Cast: George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas, Gabriele Ferzetti, Ilse Steppat, Angela Scoular, Lois Maxwell, Catherine Schell, George Baker, Bernard Lee, Bernard Horsfall, Desmond Llewelyn, Yuri Borionko, Virginia North, Geoffrey Cheshire
In Theaters: 1969
The most emotional adventure of his career begins for James Bond on a deserted beach where a young woman tries to drown herself. He rescues the girl and for his trouble is attacked by two toughs - the girl's bodyguards. It soon becomes much bigger for 007 - the girl is Teresa Draco, daughter of crime boss Marc Ange Draco, who wants James to marry his wayward daughter, and in return he can provide 007 with information on an even more dangerous criminal leader - Ernst Stavro Bloefeld of SPECTRE. But both James and Teresa find more than they ever bargained for when their paths collide in a vicious pursuit in the snow-capped mountains of Switzerland, an enormous avalanche, and a smuggling ring for germ warfare against the West by Blofeld, who proves most difficult to kill and who exacts a revenge that James can never forget - or forgive.
AMAZON.COM REVIEWS FOR ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969): The second grab bag of 007 adventures features three Bonds in five films, including the legendary movie that started it all. In 1962 Sean Connery defined the cinematic James Bond as a tough, charming, and thoroughly professional cold war spy with a license to kill in the lean, hard-edged Dr. No. With Ursula Andress (as the original Bond girl Honey Ryder, who makes her entrance in a bikini), Bond battles a renegade supervillain with little more than his wits, his cunning, and his Walther PPK (this was before Q armed him with the coolest toys a superspy ever had). George Lazenby, a handsome Australian model with a self-effacing confidence, made his first and only appearance as James Bond in the underrated On Her Majesty's Secret Service, a witty and action-packed adventure that makes 007 history when Bond marries the girl (the lovely and talented Diana Rigg, fresh from her duties as the butt-kicking spy on the TV series The Avengers). Roger Moore brought a light tone and a suave assurance to the series as the third Bond, and the set features three of his seven appearances. In The Man with the Golden Gun, he battles million-dollar assassin Christopher Lee, one of Bond's most magnetic adversaries. The Spy Who Loved Me, perhaps Moore's finest hour, is a return to the extravagant set pieces and cold war thrills of Connery's pictures and introduces Richard Kiel's steel-dentured Jaws to the series. Jaws returns as a comic figure in Moonraker, a misguided sci-fi entry that takes Bond to space for a physically impressive but dramatically lackluster adventure. More of a mixed bag than the initial seven-film James Bond Gift Set, this set is aimed at the Bond completist rather than the general fan. The DVD editions of the films each feature audio commentary by the director and key members of the crew, "making of" documentaries, and a host of stills, TV spots, and trailers. --Sean Axmaker Bond: On Her Majesty's Secret Service (vhs):
Amazon.com video review:Australian model George Lazenby took up the mantle of the world'smost suave secret agent when Sean Connery retired as JamesBond--prematurely, it turned out. Connery returned in Diamonds AreForever before leaving the role to Roger Moore and Lazenby's subsequentcareer fizzled, yet this one-hit wonder is responsible for one of the bestBond films of all time.
In On Her Majesty's Secret Service, 007 leaves the Service to privately pursue hisSPECTRE nemesis Blofeld (played this time by Telly Savalas), whose latestmaster plan involves a threat to the world's crops by agriculturalsterilization. Bond teams up with suave international crime lord Draco(Gabriele Ferzetti) and falls in love with--and marries--his elegantdaughter, Tracy (Diana Rigg). Bond goes monogamous? Not at first; after allhe has Blofeld's harem to seduce. Lazenby hasn't the intensity of Connerybut he has fun with his quips and even lampoons the Bond image in a playfulpre-credits sequence, and Rigg, fresh from playing sexy Emma Peel in TheAvengers, matches 007 in every way. Former editorPeter Huntmakes a strong directorial debut, deftly handling the elaborate actionsequences--including a car chase turned road rally through the icysnow--with a kinetic finesse and a dash of humor. Though not a hit on itsoriginal release, On Her Majesty's Secret Service has become a fan favorite and theclosest the series has come to capturing the spirit of Ian Fleming's books.--Sean Axmaker
:
- Golden Globes, USA
1970
Nominated
Golden Globe
Most Promising Newcomer - Male
George Lazenby
- Satellite Awards
2004
Nominated
Golden Satellite Award
Best Classic DVD Release
Also for From Russia with Love (1963), You Only Live Twice (1967), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981), The Living Daylights (1987) and The World Is Not Enough (1999) [Vol. 2].Also for Thunderball (1965), Live and Let Die (1973), Octopussy (1983), A View to a Kill (1985) and Die Another Day (2002). [Vol. 3]For "The James Bond DVD Collection", volumes 2 & 3.
