On Her Majesty's Secret Service

This and Casino Royale are my all time Bond favorites. The special effects are somewhat hokey but that's what makes it so much more entertaining. The pace is a little slower than the new flicks but you have time to digest the plot. The other Jameses aren't as captivating.

"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 film.

The story involves Bond falling in love and ultimately marrying (!) a mob boss's daughter (Diana Rigg) and investigating a Swiss mountain-top lair wherein Blofeld (Telly Savalas) schemes to brainwash an assortment of women from around the world for his bizarre nefarious purposes.

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 secret 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 morons in the audience like, say, "The World is Not Enough." 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 scequences: the Alps ski chases, car chase, 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 Bond role at the age of 29, the youngest Bond as of this writing.

Regarding Lazenby as Bond: Hey, he looks and acts like James Bond to me. Maybe he doesn't have the same charismatic flare as Connery (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 philisophical 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).

Lazenby 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 definitley has that." (LOL!) He also reflected on the character of Bond himself: "He's a ruthless bastard, really." (So true, so true).

As for the Bond women, Diana Rigg is undeniably good-looking but she doesn't do anything for me personally (too tall and thin), but there are numerous other gorgeous beauties to behold throughout the picture.

"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is the longest Bond film at 2 hours and 22 minutes and was filmed in Portugal, Switzerland and Pinewood Studios, England.

BOTTOM LINE: Because of Lazenby and the film's literary faithfulness, this is a very unique and worthwhile Bond adventure, certainly far better than Brosnan-era pictures like "Tomorrow Never Dies" and "The World is Not Enough." It's also a MUST for those who love winter sports and spectacular Swiss winter/mountain locales.

It is almost inexplicable that this movie isn't more widely heralded as a benchmark for the series, but I'll give it a shot. First, Lazenby made one of the gravest errors in Bond history by announcing that this would be his only Bond film PRIOR to the movie's release. I think this made audiences wonder if it was worth getting to know him, and so many passed it by (therefore, the low box office). Secondly, an unfortunate many of us are distracted by appearance, and in this film Bond wears ascots and a kilt and there is no doubt that many of our peers used this as evidence that Connery was more "manly" than Lazenby. It's silly. Lazenby is a confident, brilliant Bond in the best Fleming tradition, and Peter Hunt knew everything he needed to know about pacing and directorial execution from Hunt's prior association with the series. One of the best directed, best scripted, most satisfying Bond movies to date. Anyone who considers themselves a Bond fan should have this film in their collection. It's good every time, and as many here have already noted, it may actually improve with age. Very well Mr. Bond.

Although George Lanzenby only played James Bond once, he did a great job in "On her Majesty's Secret Service". The film has good acting and amazing action sequences. Diana Rigg does a phenomenal job as "Tracy Bond", the only woman to have actually married James Bond. Blofeld is well performed by Terry Savalas. I really enjoyed Lanzenby as Bond and I wish he had done more. This is truly a fantastic movie and one of the best James Bond films.

Although I'm a big James Bond fan, I wasn't always a huge fan of this particular movie. But yesterday I felt compelled to dig this out of the stash (I have the entire Bond movie collection from Dr. No to Casino Royale) and I must say that I have a greater appreciation for it now. While he may be no Sean Connery, George Lazenby really shined in the role of 007. Lazenby has all the personality and wit of 007 and it makes me wonder what it would've been like had he done more movies for the franchise. My favorite scene had to be the cool bobsled showdown between Bond & Blofeld (played by Telly "Kojak" Sevalas). Plus, this is the only Bond movie that I remember having a sad ending to it. Bottom line it's a great movie to have in your collection, especially if you're a Bond fan.