As movie franchises go, there are few as iconic as James Bond. Since Sean Connery first debuted as 007 in 1962’s Dr. No, there have been 27 total film productions featuring the beloved British secret agent and while the most recent actor to play the role, Daniel Craig, ended his run with 2021’s No Time to Die. Part of what makes the James Bond so enduring is its consistency. Even across multiple actors playing Bond over the decades, there are certain things that remain the same across the films, classic elements that make Bond, well, Bond. That is, except in the case of one film — and it was released 56 years ago.
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Released on December 19, 1969, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is unlike any other James Bond film that has ever been made. Based on Ian Fleming’s 1963 novel of the same name, the film is the sixth in the overall James Bond series and is the first to see someone other than Sean Connery play Bond as Connery had decided to retire from the role after You Only Live Twice. George Lazenby would step into the role, but a new face for the secret agent was only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the ways On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is unlike any other Bond film before it or since — and its low key the best one, too.
George Lazenby Was A Bond In Love Like We’d Never Seen Before
In On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Bond faces off with the villain Blofeld (Telly Savalas) who threatens to use a group of brainwashed “angels of death” to make all of the world’s livestock infertile as a means to hold the world to ransom. That’s the large plot. Connected to this overarching villain scheme, however, is a woman named Contessa Teresa “Tracy” di Vicenzo who Bond saves from an attempted suicide by drowning early on in the film. Turns out, she’s the daughter of Marc-Ange Draco, a gangster in charge of the Union Corse syndicate with connections to Blofeld and SPECTRE. Draco tries to get Bond to marry Tracy to make her happy, and while he refuses, he does agree to continue to see her if Draco helps him track down Blofeld.
The movie is, generally, a pretty standard Bond adventure in terms of its villain plot. Bond goes after Blofeld, there’s scheming, there’s action, it’s fantastic. However, what really sets the film apart is that while all Bond movies contain some element of romance, the romance in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is no mere fling. Bond and Tracy start to genuinely develop feelings for one another, so much so that when the pair are forced into a remote barn during a blizzard, Bond opens up about his love for her and proposes marriage. The film actually sees Bond and Tracy get married — something extremely unusual for a Bond film — though it is very short lived as Tracy is killed when Blofeld carries out a drive by shooting shortly after the pair drive off into the sunset. This particular take on Bond, while tragic, is actually pretty refreshing and paired with the rather excellent overall story, makes for a great movie.
Lazenby Was a One and Done Bond
Outside of the movie’s rather unique story for Bond, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is a unique entry in the Bond franchise for things that went on off-screen as well. When Connery decided to retire from the role of Bond, it meant that Eon Productions needed to find a new actor for the role. They ended up choosing Lazenby, but Lazenby wasn’t an actor. He was a model with no film acting experience when he was cast as Bond. While Lazenby would go on to make a few other films, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service would be his only outing as Bond. He made it known while filming that he wasn’t going to return to the role — and Connery would end up returning for the next film.
At the time, critics weren’t especially kind about Lazenby’s performance, but in retrospect not only has his performance but the movie overall come to be seen in a much brighter light. Lazenby, likely due to his inexperience as an actor, brought a vulnerability to Bond that we hadn’t really seen before and haven’t really since to the same extent. He’s fallible, a little anxious at times, and perhaps even cynical. It works very well considering that this movie is also perhaps the most realistic in terms of the emotional elements of the film. The romance element of the film, which in most Bond movies is played off as mere cheeky sexuality, is something real and with depth. The movie takes itself seriously in a way that you don’t often see in an action franchise and it gives On Her Majesty’s Secret Service a balance the rest of the films in the franchise simply don’t have. It’s unique — and the greatest Bond movie yet.
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Image courtesy of Universal Pictures.
