Written by Richard Maibaum And Simon Raven
Directed by Peter R. Hunt
James Bond (re Tracy): "It's all right. It's quite all right, really. She's having a rest. We'll be going on soon. There's no hurry, you see. We have all the time in the world."
If things had played out much differently, this would've been the start of a slew of James Bond movies with George Lazenby in the title role. Instead, it's a one and done deal and I'm going to say something controversial - I really love this movie.
As much as I enjoyed Sean Connery in the role (and there's two more films with him to get to), I actually do think that George Lazenby was a worthy successor. As far as I'm concerned, he doesn't put a foot wrong here.
This was a version of Bond that upped his womanising ways when he went undercover in an environment where that wasn't his best course of action. He's also a Bond who just happened to get married to a woman who could easily match him.
The woman in question was Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg) or Tracy as she was mostly referred to in this one. There's something rather romcom like with James and Tracy, coupled with some slapstick humour, actual slapping and a father named Marc-Ange Draco (Gabriele Ferzetti) who desperately wanted James for a son in law. James wanted Blofeld (Tell.y Savalas). By the end of this film, he'd want Blofeld even more.
Putting most of the action in a retreat in Switzerland during the Christmas season was a brilliant idea. James got surrounded by beautiful women named the Angels of Death. Those women were of course sleeper agents for Blofeld's latest scheme. That didn't stop James from sleeping with the likes of Ruby (Angela Scoular) and Nancy (Catherina von Schell) as well as scuppering Blofeld's plans.
Then there's the wedding of James and Tracy. It's a beautiful affair, also bittersweet in the way Moneypenny herself quietly reacted to the day. Tracy's death at the end by Irma Bunt (Ilse Steppat) was genuinely heartbreaking to watch with James's solemn breakdown making it all the more effective.
- Did some of the women/Angels of Death really assume Sir Hilary Bray (George Baker) was gay? Bond impersonated him for that assignment.
- Joanna Lumley appeared as an Englishwoman for Blofeld's Angels of Death. All of them were of different nationalities.
- Standout music: John Barry's We Have All The Time In The World.
- Chronology: London, Switzerland and Portugal all factored in this film as did Christmas.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service to me might be one of the best James Bond movies ever made. It's almost one of the most heartbreaking with a beautifully depicted doomed love between James and Tracy. George Lazenby definitely deserves more praise for this film as does Diana Rigg.
Rating: 9 out of 10
