On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film)

Some of the "Angels of Death" at Piz Gloria during principal photography. From left to right: Mona Chong, Zaheera, Julie Ege, Jenny Hanley, Anouska Hempel, Joanna Lumley.

The angels of death are 12 beautiful women from all over the world being brainwashed by Blofeld under the guise of allergy or phobia treatment to spread the Virus Omega.[6] There is at least one blonde, brunette, and redhead as well as an Asian and black woman. A number appeared in the representative styles of dress of their particular nation. Their unwitting mission is to help Blofeld contaminate and ultimately sterilise the world's food supply.

• Angela Scoular as Ruby Bartlett, an English girl at the clinic suffering from an allergy to chickens,[7] whom Bond seduces. Scoular also played Buttercup in the 1967 comedy Casino Royale.
• Anouska Hempel as an Australian girl.
• Catherina von Schell as Nancy, a Hungarian girl at the clinic whom Bond also beds.
• Dani Sheridan as an American girl.
• Helena Ronee as an Israeli girl.
• Ingrid Back as a German girl.
• Jenny Hanley as an Irish girl.
• Joanna Lumley as an English girl.[8]
• Julie Ege as Helen, a Scandinavian girl.[9]
• Mona Chong as a Chinese girl.
• Sylvana Henriques as a Jamaican girl.
• Zara as an Indian girl.[10][11]

Screenwriter Richard Maibaum, who had worked on all the previous Bond films except for You Only Live Twice, was responsible for On Her Majesty's Secret Service's script.[22] Saltzman and Broccoli decided to drop the science fiction gadgets from the earlier films and focus more on plot, as in From Russia With Love.[23] Peter Hunt asked Simon Raven to write some of the dialogue between Tracy and Blofeld in Piz Gloria, which was to be "sharper, better and more intellectual";[24] one of Raven's additions was having Tracy quoting James Elroy Flecker.[19] When writing the script, the producers decided to make the closest adaptation of the book possible: virtually everything in the novel occurs in the film[19] and Hunt was reported to always enter the set carrying an annotated copy of the novel.[20]

With the script following the novel more closely than the other film adaptations of the eponymous source novels, there are several continuity errors due to the films taking place in a different sequence, such as Blofeld not recognising Bond, despite having met him face-to-face in the previous film You Only Live Twice.[25] In the original script, Bond undergoes plastic surgery to disguise him from his enemies; the intention was to allow an unrecognisable Bond to infiltrate Blofeld's hideout and help the audience accept the new actor in the role. However, this was dropped in favour of ignoring the change in actor.[17][26]

To make audiences not forget it was the same James Bond, just played by another actor, the producers inserted many references to the previous films, some as in-jokes. These include Bond breaking the fourth wall by stating "This never happened to the other fellow"; the credits sequence with images from the previous instalments; Bond visiting his office and finding objects from Dr. No, From Russia with Love, and Thunderball; and a caretaker whistling the theme from Goldfinger.[27] Maibaum later said he thought "Lazenby was not ideal for the part" but that "it was a marvellous script."[26]

Diana Rigg and George Lazenby on set

In 1967, after five films, Sean Connery resigned from the role of James Bond and was not on speaking terms with Albert Broccoli during the filming of You Only Live Twice.[28] Over 400 actors, including many of the most famous performers in the Commonwealth, were considered for the role of James Bond.[18] The confirmed front runners were Englishman John Richardson, Dutchman Hans De Vries, Australian Robert Campbell, Englishman Anthony Rogers and Australian George Lazenby.[15] Broccoli also met with Terence Stamp about playing the part.[29] Broccoli was interested in rising star Oliver Reed but decided his public image was already too distinct. Future Bond star Timothy Dalton was asked to audition after his appearance in The Lion in Winter but considered himself too young, as he was 25 years old and did not want to succeed Connery as Bond. In an interview in 1987 when he was playing Bond in The Living Daylights, Dalton said "I was 24-25 then, I had a good career then as a young man in films The Lion in Winter and Mr Broccoli kindly asked me if I was interested, I think I'm just too young for this role. I think Bond should be between 35 and 40, and as a 25-26 year old and I wouldn't have been right".[18]

Broccoli and Hunt eventually chose Lazenby after seeing him in a Fry's Chocolate Cream advertisement.[19] Lazenby dressed the part by sporting several sartorial Bond elements such as a Rolex Submariner wristwatch and a Savile Row suit (ordered for, but uncollected by, Connery), and going to Connery's barber at the Dorchester Hotel.[20] Broccoli noticed Lazenby as a Bond-type man based on his physique and character elements, and offered him an audition. The position was consolidated when Lazenby accidentally punched a professional wrestler, who was acting as stunt coordinator, in the face, impressing Broccoli with his ability to display aggression.[15] Lazenby was offered a contract for seven films; however, he was convinced by his agent Ronan O'Rahilly that the secret agent would be archaic in the liberated 1970s, and as a result he left the series after the release of On Her Majesty's Secret Service in 1969.[19]

For Tracy Draco, the producers wanted an established actress opposite neophyte Lazenby.[30] Brigitte Bardot was invited, but after she signed to appear in Shalako opposite Sean Connery, the deal fell through,[17] and Diana Rigg—who had already been the popular heroine Emma Peel in The Avengers—was cast instead.[9] Rigg said one of the reasons for accepting the role was that she always wanted to be in an epic film.[19] Hunt and Maibaum admired Donald Pleasence's performance as Blofeld in You Only Live Twice but wanted to recast the character. Maibaum originally wrote the role of Blofeld with Max von Sydow in mind;[18] coincidentally, von Sydow would later play Blofeld in the non-Eon Bond film Never Say Never Again. Telly Savalas was ultimately cast following a suggestion from Broccoli. Hunt's neighbour George Baker was offered the part of Sir Hilary Bray. Baker's voice was also used when Lazenby was impersonating Bray,[19] as Hunt considered Lazenby's imitation not convincing enough.[31] Gabriele Ferzetti was cast as Draco after the producers saw him in We Still Kill the Old Way, but Ferzetti's heavy Italian accent also led to his voice being redubbed by English actor David de Keyser for the final cut.[27]

Filming at Piz Gloria, Switzerland

Principal photography began in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland, on 21 October 1968, with the first scene shot being an aerial view of Bond climbing the stairs of Blofeld's mountain retreat to meet the women.[19] The scenes were shot at the revolving restaurant Piz Gloria, located atop the Schilthorn near the village of Mürren. The location was found by production manager Hubert Fröhlich after three weeks of location scouting in France and Switzerland.[20] The restaurant was still under construction, but the producers found the spectacular location interesting,[27] and had to finance the provision of electricity and the aerial lift to make filming there possible.[19] The first chase scene in the Alps was shot at the Schilthorn and the second one at Saas-Fee, while the Christmas celebrations were filmed in Grindelwald, and some scenes were shot on location in Bern.[32] Production was hampered by weak snowfall which was unfavourable to the skiing action scenes. The producers even considered moving to another location in Switzerland, but it was taken by the production of Downhill Racer.[27] The Swiss filming ended up running 56 days over schedule.[20] In March 1969, production moved to England, with London's Pinewood Studios being used for interior scenes, and M's house being shot in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. In April, the filmmakers went to Portugal, where principal photography wrapped in May.[19][27] The pre-credit coastal and hotel scenes were filmed at Hotel Estoril Palacio in Estoril and Guincho Beach, Cascais,[33] while Lisbon was used for the reunion of Bond and Tracy, and the ending employed a mountain road in the Arrábida National Park near Setúbal.[32] Harry Saltzman wanted these scenes to be in France, but after searching there, Peter Hunt considered that not only were the locations not photogenic, but were already "overexposed".[34]

Cameraman Johnny Jordan dangling from a helicopter

While the first unit shot at Piz Gloria, the second unit, led by John Glen, started filming the ski chases.[35] The downhill skiing involved professional skiers, and various camera tricks. Some cameras were handheld, with the operators holding them as they were going downhill with the stuntmen, and others were aerial, with cameramen Johnny Jordan – who had previously worked in the helicopter battle of You Only Live Twice — developing a system where he was dangled by an 18 feet (5.5 m) long parachute harness rig below a helicopter, allowing scenes to be shot on the move from any angle.[19] The bobsledding chase was also filmed with the help of Swiss Olympic athletes,[27][36] and was rewritten to incorporate the accidents the stuntmen suffered during shooting, such as the scene where Bond falls from the sled. Blofeld getting snared with a tree was performed at the studio by Savalas himself, after the attempt to do this by the stuntman on location came out wrong.[19] Heinz Lau and Robert Zimmermann served as the stunt doubles for Bond and Blofeld during the bobsleigh scene.[18] Glen was also the editor of the film, employing a style similar to the one used by Hunt in the previous Bond films, with fast motion in the action scenes and exaggerated sound effects.[27]

The avalanche scenes were due to be filmed in co-operation with the Swiss army, which annually used explosions to prevent snow build-up by causing avalanches, but the area chosen naturally avalanched just before filming.[34] The final result was a combination of a man-made avalanche at an isolated Swiss location shot by the second unit,[19] stock footage, and images created by the special effects crew with salt.[34] The stuntmen were filmed later, added by optical effects.[37] For the scene where Bond and Tracy crash into a car race while being pursued, an ice rink was constructed over an unused aeroplane track,[27] with water and snow sprayed on it constantly. Lazenby and Rigg did most of the driving due to the high number of close-ups.[19]

For the cinematography, Hunt aimed for a "simple, but glamorous like the 1950s Hollywood films I grew up with",[34] as well as something realistic, "where the sets don't look like sets".[34] Cinematographer Michael Reed added he had difficulties with lighting, as every set built for the film had a ceiling, preventing spotlights from being hung from above.[38] While shooting, Hunt wanted "the most interesting framings possible", which would also look good after being cropped for television.[34]

Lazenby said he experienced difficulties during shooting, not receiving any coaching despite his lack of acting experience, and with director Hunt never addressing him directly, only through his assistant. Lazenby claimed that Hunt also asked the rest of the crew to keep a distance from him, as "Peter thought the more I was alone, the better I would be as James Bond."[20] Allegedly, there also were personality conflicts with Rigg, who was already an established star. However, according to Hunt, these rumours are untrue and there were no such difficulties—or else they were minor—and may have started with Rigg joking to Lazenby before filming a love scene, "Hey George, I'm having garlic for lunch. I hope you are!"[9] Hunt also declared that he usually had long talks with Lazenby before and during shooting. For instance, to shoot Tracy's death scene, Hunt brought Lazenby to the set at 8 o'clock in the morning and made him rehearse all day long, "and I broke him down until he was absolutely exhausted, and by the time we shot it at five o'clock, he was exhausted, and that's how I got the performance."[39] Hunt said that if Lazenby had remained in the role, he would also have directed the successor film, Diamonds Are Forever, and that his original intention had been to conclude the film with Bond and Tracy driving off following their wedding, saving Tracy's murder for the pre-credit sequence of Diamonds Are Forever. The idea was discarded after Lazenby quit the role.[19]

On Her Majesty's Secret Service was the longest Bond film until Casino Royale was released in 2006.[40] Even so, two scenes were deleted from the final print: Irma Bunt spying on Bond as he buys a wedding ring for Tracy,[41] and a chase over London rooftops and into the Royal Mail underground rail system[42] after Bond's conversation with Sir Hilary Bray was overheard.[40]

The slopes in the Saas Fee area in which the ski sequences were shot.

The soundtrack for On Her Majesty's Secret Service has been called "perhaps the best score of the series."[35] It was composed, arranged and conducted by John Barry;[43] it was his sixth successive Bond film. Barry opted to use more electronic instruments and a more aggressive sound in the music – "I have to stick my oar in the musical area double strong to make the audience try and forget they don't have Sean ... to be Bondian beyond Bondian."[44]

Barry felt it would be difficult to compose a theme song containing the title "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" unless it were written operatically, in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan.[45] Leslie Bricusse had considered lyrics for the title song[46] but director Peter R. Hunt allowed an instrumental title theme in the tradition of the first two Bond films. The theme is built around a lament bass, which establishes the story as a tragedy. Barry's composition was described as "one of the best title cuts, a wordless Moog-driven monster, suitable for skiing at breakneck speed or dancing with equal abandon."[47]

Barry also composed the love song "We Have All the Time in the World", with lyrics by Burt Bacharach's regular lyricist Hal David, sung by Louis Armstrong.[43] 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.[48] Barry recalled Armstrong was very ill, but recorded the song in one take. Armstrong did, however, make some further recordings in 1970 and 1971.[49] The song was re-released in 1994, achieving the number three position during a 13-week spell in the UK charts.[50] The song was reused for a second Bond movie, when it was used as the soundtrack for the closing credits for the 2021 release No Time to Die.[51]

Barry and David also wrote two other songs for the film, both performed by Danish singer Nina. One, entitled "Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?", was featured in the film in several scenes.[52] The other, "The More Things Change", was recorded by Nina at the same session but did not end up in the finished film. Instead, it appeared as the B-side of the UK single of "Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?" and an instrumental version of it appeared on John Barry's 1970 LP Ready When You Are J.B..[53]

The theme, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", is used in the film as an action theme alternative to Monty Norman's "James Bond Theme", as with Barry's previous "007" themes. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was covered in 1997 by the British big beat group the Propellerheads for the Shaken and Stirred album.[54] Barry's orchestrator Nic Raine recorded an arrangement of the escape from Piz Gloria sequence and it was featured as a theme in the trailers for the 2004 Pixar animated film directed by Brad Bird, The Incredibles. Barry was the first choice to do the score for The Incredibles. However, he declined to do the score, as he did not wish to duplicate the sound of his older work.[55]

The film topped the United States box office when it opened with a gross of $1.2 million for the week.[64] It was the highest-grossing film in January 1970.[65] The film closed its box-office run with £750,000 in the United Kingdom (the highest-grossing film of the year),[66] $64.6 million worldwide,[67] half of You Only Live Twice's total gross,[66] but still one of the highest-grossing films of 1969.[68] It was one of the most popular movies in France in 1969, with admissions of 1,958,172.[69] Nonetheless, this was a considerable drop from You Only Live Twice.[70] After re-releases, the total box office was $82,000,000 worldwide.[71]

George Lazenby as James Bond

The majority of reviews were critical of either the film, Lazenby, or both, while most of the contemporary reviews in the British press referred to George Lazenby at some point as "The Big Fry", a reference to his previous acting in Fry's chocolate advertisements.[72] Derek Malcolm of The Guardian was dismissive of Lazenby's performance, saying that he "is not a good actor and though I never thought Sean Connery was all that stylish either, there are moments when one yearns for a little of his louche panache."[73] For all the criticism of Lazenby, however, Malcolm says that the film was "quite a jolly frolic in the familiar money-spinning fashion".[73] Tom Milne, writing in The Observer was even more scathing, saying that "I ... fervently trust (OHMSS) will be the last of the James Bond films. All the pleasing oddities and eccentricities and gadgets of the earlier films have somehow been lost, leaving a routine trail through which the new James Bond strides without noticeable signs of animation."[74]

Donald Zec in the Daily Mirror was equally damning of Lazenby's acting abilities, comparing him unfavourably to Connery: "He looks uncomfortably in the part like a size four foot in a size ten gumboot."[75] In yet another unfavourable comparison of Lazenby to Connery, Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune remarked that he "doesn't fill Sean Connery's shoes, Aston-Martin, or stretch pants. The new 007 Is more boyish and consequently less of a man. He doesn't order food with the same verve, and generally lacks the self-satisfied smirk that Connery kept with him and transmitted to his audience."[76] A. H. Weiler of The New York Times also weighed in against Lazenby, saying that "Lazenby, if not a spurious Bond, is merely a casual, pleasant, satisfactory replacement."[77]

Zec was kinder to Lazenby's co-star, saying that "there is style to Diana Rigg's performance and I suspect that the last scene which draws something of a performance out of Lazenby owes much to her silken expertise."[75] Siskel also wrote that Rigg "is well-cast as the girl, but we lose her for about an hour In the film, only to have her return in a most implausible location and time."[76]

One of the few supporters of Lazenby amongst the critics was Alexander Walker in the London Evening Standard who said that "The truth is that George Lazenby is almost as good a James Bond as the man referred to in his film as 'the other fellow'. Lazenby's voice is more suave than sexy-sinister and he could pass for the other fellow's twin on the shady side of the casino. Bond is now definitely all set for the Seventies."[78] Judith Crist of New York also found the actor to be a strong point of the movie, stating that "This time around there's less suavity and a no-nonsense muscularity and maleness to the role via the handsome Mr. Lazenby".[79]

The feminist film critic Molly Haskell also wrote an approving review of the film in The Village Voice: "In a world, an industry, and particularly a genre which values the new and improved product above all, it is nothing short of miraculous to see a movie which dares to go backward, a technological artefact which has nobly deteriorated into a human being. I speak of the new and obsolete James Bond, played by a man named George Lazenby, who seems more comfortable in a wet tuxedo than a dry martini, more at ease as a donnish genealogist than reading (or playing) Playboy, and who actually dares to think that one woman who is his equal is better than a thousand part-time playmates."[80] Haskell was also affected by the film's emotional ending: "The love between Bond and his Tracy begins as a payment and ends as a sacrament. After ostensibly getting rid of the bad guys, they are married. They drive off to a shocking, stunning ending. Their love, being too real, is killed by the conventions it defied. But they win the final victory by calling, unexpectedly, upon feeling. Some of the audience hissed, I was shattered. If you like your Bonds with happy endings, don't go."[80]

Diana Rigg and George Lazenby

Modern reception of the film has seen a strong positive reversal, to the point that many Bond connoisseurs have ranked it as their personal favourite, including multiple Academy Award winners and participants in a magazine fan poll.[81][82][83][84][85][86][87] Film critic James Berardinelli summed this up in his review of the movie: "with the exception of one production aspect, [it] is by far the best entry of the long-running James Bond series. The film contains some of the most exhilarating action sequences ever to reach the screen, a touching love story, and a nice subplot that has agent 007 crossing (and even threatening to resign from) Her Majesty's Secret Service."[83] Julia Sirmons, writing in CrimeReads, also regarded it as the best Bond film, highlighting its mix of romance, the strong Bond girl, its cheekiness, and Lazenby.[81]

The American film reviewer Leonard Maltin has suggested that if it had been Connery in the leading role instead of Lazenby, On Her Majesty's Secret Service would have epitomised the series.[88] On the other hand, Danny Peary wrote, "I'm not sure I agree with those who insist that if Connery had played Bond it would definitely be the best of the entire Bond series ... Connery's Bond, with his boundless humor and sense of fun and self-confidence, would be out of place in this picture. It actually works better with Lazenby because he is incapable of playing Bond as a bigger-than-life hero; for one thing he hasn't the looks ... Lazenby's Bond also hasn't the assurance of Connery's Bond[,] and that is appropriate in the crumbling, depressing world he finds himself. He seems vulnerable and jittery at times. At the skating rink, he is actually scared. We worry about him ... On Her Majesty's Secret Service doesn't have Connery and it's impossible to ever fully adjust to Lazenby, but I think that it still might be the best Bond film, as many Bond cultists claim." Peary also described On Her Majesty's Secret Service as "the most serious", "the most cynical" and "the most tragic" of the Bond films.[89]

Brian Fairbanks differed in his opinion of Lazenby, saying that the film "gives us a James Bond capable of vulnerability, a man who can show fear and is not immune to heartbreak. Lazenby is that man, and his performance is superb."[84] Fairbanks also thought On Her Majesty's Secret Service to be "not only the best Bond, it is also the last truly great film in the series. In fact, had the decision been made to end the series, this would have been the perfect final chapter."[84]

The filmmaker Steven Soderbergh writes that "For me there's no question that cinematically On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the best Bond film and the only one worth watching repeatedly for reasons other than pure entertainment ... Shot to shot, this movie is beautiful in a way none of the other Bond films are".[85] The director Christopher Nolan also stated that On Her Majesty's Secret Service was his favourite Bond film; in describing its influence on his own film Inception (2010), Nolan said: "What I liked about it that we've tried to emulate in this film is there's a tremendous balance in that movie of action and scale and romanticism and tragedy and emotion."[86]

Due to previous criticism, (which has more recently seen it reappraised as one of the best) it has often been referred to as the most overlooked/underated of the Bond Movies. [90] [91]

The 1969 Mercury Cougar XR7 used in the film (pictured 2012)

The review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 81% based on 54 reviews, and a weighted average of 6.78 out of 10. The website's critical consensus states, "George Lazenby's only appearance as 007 is a fine entry in the series, featuring one of the most intriguing Bond girls in Tracy di Vincenzo (Diana Rigg), breathtaking visuals, and some great ski chases."[92] IGN ranked On Her Majesty's Secret Service as the eighth-best Bond film,[93] Entertainment Weekly as the sixth,[94] and Norman Wilner of MSN ranked it fifth.[95] Digital Spy listed the film as the best James Bond film to date. The film also became a fan favourite, seeing "ultimate success in the home video market".[96] In September 2012, it was announced that On Her Majesty's Secret Service had topped a poll of Bond fans run by 007 Magazine to determine the greatest ever Bond film. Goldfinger came second in the poll and From Russia With Love was third.[87]