Review of On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) by Filipeneto — 18 Feb 2018

Directed by Peter R. Hunt, produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli and with screenplay by Richard Maibaum, this is the sixth 007 franchise movie and one of the least considered by fans today. Nevertheless, it was acclaimed at the time. For the Portuguese, it contains a special affection because it was the only Bond film to be shot in Portugal so far (except "The Man with the Golden Gun", that was partially shot in Macau, which was then under Portuguese administration).

In this film, the British agent on holiday in Lisbon, saves the life of a woman who tried to commit suicide. Later, he discovers that the girl is the countess Teresa di Vicenzo, ending kidnapped by her father, Draco, head of the mafia of Corsica, which asks him to help her daughter, marrying her and giving her a new life. In exchange, he agrees to give the location of Blofeld, who the MI6 has been looking for. It will not be necessary: seeing the mutual interest, Draco accepts to collaborate with Bond, which starts dating Tracy. The investigation leads Bond to Switzerland, where the villain, disguised as Count Bleuchamp, manages a clinic while seeks to legitimize his nobility. Disguised as expert in heraldry, Bond infiltrates in the enemy's nest and quickly discovers his evil plans.

This film is quite different from those that preceded it: despite having the same blend of action and beautiful women, the film has something that we will not see again until very recent years: Bond truly falls in love by a woman who not only loves him but also combines with him: they are the perfect couple as they love each other and also love the danger, sharing the adventure and allowing the risk to unite them. Finally, Bond was defeated by love after several films seducing women. Another difference of this movie from all the others is the fact that its the first film without Sean Connery. Many people saw the character as linked to this actor who thought it wasn't possible to give it to another actor but George Lazenby showed that this wasn't true and made a good performance in the role of 007, probably the biggest role of his career. In fact, the biggest mistake of his career was refusing to continue it for more seven films. Another important note in this film, especially when compared to that preceded immediately, is the absence of the Q- Branch inventions, a director's choice, who want to follow the Fleming's original story more closely.

In addition to the central cast inherited from previous films, George Lazenby plays Bond, Diana Rigg gave life to Tracy, ephemeral wife of 007, Gabriele Ferzetti played Draco and Telly Savalas gave life to Blofeld. The soundtrack, including the instrumental opening, was composed by John Barry and includes "We Have All the Time in the World", the last musical recording of Louis Armstrong before his death.