On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) is the sixth spy film in the James Bond series, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, and the only one to star George Lazenby as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. In the film, Bond faces Blofeld, who is planning on unleashing a plague through a group of brainwashed "angels of death" (which included early appearances by Joanna Lumley and Catherina von Schell) unless his demands are met. Along the way, Bond meets, falls in love with, and eventually marries Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo.
This Bond film is the second in what is considered the "Blofeld Trilogy", coming between You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever. This trilogy is of interest not only for the three different Blofeld actors (Donald Pleasence in You Only Live Twice, Telly Savalas in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and Charles Gray in Diamonds Are Forever) but for its two Bond actors (Sean Connery, then George Lazenby, and back to Connery).
This is the only Bond film to be directed by Peter R. Hunt, who before was a film editor or second unit director on every previous film.
Fleming wrote the original novel in 1962 as Dr. No was being filmed. It was originally intended to have brought to the screen following Goldfinger as indicated on early prints of that film. In 1965, there was a contest searching for 12 women to star as Blofeld's angels of death. Thunderball was filmed instead, however, due to the resolution of the rights dispute to the novel. It was then earmarked to follow Thunderball, but the difficulty of searching for winter locations made Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli postpone the film again, favouring production of You Only Live Twice.
Peter R. Hunt asked to direct after editing the other Bond films and being second unit director on You Only Live Twice. Hunt had been working on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with Michael Reed and was keen to proceed with the next project. When writing the script, the producers decided to make the closest adaptation of the book possible: virtually everything in the novel occurs in the film. The script stays so close to the book that there are several continuity errors due to the movies taking place in a different order, such as Blofeld not recognising Bond, despite having met him face-to-face in the previous film, You Only Live Twice. In the original script, Bond undergoes plastic surgery to disguise him from his enemies. The intention was to allow an unrecognizable Bond to infiltrate Blofeld's hideout, and help the audience accept the new actor in the role. However, this was dropped in favor of ignoring the change in actor.
In 1967, after five James Bond films, Sean Connery quit the role. In his place Albert R. Broccoli initially chose actor Timothy Dalton. However, Dalton declined, believing himself too young for the role. Harry Saltzman considered Roger Moore, but he was unavailable because of his television programme The Saint. Saltzman also briefly considered Jeremy Brett for the role of Bond after seeing his performance in My Fair Lady. The confirmed front runners were John Richardson, Hans de Vries, Robert Campbell and Anthony Rogers. Richardson was said to have been runner up to Lazenby and was strongly considered for Live and Let Die.
Broccoli eventually chose Australian George Lazenby after seeing him in a commercial. Lazenby dressed the part by sporting several sartorial Bond elements such as a Rolex Submariner wristwatch and a Savile Row suit (ordered, but uncollected, by Connery) Lazenby recalled in an interview. Broccoli noticed Lazenby as a Bond-type man, physique and the character elements, and offered him an audition. The position was consolidated when Lazenby accidentally punched a professional wrestler, who was acting as stunt coordinator, in the face, impressing Broccoli with his ability to display aggression. As a result, he was offered a contract for seven movies, but was convinced by his agent Ronan O'Rahilly that the secret agent would be archaic in the liberated 1970s and left the series in 1969.
For Tracy Draco, the producers wanted an established actress opposite neophyte Lazenby. Brigitte Bardot was invited, but declined, so Diana Rigg, who had already been the popular heroine Emma Peel in The Avengers, was cast. Rigg said one of the reasons for accepting the role was that she always wanted to be in an epic film. Telly Savalas was cast following a suggestion from Broccoli, and Hunt's neighbour George Baker was invited for Sir Hilary Bray. Baker's voice was also used when Lazenby was impersonating Bray, as Hunt considered Lazenby's imitation not convincing enough. Gabriele Ferzetti was cast as Draco after the producers saw him in an Italian mafia film, but Ferzetti's heavy accent led to his voice being dubbed over.
Filming began in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland, on October 21, 1968, and used several locations including the capital city, Berne, itself and various regions in the Berner Oberland including the now famous revolving restaurant "Piz Gloria", and wrapped in Portugal, in May 1969. The first scene shot was an aerial view of Bond climbing the stairs of Blofeld's mountain retreat to witness the girls. Production was difficulted by weak snowing, which was not favorable to the skiing action scenes — the producers even considered moving to another location in Switzerland, but it was taken by the production of Downhill Racer.
Filming locations included the historic Pinewood Studios, England. Bern, Switzerland included several scenes shot on location. The Christmas celebrations were filmed in Grindelwald, Switzerland. Various chase scenes in The Alps were shot at Lauterbrunnen, Saas Fee while Piz Gloria and Schilthorn were shown as Blofeld's headquarters in the Alps. The restaurant atop a mountain was still under construction, but the producers found the location interesting, and had to finance electricity and aerial lift to make filming there possible. Lisbon was used for the reunion of Bond and Tracy and the pre-credit coastal and hotel scenes were filmed at Estoril and Cascais in Portugal — Harry Saltzman wanted these scenes to be in France, but after searching in that country, Peter Hunt considered that not only the locations weren't photogenic, but were already "overexposed".
"One time, we were on location at an ice rink and Diana and Peter were drinking champagne inside. Of course I wasn't invited as Peter was there. I could see them through the window, but the crew were all outside stomping around on the ice trying to keep warm. So, when she got in the car, I went for her. She couldn't drive the car properly and I got in to her about her drinking and things like that. Then she jumped out and started shouting 'he's attacking me in the car!' I called her a so-and-so for not considering the crew who were freezing their butts off outside. And it wasn't that at all in the end, as she was sick that night, and I was at fault for getting in to her about it. I think everyone gets upset at one time." said Lazenby.
The downhill skiing involved professional skiers, and various camera tricks. Some cameras were handheld, with the operators holding them as they were going downhill with the stuntmen, and others were aerial, with cameramen Johnny Jordan—which had previously worked in the helicopter battle of You Only Live Twice—developing a system where he was dangled by a parachute harness rig at 18 feet (5.5 m) high, allowing scenes to be shot from any angle. The bobsledding chase was also filmed with the help of Swiss Olympic athletes.
The avalanche scenes were due to be filmed in co-operation with the Swiss army who annually used explosions to prevent snow build-up and causing avalanches, but the area chosen naturally avalanched just before filming and so stock footage and images created by the special effects crew with salt were used. The stuntmen were filmed later, added by optical and editing to the footage.
For the scene where Bond and Tracy crash into a car race while being pursued, an ice rink was constructed over an unused airplane track, with water and snow sprayed on it constantly. Diana Rigg and George Lazenby did most of the driving due to the high number of close-ups.
To make audiences not forget it was the same James Bond, just played by another actor, the producers inserted many references to the previous movies, some as in-jokes. These include Bond mentioning "This never happened to the other fellow", the credits sequence with images of the previous installments, Bond visiting his office and finding objects from Dr. No, From Russia with Love and Thunderball, and a janitor whistling the theme from Goldfinger.
According to an interview with Lazenby, the difficulties were due to director Peter R. Hunt refusing to talk directly to Lazenby, who was too brusque in passing on a request that Hunt's friends clear a set before filming. Allegedly, there also were personality conflicts with leading lady Diana Rigg, who was already an established star. However, according to director Hunt, these rumours are untrue and there were no such difficulties - or else they were minor - and he would have agreed to direct Diamonds Are Forever if Lazenby had accepted the contract. Rigg herself acknowledged having eaten food spiced with garlic just before her kissing scenes with Lazenby, though witnesses also acknowledge that was done in an ironic and jesting tone, demonstrating a very English sense of humour on the part of Rigg.
The soundtrack to the film was composed, arranged, and conducted by John Barry. It was his fifth successive Bond film.
John Barry felt it would be difficult to compose a theme song containing the title "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" unless it was written operatically, in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan. Director Peter R. Hunt allowed an instrumental title theme. The track is notable for its incorporation of the Moog synthesizer in its recurring bassline - the first time this instrument had been heard in a film soundtrack. Its distinctive sound would become a mainstay of soundtracks in the 1970s.
The theme, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", is used in the film as an action theme alternate to Monty Norman's "James Bond Theme", as is the case with Barry's previous "007" theme. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was remixed in 1997 by the Propellerheads for the Shaken and Stirred album. Barry-orchestrator Nic Raine recorded an arrangement of the escape from Piz Gloria sequence and it was featured as a theme in the trailers for the 2004 Pixar animated film The Incredibles.
Barry also composed the love song, "We Have All the Time in the World", sung by Louis Armstrong. With lyrics by Burt Bacharach's regular lyricist Hal David, it is heard during the Bond–Tracy courtship montage, bridging Draco's birthday party in Portugal and Bond's burglary of the Gebrüder Gumbold law office in Bern, Switzerland. It was Louis Armstrong's last recorded song (He died of a heart attack two years later.) Barry recalled Armstrong was very ill when he recorded the song, but recorded it in one take.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service was released on 18 December 1969.
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