On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

TOMATOMETER

AUDIENCE SCORE

Critic Consensus: George Lazenby's only appearance as 007 is a fine entry in the series, featuring one of the most intriguing Bond girls in Tracy di Vincenzo (Diana Rigg), breathtaking visuals, and some great ski chases.


Movie Info

Connery's decision to quit as Bond left Broccoli and Saltzman with a headache. The press went into overdrive speculating on Connery's successor; while the producers chose good-looking Australian actor George Lazenby after successful screen tests. Avengers superstar Diana Rigg was brought in as an added lure and the resulting action-packed film ensured that the franchise would continue.

Rating: PG
Genre: Action & Adventure, Romance, Mystery & Suspense
Directed By: ,
Written By: Richard Maibaum, Simon Raven
In Theaters:
On DVD: May 16, 2000
Runtime:
United Artists

Cast


as James Bond

as Blofeld

as Tracy Di Vicenzo

as Irma Bunt

as Marc Ange Draco

as Gruenther

as Sir Hilary Bray

as Miss Moneypenny

as Hammond

as American Girl

as Scandinavian Girl

as English Girl

as Chinese Girl

as Australian Girl

as Australian Girl

as German Girl

as Italian Girl

as Indian Girl

as Jamaican Girl

as Israeli Girl

as Che Che

as Master Gumpold

as Hall Porter

as Draco's Copter Pilot

as Piz Gloria Attendant

as Blofeld's Driver

as Draco's Driver

as American Casino Gues...

as Greek Tycoon

as Chef de Jeu

as Chef de Jeu Huissier
Show More Cast

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Critic Reviews for On Her Majesty's Secret Service

All Critics (43) | Top Critics (6)

Film of break-neck physical excitement and stunning visual attractions in which George Lazenby replaced Sean Connery as James Bond.

Full Review… | October 13, 2008
Variety
Top Critic

Director Peter Hunt manages to inject some life into this 1969 exercise with a wonderful ski chase, but otherwise the film is a bore.

Full Review… | October 13, 2008
Chicago Reader
Top Critic

The Bond films were bad enough even with the partially ironic performances of Connery.

Full Review… | June 24, 2006
Time Out
Top Critic

What are Bond's problems now? They're too numerous, as usual, to hold the constant attention of anyone other than a charter member of Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Full Review… | May 9, 2005
New York Times
Top Critic

Artistically, Bond's sixth entry, the only one to star Aussie George Lazenby, is much better than given credit to, though commercially it was one of the weakest.

Full Review… | December 2, 2012
EmanuelLevy.Com

[Concentrates] more on the man than the equipment.

Full Review… | October 23, 2012
Total Film

Audience Reviews for On Her Majesty's Secret Service

A so so 007 fare ..

jmanard52
John Manard

Super Reviewer

½

Faced with the necessity of breaking in a new 007 following the departure of Sean Connery, the producers wisely opted for a back-to-basics Bond movie, eschewing most of the ludicrous excesses evident in You Only Live Twice. Gone, at least for the time being, were production designer Ken Adam's cavernous sets, along with the increasingly silly gadgetry.That the film failed to find much of an audience at the time of release - the reasons for which I'll come to in a moment - can only be classed as a great shame, not least for the genuine Bond fan, as Broccoli and Saltzman backslid furiously and Connery picked up where he'd left off, before passing the baton to Roger Moore, who cheapened the character by chiefly playing him for laughs. Consequently, in the 37 years separating OHMSS and Daniel Craig's revitalisation of the character in Casino Royale there were only a couple of high points in the series, and - surely not coincidentally - each corresponded with a similar back-to-basics agenda. The first of these was the curiously unloved For Your Eyes Only, which notwithstanding its risible prologue and epilogue is the purest Bond film Moore ever made; the second, Timothy Dalton's superb d�but in The Living Daylights.OHMSS's failure, perhaps unsurprisingly, was due in no small part to George Lazenby, though not for the reason one might expect, namely his performance. The problem with Lazenby was a perceived cockiness and lack of humility that got up the noses of his seasoned cast and crew mates and had the film critics sharpening their knives before nary a foot of film was in the can. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, I dare say much of this was a combination of youthful high spirits and naivety, however the damage was done and the finished film was roundly savaged in the press. As one would imagine, Lazenby was compared unfavourably with Connery, as ever other actor who plays the part continues to be to this day, though I, for one, couldn't disagree more with this assessment. Frankly, Connery was visibly bored with Bond, charmlessly sleepwalking his way through both Thunderball and You Only Live Twice. Furthermore, there is an aura of invincibility about Connery's Bond that precludes one's becoming overly fearful for the character's safety, even with a laser beam trained on his testicles, whereas for all his powerful physique and obvious athleticism, there's an appealing vulnerability to Lazenby's Bond that produces a couple of startling moments in which he resembles a lost little boy in need of a cuddle. Simply put: yes, he's not nearly as good an actor as Connery, but Connery could not have played this Bond this well in this film.Not only was Diana Rigg's poor-little-rich-girl the first Bond girl of any real substance since Daniela Bianchi's Tatiana in From Russia with Love - and perhaps the last until Eva Green's Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale - she's still arguably the best of an admittedly shallow bunch, her combination of strength and vulnerability complimenting her co-star's perfectly. Without being either as creepy as Donald Pleasance's or as suavely menacing as Chales Gray's, Telly Savalas' Blofeld still manages to be definitive, not just because he plays him straight and with restraint, but because he brings to the role a brute physical presence the others lack; one senses, for once at least, here's an adversary who might give our hero a run for his money in a fistfight. Elsewhere in the casting, From Russia with Love appears to have been a definite reference point, with Ilse Steppat's Irma Bunt echoing Lotte Lenya's Rosa Klebb and Gabriele Ferzetti channelling Pedro Armend�riz's Kerim Bey as Draco.All things taken into consideration, this is probably the second best movie of the entire series after From Russia with Love. Don't listen to the haters!

harrycaul
Stephen M

Super Reviewer

A well made entry into the Bond canon, but one that lacks the charisma and charm of a good Bond flick. George Lazenby is probably the worst actor to ever play the role in the series and I often wonder how good this movie truly could have been if Connery were back. There's plenty of great action sequences and the scenery is beautiful, but I didn't care much for the story. Blofield has been my least favorite villain in the series up to this point because both actors portraying him have not been the least bit menacing or even evil really. Dianna Rigg is a fantastic Bond girl, but she completely overshadows Bond which should never happen. Overall, I liked the change of pace after You Only Live Twice as the formula established was clearly getting old and repetitive, but On Her Majesty's Secret Service doesn't quite have all the ingredients for a great Bond film.

jlewis07
Josh Lewis

Super Reviewer

On Her Majesty's Secret Service Quotes

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– Submitted by Lucas M (2 years ago)

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