James Bond woos a mob boss' daughter and goes undercover to uncover the true reason for Ernst Stavro Blofeld's allergy research in the Swiss Alps involving beautiful women from around the world.
George Lazenby steps into the role of James Bond and is sent on his first mission. For help with Marc-Ange Draco (Gabriele Ferzetti), he must become very close friends with his daughter, Teresa "Tracy" (Dame Diana Rigg), and heads off to hunt down Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas) one more time. This takes him to Switzerland, where he must pose as Sir Hilary Bray to find out the secret plan of Blofeld. The facility is covered with Blofeld's guards, as well as his henchwoman, Irma Bunt (Ilse Steppat). What does Blofeld have in mind this time? Can Bond keep up this act for much longer? Are any Bond Girls safe?Written by
simon
Lois Maxwell is twelve years and seven months older than George Lazenby. See more »
Goofs
Upon arrival at Piz Gloria, Bond (disguised as Sir Hilary Bray) opens the door of the helicopter and also slips as he gets out. The next shot shows him getting out again. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Q:
I've been saying for years, sir, that our special equipment is obsolete. And now, computer analysis reveals an entirely new approach: miniaturization. For instance, radioactive lint. When placed in an opponent's pockets, the anti-personnel and location fix seems fairly obvious.
M:
What we want is a location fix on 007.
See more »
Crazy Credits
JAMES BOND 007 WILL RETURN in "DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER" See more »
Alternate Versions
In the French theatrical version the song "Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?" by Nina was sung by Isabelle Aubret under the title "Savez-vous ce qu'il faut au sapin de Noel?" (Do You Know what a Christmas tree needs?). See more »
Giving the series a radical twist after the glorious Connery's farewell to 007 movies in You Only Live Twice, the producers intended for the first time to introduce a new take on Bond, returning to the literary roots of the character, as originally described in Fleming's novels and short stories. So Maibaum this time faithfully adapted one of Fleming's most successful and appreciated works: On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The screenplay is so close to the book that actually the movie is somewhat contradictory with previous Bond installments: Bloefeld and Bond don't know each other (???), and, in order to make the plot line look more logical, by changing the physical appearance of the villain, the part was given to Telly Savallas, who looks too amiable to be the bad guy, instead of the scarred and terrific Donald Pleasance. The plot is also very different from what the usual fans expect from Bond movies, being mainly focused on the romance between Bond and Tracy during the first half, then moving to Bloefeld's stronghold in Switzerland, and ending with 45 minutes of extremely exciting, non stop action.
The film's pacing is pretty irregular. The romance is probably the best part, at the best of Bond tradition, mainly thanks to Diana Rigg's inspired performance as Tracy, perfectly depicting an emotionally unbalanced, yet appealing and glamorous, woman. Lazenby's OK (at least at this part of the movie), but he lacks the masculinity and roughness Connery showed, what ultimately damages the movie, specially during the disastrous sequences which take place in Bloefeld's research facility in the Swiss Alps, which are laughable). There's nothing remarkable about them. (what a silly conspiracy!!), but 45 minutes spent, which make the movie overlong. When everything seems ruined, the film revives and takes us on a wild ride on an action packed roller-coaster (ski chase, Bond and Draco raid on Bloefeld's base), with a brief romantic rest as Bond and Tracy talk about their future life in common (Bond a journalist?),a very touching scene.
The ending remains as one of the top Bond moments, tragical and romantic. The stylish pre-credit sequence is equally brilliant,showing the natural elegance and "joie de vivre" we all associate with Bond.
A question: what if Connery had accepted to play Bond this time? I think this could be the best Bond movie ever made. But the producers came up with a martial arts expert with no experience in acting, which sadly overshadows many good points(on Lazenby's defense, it was his first performance), but this film still intensely shines as an interesting, strange gem in the Bond canon.
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Giving the series a radical twist after the glorious Connery's farewell to 007 movies in You Only Live Twice, the producers intended for the first time to introduce a new take on Bond, returning to the literary roots of the character, as originally described in Fleming's novels and short stories. So Maibaum this time faithfully adapted one of Fleming's most successful and appreciated works: On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The screenplay is so close to the book that actually the movie is somewhat contradictory with previous Bond installments: Bloefeld and Bond don't know each other (???), and, in order to make the plot line look more logical, by changing the physical appearance of the villain, the part was given to Telly Savallas, who looks too amiable to be the bad guy, instead of the scarred and terrific Donald Pleasance. The plot is also very different from what the usual fans expect from Bond movies, being mainly focused on the romance between Bond and Tracy during the first half, then moving to Bloefeld's stronghold in Switzerland, and ending with 45 minutes of extremely exciting, non stop action.
The film's pacing is pretty irregular. The romance is probably the best part, at the best of Bond tradition, mainly thanks to Diana Rigg's inspired performance as Tracy, perfectly depicting an emotionally unbalanced, yet appealing and glamorous, woman. Lazenby's OK (at least at this part of the movie), but he lacks the masculinity and roughness Connery showed, what ultimately damages the movie, specially during the disastrous sequences which take place in Bloefeld's research facility in the Swiss Alps, which are laughable). There's nothing remarkable about them. (what a silly conspiracy!!), but 45 minutes spent, which make the movie overlong. When everything seems ruined, the film revives and takes us on a wild ride on an action packed roller-coaster (ski chase, Bond and Draco raid on Bloefeld's base), with a brief romantic rest as Bond and Tracy talk about their future life in common (Bond a journalist?),a very touching scene.
The ending remains as one of the top Bond moments, tragical and romantic. The stylish pre-credit sequence is equally brilliant,showing the natural elegance and "joie de vivre" we all associate with Bond.
A question: what if Connery had accepted to play Bond this time? I think this could be the best Bond movie ever made. But the producers came up with a martial arts expert with no experience in acting, which sadly overshadows many good points(on Lazenby's defense, it was his first performance), but this film still intensely shines as an interesting, strange gem in the Bond canon.