We Have All The Time In the World

George Lazenby's debut as James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service should have been a bigger deal than it turned out to be. Lazenby was the male model and BP pitchman who, with the help of Sean Connery's tailor and hairdresser, landed the biggest role in British cinema in 1969. What Lazenby lacked in acting chops he made up for in sheer physical prowess and athleticism. No other James Bond has ever been as convincing in close fight scenes as Lazenby was in this film. He gave the impression of a man who really could kill with his bare hands. What acting he had to do, he did well for a beginner. He was a bit stiff in some acting scenes, and someone else had to dub his Sir Hilary Bray dialog because Lazenby couldn't handle the posh accent; but his performance in the final moments of the film was poignant, and, when Bond was in crisis and appeared to be at the end of his tether in the middle of the film, Lazenby conveyed Bond's fear and desperation every bit as well as Roger Moore did at a similar moment in Octopussy. If Lazenby had allowed himself to grow into the role (Cubby Broccoli offered him a five picture deal, which he refused), Lazenby might have grown into a memorable 007. Instead, he ended up, somewhat undeservedly, as the forgotten Bond.

A great supporting cast helps Lazenby out on this adventure. Diana Rigg was an inspired choice for Tracy D'vicenzo. The second Avengers alumnus to take a part in a Bond film (the first was Honor Blackman in Goldfinger, and the third was Patrick McNee in A View To A Kill), Rigg brings wit, style, smarts, and a surprising amout of physical prowess of her own. It's easy to see why Bond thinks her character is special. Telly Savalas is the best of all the actors who played Ernst Stavro Blofeld, giving a sinister, tough performance as the snobbish, social-climbing, ruthless, master criminal. Gabriele Ferzetti plays Draco, Tracy's father and a master criminal himself, with a sly smoothness.

If life were fair, On Her Majesty's Secret Service would have launched Bond in some interesting new directions at the close of the 1960s, but in part because of Lazenby's refusal to continue and in part because box office receipts dropped from 1967s You Only Live Twice, it was not to be. Connery returned for one more outing in the wild, over-the-top Diamonds Are Forever, then it was time for Yaphet Kotto and his partner, Death Incarnate, to threaten former Saint and new 007 Roger Moore in the blacksploitation influenced Live and Let Die. That'll be next.

(Bitterspice has another take on On Her Majesty's Secret Service here.)