On Her Majesty's Secret Service
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Writers: Simon Raven (additional dialogue), Richard Maibaum (screenplay), Ian Fleming (novel)
Cast: George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Sevalas, Gabriele Ferzetti, Ilse Steppat, Lois Maxwell, George Baker, Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn
Synopsis:
While on leave, James Bond (Lazenby) prevents a young woman, Tracy Draco (Rigg), from committing suicide. Her father, a prominent Portuguese mob boss, wants to repay Bond for saving his daughter and works out a deal with the MI:6 agent to supply him with information on Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Sevalas), the head of the criminal organization known as SPECTRE. Bond learns that Blofeld is hiding in his installation in the Swiss Alps and infiltrates the facility to try and get to the bottom of Blofeld's latest scheme. However, his growing feelings for Tracy complicate matters when she shows up in Switzerland unannounced.
First Impressions:
I have no strong impressions based on my first viewing of this film since I didn't see it for the first time until around 2006 when MGM re-released the collection on DVD in the lead up to the release of Casino Royale. While I had grown up watching many Bond movies from the Connery and Moore eras, I never really had any desire to see this one as a kid. As far as my initial feelings for the film go, I would say I was rather indifferent to it. I didn't think it had the gritty spy-thriller feel that the Connery and Dalton films had. Nor did it have the humor and whimsey of the Moore films or the bombastic action of the Brosnan and Craig eras. It was just kind of...meh. Let's see if it can elicit a stronger reaction from me this time around.
Story/Direction:
"We have all the time in the world."
This film is notable because it's really the first time the filmmakers attempted to humanize Bond in some way. The film shows a side of Bond's personal life that audiences really hadn't been shown in the previous films. Unfortunately that's where my first issue with this film lies. While it's neat to see a side of James Bond that we normally aren't treated to, it kind of sucks when that takes up the first hour of the film. Honestly, I didn't pop a Bond movie in the Blu-Ray player to get an inside look at the secret agent's dating habits. I wanted to see him kick ass and take names. Now, eventually, the audience is treated to a couple of decent action scenes but having to slog through Bond's abbreviated romance with Tracey just to get there left me more than a bit bored. That leads me into my second issue with the film and that is the aforementioned romance. It just didn't work for me and felt a little too rushed.
I also had issues with the Blofeld's villainous plot. Now, I know this film was made in the 60s and things were different back then but geez, was it stupid. Basically, Blofeld's cover is that he's a doctor researching allergies at his lab in the Swiss Alps. He then uses subliminal conditioning to brainwash his patients, all of whom are sexy young women (of course). Blofeld's plan is to blackmail the world's governments to grant him clemency for his past crimes or he'll use his brainwashed bunnies to release a virus that will destroy the world's crops. In a series where ridiculous evil schemes are commonplace, this seemed especially stupid. Not because it's outlandish, but because it's really rather lame. It seems like the writers got halfway through the film and realized: "Hey it's the 60s and we still haven't given Bond the chance to pork a bunch of hot women. Ah, let's just throw a bunch into Blofeld's secret lair." when you compare the film to its predecessors at the time, it really just didn't hold up well for me.
Acting:
As usual, when I review I Bond film, I'll break down the acting into three sections, The Bond, The Bond Girl and The Bond Villain.
The Bond: This film was George Lazenby's first and only outing as the English super-spy. It also marks the first time that role role was cast to an actor born outside the British Isles. It's hard to grade Lazenby's performance in this film because I disliked the content so much, so I can't tell if it's the writing or if he just sucks. I think, it's mostly the writer's fault. I mean, they start the film off with Lazenby breaking the fourth wall at the end of the pre-credit scene referencing Connery. That just didn't sit well with me (and is also the genesis of an idiotic internet fan theory that needs to go away). Looking on the franchise as a whole, Lazenby didn't really bring anything special to the role. I mean, apart from his ass-chin. Maybe he would've grown into the role more had he been given the opportunity but he wasn't, so he's easily my least favorite Bond. which is a shame because...
The Bond Girl: While the film gave us it's most mediocre Bond, it gave us one of the better Bond Girls. Or, at least it could have if they'd given poor Tracey more opportunities. I think the biggest shame in this film is that they wasted the talents of Diana Rigg. At the time, she was most well known for playing Mrs. Peel on the Avengers TV series (no, not those Avengers) and the filmmakers could have played off that character a bit more and made Tracey a it more of a badass like Peel. Instead, she's wasted as an object of affection who gets smacked around by her father and her lover, disappears for most of the second act and eventually needs to be rescued. I know, the 60s were a different time but considering her role in the Avengers, it wouldn't have been that much of a stretch to make Tracey more of a match for Bond, like they dis with Vesper Lynd or Wei Lyn from Tomorrow Never Dies.
The Bond Villain: By this point in the series, Blofeld had already appeared a few times and had been set up as an arch-nemesis of sorts for Bond. The role had previously been played by Donald Pleasance in 1967's You Only Live Twice and as far as I'm concerned that is really the template for the character. I have no issues with Telly Sevalas as an actor, but he's woefully miscast as a Bond villain. It seems like the filmmakers weren't sure that the new Bond would bring in the box office numbers they wanted, so they cast some big-name TV actors as a way to hedge their bets a bit. While it could've worked with Diana Rigg, it really didn't with Sevalas.
Visuals/Action:
I've always said that no matter how shitty a Bond movie may or may not be, there are always a few outstanding action scenes that are worth the price of admission. While OHMSS has a few solid action bits, having to wait so long to get to any of them was a real drag. However, when they do pop up, they're fun to watch. The film treats us to several ski chases down the Alps, including one on a bobsled track. There's also the Bond and Draco's assault on Blofeld's facility at the end of the film, which was very well done. Honestly, if there was a little more of this and a little less kissy-face, I might have been less frustrated with the film.
Music:
As usual, with Bond films I focus this section on the movie's theme song. Normally this is played during the opening credits between the pre-title sequence and the movie proper. However, the theme song for this film is played over the end credits. The song, We Have All the Time in the World, was performed by Louis Armstrong and written by series stalwart John Barry. This was certainly a departure for the series at the time but it's one of the diversions the film takes that actually works because it fits so well with the somewhat melancholy ending of the film.
Final Verdict:
If it wasn't clear at this point, let me just say that I did not like this movie. It's easily my least favorite of the series. I like it less than even Moonraker and that's saying a lot. I recommend skipping this one unless you're a die-hard Bond fan.
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