Review of On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) by Donna S — 08 May 2014

The best of times. Bond editor Peter Hunt is promoted to the director's chair and does not disappoint. Hunt and screenwriter Richard Maibaum were great admirers of Fleming's novel, the middle book in the Blofeld trilogy. The result is a film that is extremely faithful to the original novel and most importantly to Fleming's Bond. It would be nearly twenty tears until Fleming's Bond would again grace the screen in "The Living Daylights". The portrayal of Bond also informs the first and third Brosnan films and obviously Daniel Craig's Bond.

Telly Savalas is brilliant as Blofeld. Diana Rigg is luminous as the tragic Tracy. Along with fellow Avenger Honor Blackman, she is one of the few Bond Women, not girls. George Lazenby has the easy arrogance and cool demeanour of the character down pat. He is physically brilliant in the role, but, yes his relative inexperience shows through as does his broad Australian accent. There is however enough raw energy and self belief on display for one to think that over time he would have grown into the role, Sadly, bad advice and his own youthful stupidity, meant he walked away. Solid but not stunning box office led to the one off return of Sean Connery to the Eon franchise and the beginning of a two decade stretch of painful high camp, only briefly alleviated by "For Your Eyes Only" (1981). If you have never seen it and you like the better Brosnan's and Craig fims, check it out.