In the world of James Bond movies, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is a vital cornerstone. George Lazenby’s only 007 adventure, the 1969 classic was deemed a failure upon its initial release – but has grown in profile over the ensuing decades. Which is why I had to see it in an actual movie theater when my local independent theater announced another repertory showing.
I was blown away again by experiencing director Peter Hunt’s blockbuster outside of a living room for a change. However, this latest viewing got me thinking about how OHMSS’ tragic ending actually found itself referenced through every 00-actor that succeeded it. In one case, I even found myself loving a personal favorite even more, as it’s technically the unofficial sequel to this outing.
Let’s get into why what happened to “the other feller” of the James Bond legacy still resonates to this day.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Started A Continuity Thread Through The Classic Bond Movies
If you’re someone who’s rewatched the James Bond legacy so much you can recite the opening to some of your favorites, there seems to be little room for surprises. That would be true, if you didn’t know where to look.
While it may not seem like it on face value, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is actually the start to a run of movies that tell a more continuous story than we’re used to in the older films. In order to start processing that, we need to visit the grave of the dearly departed Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo – also known as Tracy Bond (Diana Rigg).
For Your Eyes Only Acknowledged Tracy’s Death, Long After It Was Seemingly Ignored
It feels like a very conscious effort was put into overwriting Tracy’s death in the wake of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – and it didn’t take long to kick in. I won’t go into deep detail here, but in Diamonds Are Forever, Sean Connery’s James Bond is seen rampaging against Blofeld with no mention of his late wife, and Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) cracking a joke about an engagement ring.
We wouldn’t feel the sting of this passing until the vastly underrated For Your Eyes Only, released in 1981. Roger Moore’s most serious Bond story, the film opens with him visiting Tracy’s grave.
What follows is what feels like a progenitor to Quantum of Solace, as Moore’s 007 learns that vengeance isn’t the end of grief. Sure, he learns that lesson after dropping a nemesis that looks like Blofeld, but can’t be due to the SPECTRE rights drama of the past; but he does learn.
License To Kill Gave Timothy Dalton A Chance To Inject More Emotions Into 007
In the documentary Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007, Timothy Dalton laid out why he’d taken the role of James Bond in the first place. Coincidentally enough, Dalton had turned down the offer to star in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, as he felt he was too young.
As you watch this clip about how he approached Commander Bond, Mr. Dalton’s commitment to getting back to Ian Fleming’s source material is on full display:
The 1923 baddie was always in tune with Fleming’s James Bond; so it was only fitting that 1989’s License to Kill weave in a scene where Felix Leiter (David Hedison) tells his newly wedded wife Della (Priscilla Barnes) the Cliff’s Notes version of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. One read on Timothy Dalton’s more monogamous secret agent has always been a reaction to the burgeoning AIDS crisis in the ‘80s; but drawing upon this particular entry as an inspiration must have also been in the cards.
The World Is Not Enough Is Basically The OHMSS Sequel We Never Got
The more I think about the Pierce Brosnan James Bond movies, his entire run plays upon 007’s greatest heartbreak. Trevalyan (Sean Bean) quips about the screams of the women he couldn’t save in Goldeneye, the tragedy of Paris Carver (Teri Hatcher) is a direct echo in Tomorrow Never Dies, and one could say that Die Another Day gave Bond his happiest ending yet with Jinx (Halle Berry.)
Having said that, the one movie that feels like a direct continuation that processes this grief is The World is Not Enough. This is mostly seen through the character of Elektra King (Sophie Marceau), a rich industrialist’s daughter who loves skiing and has a soft spot for the good Commander.
Her heel turn cuts even deeper, when you realize that Brosnan’s third time in the tuxedo weaponized his dead wife’s memory – by giving us a villain who resembled her close enough to lower his defenses. Much like On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, this is a 007 movie that doesn’t get the credit it deserves.
The Daniel Craig Run Of James Bond Owes A Huge Debt To OHMSS
Tracy Bond’s death echoed the strongest before Casino Royale’s soft reboot in 2006. That didn’t mean the contributions of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service were totally discarded. In fact I think that Daniel Craig’s James Bond run was the next stage in honoring the heart of James Bond. Only this time, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) became the failure that haunted 007 throughout the rest of his life.
From that point on, loss defined the character, for better and worse. Bond would eventually suffer a greater loss, thanks to the death of M (Dame Judi Dench) in 2012’s Skyfall. Much like the Algerian Love Knot Vesper wore around her neck, James’s story came full circle in No Time to Die’s heartbreaking finale. Sacrificing himself to save Madeleine Swan (Léa Seydoux) and their daughter, Commander Bond finally let the trauma of the past go – in order to protect the future.
All of this analysis comes from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’s journey from a seemingly skippable outlier to 007’s urtext for the 21st century. I’ve always been partial to it, because of the fact that my father’s own fandom for this series was strengthened by seeing this in theaters during its initial run.
Now that I can say I’ve seen it on the big screen, I think George Lazenby’s James Bond is further embedded in my heart. With a new producing team embarking on James Bond 26 with director Denis Villeneuve, I hope that all involved don’t forget to pay homage to this touchstone from time to time. Seen as quite possibly the most faithful Ian Fleming adaptation in the bunch, it’s worth keeping close at hand if you’re looking to see that 007 magic as it was intended.
