Subtitle On Her Majesty's Secret Service

On Her Majesty's Secret Service has the predictable sexist and even racist jokes. Having black model Sylvana Henriques eat a banana scores on both counts. But it backs off on the series' Cold War BS that pretended that England is the sane mediator between Russia and the U.S., and that its secret service still maintains a long-lost Empire. "M" and Draco exchange small talk about past 'adventures', which makes us wonder where Bond's boss draws the line. If he'll associate with a pesky gangster despot, what about the inexhaustible supply of mad genius terrorists threatening the world with stolen atom bombs? OHMSS manages to make Bond's struggle personal again -- we even accept Blofeld and Bundt bouncing back for vengeance, like Bonnie & Clyde. Although few 1969 viewers felt that the film's final downbeat scene was particularly deep or resonant, it was different. I'm sure that if George Lazenby hadn't gotten completely out of hand, he'd have made a very good Bond for another picture or two, at least. Instead we got Connery holding on to his toupee for a fast payday, followed by fifteen years of Roger Moore's Mack Sennett 007. Moore's lukewarm David Niven imitation probably made the most money for Danjaq, slogging along in a set pattern. Then the general run of action movies -- in particular, Die Hard -- started beating 007 at his own game.

subtitle On Her Majesty's Secret Service

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