ReBONDing: The Other Guy
Reevaluating the George Lazenby Era (1969)
When we last left James Bond, it was a year and a half ago... where I summarized my final thoughts on Roger Moore with my two favorite films in which he starred. We now jump back in time to 1969 where Eon Productions was desperately searching to replace that which could not be replaced: Sean Connery.
There were a fair amount of firsts when On Her Majesty's Secret Service was released to the world in 1969:
A used car salesmen-turned-model, George Lazenby didn't attract anyone's attention when he first moved to London in 1963. Only after fate brought him to the same barbershop as Cubby Broccoli in 1968 did his potential spark Eon Production's interest. Soon after his audition was he eventually offered the role.
Being cast as James Bond can easily transform a nobody into a somebody if done right. However, the stars didn't seem to align for George Lazenby as the combination of potential stardom going to his head along with being naive, he chose to walk away from the franchise before the film hit theaters. His career never recovered.
So, how does "the other guy" fair alongside the likes of Roger Moore, Sean Connery, and the like? Let's find out.
ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969)
Directed by Peter R. Hunt
Written by Richard Maibaum, Simon Raven
Ian Fleming (novel)
Running Time: 2 hours, 22 minutes
Original Verdict:
One of the better written Bond films starring "that other guy." George Lazenby does a decent job picking up the slack that Connery left behind. He also ends up portraying the only Bond who gets married to Tracy Di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg), another one of my Top 5 Bond Girls. It's also difficult to see Kojak (Telly Savalas) as Blofeld, the mastermind behind S.P.E.C.T.R.E.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
THE REEVALUATION
The Cold Open: The production team struggled with how to introduce the new face to audiences, so they decided to jump right into some action when we meet up with Bond in Portugal. While the opening is a departure from the norm, the hand-to-hand combat and stunts are quite spectacular, especially for 1969. Some groan while others laugh when Bond breaking the fourth wall claiming, "This never happened to the other fella," (an obvious nod to the absence of Sean Connery). It's definitely not the best cold open of the film franchise, but it's still memorable.
The Story: James Bond befriends crime syndicate boss Draco, while also attempting to court his strongly independent daughter, Tracy, in exchange for Draco's connections to the infamous Ernst Stavro Blofeld. His contact leads him to go under cover and pursue Blofeld who has established a research clinic nestled high up in the Swiss Alps. While there Bond uncovers Blofeld's plot to release a bacteriological warfare with brainwashed sleeper agents throughout the world. Not horribly convoluted as Bond stories go, but the film still suffers from some pacing issues.
The Villain: The casting of Telly Savalas as Blofeld works... mostly. Savalas brings a level of menace, intelligence, and physical presence to the Blofeld character that is in stark contrast to Donald Pleasance's portrayal in You Only Live Twice (YOLT). Savalas gives us the impression that not only could he physically handle himself mano-y-mano against James Bond, but that he would. Still, while his Blofeld isn't bad my any means, I'm just indifferent to it.
The Heavy: Irma Bunt, Blofeld's task-keeper, and right-hand woman. She carries out her job with precision, providing a second level of security that keeps Bond on his toes. Most fans may unintentionally disregard her overall role in the film -- especially if they haven't watched it in a while -- but she's credited for pushing Bond's pursuit after escaping the clinic all the way to the city at the bottom of the Swiss Alps. Also, we must not forget that she's the one who pulls the trigger resulting in Tracy's death. As formidable foes go, she belongs in the top echelon of henchman.
The Girls: While I won't discredit the assortment of wonderful and bountiful selection of ladies staying at the clinic (known as the "Angels of Death"), my primary focus was always on Diana Rigg. I'm not quite sure if I've truly placed the ladies in my Top 5 Favorite Bond Girls in any particular order, but I'm fairly certain that Diana Rigg sits at the top. She's smart, she's sexy, she independent, and she's drop dead gorgeous. She's not the normal damsel in distress, breaking the mold of the beautiful-yet-helpless stereotype. While the film is still a product of its time, Bond's sexist tendencies tend to be more muted when opposite Tracy.
The Gadgets: Primarily a gadget-free film, OHMSS gives us the first and only glimpse of a safe-cracking Xerox machine that's so big that it must be transported into the office that Bond breaks into by a crane at a nearby construction site. Not very secret, I know.
What Doesn't Work? For those of us that are in the Pro-OHMSS camp (which I clearly am), there isn't a lot to complain about here. As I already stated earlier, the pacing of the film suffers when it veers off course to establish and then re-establish Tracy and James's love story. The film is 2 hours and 22 minutes and it feels it. I wonder how the film would have felt if the editor had shaved off a half an hour. I'd probably rank the film a 5 out of 5.
Another issue I have with this film is that while both Blofeld and Bond previously met face-to-face in YOLT, for some reason Blofeld does not recognize him. I find that rather odd in the most traditional sense of good storytelling and contenuity. Other mild irritations I have about this film are: (1) Bond so blatantly and carelessly beds several "Angels of Death" while up at the clinic (posing as the gay Scotsman, Sir Hilary Bray, mind you), even though he madly in love with Tracy; (2) Bond's Scottish voice-dub; and lastly, (3) the sound effects editing where car tires screech and peel-out, even though the vehicles are clearly on sand at the beach.
Final Thoughts: George Lazenby does an adequate job of filling Sean Connery's shoes while doing his best to make the role his own. Unfortunately his swollen ego, combined with a significant drop in box office returns, and a shift in the film's grounded narrative, just wasn't enough to satisfy hardly anyone, including Eon Productions (although critics have been rather positive in recent years as the film has aged).
Peter Hunt's direction brought a fresh and new approach to the franchise, giving us fans one of only a few gritty Bond films in the entire franchise. He gave us a film with wonderfully executed fight sequences with brilliant jump-cuts, putting the audience square within the confines of the fight taking place. Along with a vibrant score by John Barry (one of his best of the entire series -- including the opening credit sequence piece -- which is my absolute favorite), and breathtaking live-action sequences played upon the backdrop of the Swiss Alps, this film rarely fails to deliver.
Overall, the film holds up rather well but every time I watch it, I wonder two things. First, I wonder what a second Lazenby film would have been like and where that may have taken the franchise. (Lazenby was originally offered seven films in his contract.) But mostly I wonder if Sean Connery had stuck around for just one more film, (rather than coming back for an obscenely large paycheck instead), could this have potentially been his best and final outing? It's possible, but most believe that Connery's misogynistic take on Bond would never have been able to fall in love. Maybe, but we'll never know. I do know one thing, it would have been a superb way for Connery to exit the series if he had been able to pull it off.
Reevaluation Score: 4 out of 5.
James Bond will return... with the one who started it all.
When we last left James Bond, it was a year and a half ago... where I summarized my final thoughts on Roger Moore with my two favorite films in which he starred. We now jump back in time to 1969 where Eon Productions was desperately searching to replace that which could not be replaced: Sean Connery.
There were a fair amount of firsts when On Her Majesty's Secret Service was released to the world in 1969:
- The First James Bond not starring Sean Connery
- The Youngest Actor to portray James Bond (George Lazenby was 29 when they began filming OHMSS)
- The First (and only time) James Bond gets married
- The First (and last) James Bond film to star George Lazenby
- The First (and only) Australian to be cast as the British Secret Agent
A used car salesmen-turned-model, George Lazenby didn't attract anyone's attention when he first moved to London in 1963. Only after fate brought him to the same barbershop as Cubby Broccoli in 1968 did his potential spark Eon Production's interest. Soon after his audition was he eventually offered the role.
Being cast as James Bond can easily transform a nobody into a somebody if done right. However, the stars didn't seem to align for George Lazenby as the combination of potential stardom going to his head along with being naive, he chose to walk away from the franchise before the film hit theaters. His career never recovered.
So, how does "the other guy" fair alongside the likes of Roger Moore, Sean Connery, and the like? Let's find out.
ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969)
Directed by Peter R. Hunt
Written by Richard Maibaum, Simon Raven
Ian Fleming (novel)
Running Time: 2 hours, 22 minutes
Original Verdict:
One of the better written Bond films starring "that other guy." George Lazenby does a decent job picking up the slack that Connery left behind. He also ends up portraying the only Bond who gets married to Tracy Di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg), another one of my Top 5 Bond Girls. It's also difficult to see Kojak (Telly Savalas) as Blofeld, the mastermind behind S.P.E.C.T.R.E.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
THE REEVALUATION
The Cold Open: The production team struggled with how to introduce the new face to audiences, so they decided to jump right into some action when we meet up with Bond in Portugal. While the opening is a departure from the norm, the hand-to-hand combat and stunts are quite spectacular, especially for 1969. Some groan while others laugh when Bond breaking the fourth wall claiming, "This never happened to the other fella," (an obvious nod to the absence of Sean Connery). It's definitely not the best cold open of the film franchise, but it's still memorable.
The Story: James Bond befriends crime syndicate boss Draco, while also attempting to court his strongly independent daughter, Tracy, in exchange for Draco's connections to the infamous Ernst Stavro Blofeld. His contact leads him to go under cover and pursue Blofeld who has established a research clinic nestled high up in the Swiss Alps. While there Bond uncovers Blofeld's plot to release a bacteriological warfare with brainwashed sleeper agents throughout the world. Not horribly convoluted as Bond stories go, but the film still suffers from some pacing issues.
The Villain: The casting of Telly Savalas as Blofeld works... mostly. Savalas brings a level of menace, intelligence, and physical presence to the Blofeld character that is in stark contrast to Donald Pleasance's portrayal in You Only Live Twice (YOLT). Savalas gives us the impression that not only could he physically handle himself mano-y-mano against James Bond, but that he would. Still, while his Blofeld isn't bad my any means, I'm just indifferent to it.
The Heavy: Irma Bunt, Blofeld's task-keeper, and right-hand woman. She carries out her job with precision, providing a second level of security that keeps Bond on his toes. Most fans may unintentionally disregard her overall role in the film -- especially if they haven't watched it in a while -- but she's credited for pushing Bond's pursuit after escaping the clinic all the way to the city at the bottom of the Swiss Alps. Also, we must not forget that she's the one who pulls the trigger resulting in Tracy's death. As formidable foes go, she belongs in the top echelon of henchman.
The Girls: While I won't discredit the assortment of wonderful and bountiful selection of ladies staying at the clinic (known as the "Angels of Death"), my primary focus was always on Diana Rigg. I'm not quite sure if I've truly placed the ladies in my Top 5 Favorite Bond Girls in any particular order, but I'm fairly certain that Diana Rigg sits at the top. She's smart, she's sexy, she independent, and she's drop dead gorgeous. She's not the normal damsel in distress, breaking the mold of the beautiful-yet-helpless stereotype. While the film is still a product of its time, Bond's sexist tendencies tend to be more muted when opposite Tracy.
The Gadgets: Primarily a gadget-free film, OHMSS gives us the first and only glimpse of a safe-cracking Xerox machine that's so big that it must be transported into the office that Bond breaks into by a crane at a nearby construction site. Not very secret, I know.
What Doesn't Work? For those of us that are in the Pro-OHMSS camp (which I clearly am), there isn't a lot to complain about here. As I already stated earlier, the pacing of the film suffers when it veers off course to establish and then re-establish Tracy and James's love story. The film is 2 hours and 22 minutes and it feels it. I wonder how the film would have felt if the editor had shaved off a half an hour. I'd probably rank the film a 5 out of 5.
Another issue I have with this film is that while both Blofeld and Bond previously met face-to-face in YOLT, for some reason Blofeld does not recognize him. I find that rather odd in the most traditional sense of good storytelling and contenuity. Other mild irritations I have about this film are: (1) Bond so blatantly and carelessly beds several "Angels of Death" while up at the clinic (posing as the gay Scotsman, Sir Hilary Bray, mind you), even though he madly in love with Tracy; (2) Bond's Scottish voice-dub; and lastly, (3) the sound effects editing where car tires screech and peel-out, even though the vehicles are clearly on sand at the beach.
 |
| Another first in a series of firsts when OHMSS was released. |
Final Thoughts: George Lazenby does an adequate job of filling Sean Connery's shoes while doing his best to make the role his own. Unfortunately his swollen ego, combined with a significant drop in box office returns, and a shift in the film's grounded narrative, just wasn't enough to satisfy hardly anyone, including Eon Productions (although critics have been rather positive in recent years as the film has aged).
Peter Hunt's direction brought a fresh and new approach to the franchise, giving us fans one of only a few gritty Bond films in the entire franchise. He gave us a film with wonderfully executed fight sequences with brilliant jump-cuts, putting the audience square within the confines of the fight taking place. Along with a vibrant score by John Barry (one of his best of the entire series -- including the opening credit sequence piece -- which is my absolute favorite), and breathtaking live-action sequences played upon the backdrop of the Swiss Alps, this film rarely fails to deliver.
Overall, the film holds up rather well but every time I watch it, I wonder two things. First, I wonder what a second Lazenby film would have been like and where that may have taken the franchise. (Lazenby was originally offered seven films in his contract.) But mostly I wonder if Sean Connery had stuck around for just one more film, (rather than coming back for an obscenely large paycheck instead), could this have potentially been his best and final outing? It's possible, but most believe that Connery's misogynistic take on Bond would never have been able to fall in love. Maybe, but we'll never know. I do know one thing, it would have been a superb way for Connery to exit the series if he had been able to pull it off.
Reevaluation Score: 4 out of 5.
James Bond will return... with the one who started it all.
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