"Far up! Far out! Far more! James Bond 007 is back!"
With the help of Marc-Ange Draco, head of the Unione Corse crime syndicate, and Draco's troubled daughter Tracy, James Bond tracks his archnemesis, Ernst Stravro Blofeld, to a mountaintop retreat in the Swiss Alps, where he is training an army of beautiful, lethal women.
George Lazenby
James Bond
Diana Rigg
Tracy Di Vicenzo
Telly Savalas
Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Gabriele Ferzetti
Marc Ange Draco
Ilse Steppat
Irma Bunt
Bernard Lee
M
Lois Maxwell
Miss Moneypenny
George Baker
Sir Hilary Bray
Bernard Horsfall
Campbell
With the help of Marc-Ange Draco, head of the Unione Corse crime syndicate, and Draco's troubled daughter Tracy, James Bond tracks his archnemesis, Ernst Stravro Blofeld, to a mountaintop retreat in the Swiss Alps, where he is training an army of beautiful, lethal women.
_**George Lazenby plays James Bond in the Swiss Alps**_ Agent 007 falls for a mob boss's daughter (Diana Rigg) and investigates a Swiss mountain-top lair where Blofeld (Telly Savalas) schemes to brainwash an assortment of women from around the world for his nefarious purposes. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969) was the sixth James Bond film and the first without Sean Connery in the starring role. Australian George Lazenby took over the part for this ONE AND ONLY time. Many Bond fans point out that this picture is the most faithful to Ian Fleming's character and book series. The story is taken from the novel of the same name. People usually have two problems with this episode in the Bond series: (1) Lazenby as Bond and (2) After the first 20 minutes the story lacks any real action for the next hour or so wherein Bond goes undercover to investigate Blofeld's lair. Concerning the second issue: Because the story involves at least one full hour (probably longer) of action-less spy investigation, those with ADD probably won't like this film. Personally, I enjoyed it; I can't stand when films have an explosion every two minutes to supposedly keep things "happening" and maintain the interest of the audience. Bond masquerading as Sir Hillary at the "allergy clinic" is both interesting and amusing. Besides, the last 40 minutes or so feature numerous thrilling action sequences: ski chases, a car chase, a bobsled chase and the final assault on Blofeld's mountain stronghold. Needless to say, if you're a fan of winter sports, you'll want to see this film. By the way, George Lazenby was a very accomplished skier and had won two contests in Australia before taking on the role of Bond at the age of 29, the youngest Bond as of this writing. Speaking of Lazenby as 007, he looks and acts like James Bond to me. Maybe he doesn't have the same charismatic flare as Connery in the 60s (Who does?), but he certainly has his own unique appeal. Lazenby, incidentally, was a martial arts expert, which he taught during his stint in the Australian army. He even studied under Bruce Lee and later stated that it was Lee's philosophical teachings that enabled him to go on to have such a successful business career and personal life. In fact, George was actually going to have dinner with Bruce the night he died (!) and even replaced him in what was supposed to be Lee's next film "The Shrine of Ultimate Bliss" (1974). He amusingly commented on Pierce Brosnan as the new Bond in 1995's "Goldeneye": "... this is the 90s and women want a different man, a man who shows his feminine side. Pierce definitely has that." He also reflected on the character of Bond himself: "He's a ruthless bastard, really." As for the women in this movie, Diana Rigg is undeniably good-looking but she doesn't do anything for me personally (too tall and thin), but there are numerous other beauties to behold throughout the picture. Because of Lazenby and the film's literary faithfulness, this is a very unique and worthwhile Bond adventure. It's also a must for those who love winter sports and spectacular Swiss winter locales. It is the longest Bond film at 2 hours, 22 minutes, up until Daniel Craig era; and was filmed in Portugal, Switzerland and Pinewood Studios, England. GRADE: B+
**Despite receiving disappointing reviews, OHMSS takes the franchise into new territory and is essential viewing for any true Bond fan.** On Her Majesty’s Secret Service doesn’t tend to get the same love as many of the older Bond films, and that’s a shame because it boasts some significant firsts for the Bond franchise, some striking set pieces, and bold choices. Some of the friction faced by OHMSS is due to this being the first time James Bond was officially played by someone other than Sean Connery. George Lazenby played the part well but did little to make the character his own other than maybe being a little cheesier. But that wasn’t the only first in this film. James Bond fell in love and got married for the first time, broke the fourth wall for the first time, and faced a villain who escaped him from a previous film for the first time. OHMSS broke a lot of ground and had one of the best climactic finale battles of the early Bond films. And to top it all off, it’s technically a Christmas movie!
OHMSS, the Bond that everyone forgot.... and it's really a shame. It was also made in 1969 and I hate having to press the spoilers button... so the review is going to be hard and... really? It came out in 69, everyone had a chance to see it already... but whatever. Lazenby, had he continued, could have carried on the Connery Era Bond into the 70s. He still had a few Moore Era tropes, a joke or two that was clearly very Roger Moore, but his delivery, his persona, his very being were far more Connery and the cold blooded assassin would have continued, with only a momentary glimpse of heart that, we know, hardened him in some ways. It certainly sets a gold standard among 007 films and lays out some VERY important background that disproves the new "James Bond is only a title and not one person" argument that some people are making in order to rewrite the character entirely. Background that is revisited in Dalton's Era, thus cementing 007 as one person. Connery is not 007 anymore (and they address it in a 4th wall breaking joke from the start) but his persona lives on in OHMSS. This is probably the last of the Classic Connery Era Bonds, discounted because Lazenby is in the title role. But the mood, the character, they are all still there. This is truly the last Bond before the Era of Silly Bond started.
This was the worst Bond movie of the early era. It has nothing to do with Lazenby being Bond. It's just that it was written to be just a depressing piece of trash for the Hollywood formula of the late sixties than went into the eighties. There is little scenery, little action, little to see of the bad guys. Bond is pretty much on his own in a "spy movie" instead of a "Bond movie". Bond is in a complex in a mountain surrounded by snow. If this wasn't the lowest budget ever for a Bond movie, someone was robbed. It is written with "hate", which was the standard of the late sixties through the eighties. As someone born in 1956, this was about all I was exposed to in art, film, TV, theater, religion, everywhere. It was the Hollywood formula, and to see anything else, you literally had to sneak off while everyone else was asleep and see something "not depressing" on your own. There's just too much of this hate in Art. It isn't Art. It's trash. It's also boring.
George Lazenby took on the mantle from Sean Connery for this "007" outing and I think he did quite a decent job with this, more convoluted story. He takes on the guise of an heraldry expert sent to Switzerland to investigate and validate the claims of lineage of Telly Savalas, purporting to be the "Count de Beauchamps" - defined by lack of ear lobes, don't you know - but who really has plans to use a form of hypnosis to achieve world domination. This film has a bit more class and less innuendo that it's earlier iterations - and Diana Rigg adds a bit of mischief and panache as the boisterous, independently-minded "Tracy" with whom poor old "James" has a pretty torrid time. This story isn't so good, but that isn't Lazenby's fault - indeed I felt that he, Rigg and Savalas tried hard to create a sense of suspense and menace; as did Ilse Steppat as the no-nonsense "Irma Bunt" (is that an anagram?). A great Louis Armstrong song, too - what's not to like - it's a shame that Messrs Broccoli and Saltzman didn't give George another kick at the ball with a better screenplay.
Not my type of Bond film, quite boring and way too long.
![On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/U_-nD5r8dc0/hqdefault.webp)
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Agent 007 is back in the second installment of the James Bond series, this time battling a secret crime organization known as SPECTRE. Russians Rosa Klebb and Kronsteen are out to snatch a decoding device known as the Lektor, using the ravishing Tatiana to lure Bond into helping them. Bond willingly travels to meet Tatiana in Istanbul, where he must rely on his wits to escape with his life in a series of deadly encounters with the enemy.
Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M interrogate Mr. White, who reveals that the organization that blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined.
Special agent 007 comes face to face with one of the most notorious villains of all time, and now he must outwit and outgun the powerful tycoon to prevent him from cashing in on a devious scheme to raid Fort Knox -- and obliterate the world's economy.
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Cool government operative James Bond searches for a stolen invention that can turn the sun's heat into a destructive weapon. He soon crosses paths with the menacing Francisco Scaramanga, a hitman so skilled he has a seven-figure working fee. Bond then joins forces with the swimsuit-clad Mary Goodnight, and together they track Scaramanga to a Thai tropical isle hideout where the killer-for-hire lures the slick spy into a deadly maze for a final duel.
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Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.