Binge-watching Bond part 6: 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'

George Lazenby

The reputation of On Her Majesty's Secret Service has grown considerably since it was first released. It is now frequently ranked among the greatest James Bond adventures of all time.

It was the first non-Sean Connery James Bond film, something the filmmakers were clearly self-conscious about; the new actor playing 007, the impeccably handsome George Lazenby, even breaks the fourth wall at the beginning of the film to acknowledge it.

Lazenby has always been given a bad rap but I think he only suffered in comparison to Connery, who had five movies to grow into the role.

Viewing this 1969 film after all these years, Lazenby's performance comes across quite strong and it would have been interesting to see where he would have taken the character.

The general consensus among most Bond fanatics is that if Connery had starred in this film it would have easily been the greatest Bond film ever made. It is certainly the most personal 007 film until Skyfall came along over 40 years later.

Part of why it would have been interesting to see Connery in this film, is that the character of James Bond evolves quite a bit in this story and even manages to legitimately fall in love. He also has more of a direct and sustained confrontation with his arch enemy Blofeld than in any previous film.

That said, I've never understood the plot point that Bond and Blofeld don't instantly acknowledge or identify each other as who they really are doing the film's midsection, where Bond poses as an uptight academic and Blofeld pretends to be running some sort of health clinic that serves exclusively buxom women, and neither of them do anything significant to truly disguise their identities.

Lazenby brings a more bawdy and brawny attitude to the film, which is more overtly sexual and action-packed than some of its predecessors.

The film was interestingly made by an editor and its action sequences are simply stunning, particularly the bobsled chase at its climax. On Her Majesty's Secret Service also has arguably the strongest "Bond girl" to date in Diana Rigg and a finale that is genuinely shocking and moving in a way that no 007 film had ever dared to be.

And as I said in my last post, I think Telly Savalas makes for a much more sinister and intimidating Blofeld than Donald Pleasance and his creepy masterplan is truly evil.

All in all, I have very few quibbles with this film. I can't quite rank it above Connery's first three outings as James Bond, but I do think it's infinitely superior to his last two. The series clearly needed to move in a brand new direction at this point, and after one more detour back to Connery the films would embrace a lighter, more fun-filled air under Roger Moore.

It's totally understandable to me why this film is a particular fan favorite and how Lazenby has come to be embraced by the Bond faithful, even if he only made one film as the iconic character.

Liz's take: This is the best one I've seen so far. The whole time I was watching I was debating whether this one or Goldfinger would be my favorite so far because they both do several things well -- they both have a great villain, they both have really great Bond girls, they both have plots that are entertaining in their absurdity ... but I do like that you learn more about Bond as a well-rounded character and person. I feel like he was doing more actual spy work in this film compared to the earlier editions. Also Bond's philandering with women in this movie actually served the plot, which I appreciated.

I still think I give Connery the slight edge over Lazenby, if for no other reason than because of his voice. Connery just has a unique natural smoothness and coolness. But Lazenby was great as more of a "softie" Bond. It was refreshing to see him though because Connery was showing his age in the last one. And Lazenby was more believable in the fight scenes as a physical presence.

I thought Diana Rigg was great as Tracy. She held her own with Bond and was a strong-willed woman. She was super-intelligent, beautiful and charming -- the kind of girl I could see 007 losing his heart to. I didn't like that she (SPOILER ALERT) dies, but it was a very heartbreakingly quiet and underplayed moment that was well-acted. You really sensed his devastation.

At first I was a little thrown by the replacement of Blofeld and the lack of continuity (the missing physical characteristics). But I enjoyed Savalas' version which was a much more physically formidable presence than Donald Pleasance in You Only Live Twice.

Hands down my favorite so far.