous missions as 007 cleans out his desk- Honey Rider's knife belt from "Dr. No", Grant's garotte watch from "From Russia, With Love", and the rebreather device from "Thunderball". There are also more subtle, clever reminders, such as a scene where a midget janitor working for Draco whistles the melody to Goldfinger.
  • Originally, there was a scene planned wherein James Bond chased and killed a SPECTRE agent spying on his meeting with Sir Hillary Bray. It was reported through the years that the scene was shot but then later cut because it was considered too violent or for reasons of length. In fact, this scene was never shot, the confusion arising from the original shooting script and several stills of George Lazenby on the roof of The College of Arms.
  • It is not clear why Blofeld's henchmen wear jackets adorned with the Olympic Games logo of five interlocking rings. Because Piz Gloria doubles as a legitimate ski resort in the novel, the motif may have been meant to promote the locale in association with the Olympics themselves, given the success of the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble.
  • For the portion of the film where Bond impersonates Sir Hilary Bray, Lazenby's voice was dubbed by George Baker, who portrayed Sir Hilary. Lazenby had worked extensively to replicate George Baker's accent and was quite miffed when he finally saw the finished film since about 35% of his performance was voiced by someone else.
  • In this film we learn the Bond family motto, "Orbis non sufficit", translated as "The World Is Not Enough". This motto is used as the title of the 1999 Bond film of the same name.
  • Since George Lazenby was a virtual unknown, the initial teaser advertising for the film emphasized the Bond character rather than the actor playing him. Several ads, in fact, used an image of a "faceless" Bond. The production company later admitted that the "faceless" advertising campaign was a mistake.
  • Production of OHMSS was delayed twice. It was originally to have followed Goldfinger, and early prints of that film even announced this. Later, it was earmarked to follow Thunderball but ultimately ended up following You Only Live Twice.
  • Diana Rigg was more than a year older than her leading man, one of only a couple of occasions in which a Bond girl was older than Bond (the other occasion involved Honor Blackman being several years older than her Goldfinger co-star, Sean Connery).
  • Adam West, of Batman fame, was offered the role of James Bond, but he turned it down, believing it should be played by a British actor.
  • A heavily re-edited TV version was broadcast by ABC in 1976 and again in 1980, featuring opening narration (performed by an actor who sounds nothing like Lazenby) and split into two halves. This version of the film opens with Bond's escape from Piz Gloria, and follows that section of the film through to the scene in M's office after the avalanche that results in Tracy's capture by Blofeld. The entire film is then played as a flashback, including the entire ski chase/escape from Piz Gloria sequence, all over again.[1].
  • This is the only Bond film (to date) in which both the main villain and main henchman (or henchwoman in this case) survive.
  • Along with For Your Eyes Only, this is the only James Bond film that takes place entirely in Europe.
  • Joanna Lumley, who played the "English Girl" at Piz Gloria, read an abridged version of the original novel on BBC Radio 4.
  • On the Ultimate Edition James Bond DVD, there is an added line of dialogue when Blofeld is trying to tempt Tracy into joining him. In the original, the scene ends with Blofeld saying "Your own father's profession is not entirely within the law" and then cuts to the shot of the helicopters. On the Ultimate Edition DVD, the scene continues with him saying "His brotherhood also have exotic ways to keep it a closed shop" and then cuts to the helicopters.
  • Reportedly, Diana Rigg disliked George Lazenby so much that before they kissed on the set, she ate garlic. However on the Ultimate Edition DVD, Lazenby avers that this incident never occurred and that rumor stemmed from a joke Rigg told during a press tour of the set. (Lazenby's account is also supported by the book James Bond: The Legacy.)

References

  1. ^ De 'vergeten' 007. Andere Tijden, VPRO, Nederland 2 20:25–21:25.
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