On Her Majesty's Secret Service

When Sean Connery decided to take a break from playing James Bond, they had decided to go with George Lazenby as his replacement. Lazenby won the Golden Globe in 1969 for the best newcomer actor for his role in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”

Lazenby made a terrible error when he tried to mimic Conner rather than making his own version of the role, and like anyone can tell you, mimicry just makes us want the real person. Steve Rhodes stated in his review, “Lazenby, an exceedingly plain looking actor devoid of much personality, lacks Connery's handsome face as well as his suave demeanor. He went on to appear in the television soap opera "General Hospital" and in many minor films.” Thankfully, he never again reprised the role after the mistake of playing 007.

(Rhodes noted, “Bond films titillate with hints of nudity and intercourse while showing neither. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE skirts the no nudity policy by having naked women dance during the opening credits, but they appear only in silhouette.”)

When a beautiful woman named Tracy, played by Diana Rigg, runs away from James Bond in the film’s opening scene, it makes him say, “This never happened to the other fella.” The link satirizes the change but also gives us a reminder that the best Bond actor is sorely missing. (Connery would return twice to play James Bond, something no one knew or even guessed when they first saw this film.)

Rhodes commented, “The intelligent and erotic Diana Rigg, rightfully famous for her role as Emma Peel in the TV series "The Avengers," seems miscast as a Bond beauty.”  She’s a lot smarter than Lazenby that she seems to be casted in the wrong film. (Rhodes admitted, “I once had the delight of spending time in a small room with Diana Rigg as we waited to see a private doctor in Harley Street in London. I was merely a sick tourist, and she was there to escort her ill mother. Even without make-up or fancy clothes her natural beauty dominated the room like a thick perfume.)”

When Bond quits the mission early on in the film, you think you should be happy in the small hope that Connery will reprise the role – that happiness being motivated as much by wanting to get right of Lazenby and his poorly done performance as by getting our favorite Bond actor back.

The story’s plot doesn’t really have much to it. SPECTRE’s CEO, played this time without much interest by Lt. Kojak himself, Telly Savalas, rather than the much better Donald Pleasence, runs an exclusive hate institute on top of his private, snow-covered mountain. Richard Maibaum’s script doesn’t tell us much about SPECTRE’s plans until the last act of the film. Eventually, we find out that the evil plan in the works is releasing a deadly virus all over the world. That is, unless SPECTRE gets a lot of money.

One of the best devices Bond uses is a small photocopying machine that most receptionists have in their offices today. Some advance device in a film seems to quickly get invented in the really world fast. Rhodes noted, “We're still waiting, however, for THUNDERBALL-style personal jetpacks to be available at Sharper Image.”

The film has many technical issues. As Bond and Tracy ski one night down the mountain on their skies with a group of men with guns skiing quickly after them, the lighting is strange. Scenes evidently shot during the day are entwined with ones shot at night.

“I hope I can live up to your high standards,” Bond says at one point. Well, Lazenby couldn’t and didn’t.

This was another Bond film that I was really underwhelmed by. That’s not to say that I only like the Connery Bond films, but those are just amazing and are all worth checking out. There are others that are good later on, but the thing with the franchise is that the films are hit or miss. Some are good and some are bad. This is one that you can easily give a pass to.

Look out tomorrow when I review another great entry in “James Bond Month.”

You Only Live Twice

“You Only Live Twice” is another fun, exciting James Bond 1967 mission even if it’s the first of the original five Bond flicks that doesn’t have the same spark as the others.

The film starts off with a nicely done opening scene where a U.S. space capsule is stolen, furthering the fight between the Russians and the U.S., who threaten the Cold War if their space-performing missions continue to be disturbed.

After Nancy Sinatra’s nice opening son, M assigns James Bond to Japan where MI6 believes he’ll find clues to the real threat behind the missing capsule. Partnering with his Japanese colleague, “Tiger” Tanaka, played by Tesuro Tanba, soon finds out the truth behind the stolen space capsule, but he’s in a race against time if he’s to stop the Cold War between the two countries.

While Tanaka makes a perfect addition in the Bond stories, this film’s Bond girls are a little underwhelming.

Enchantress Helga Brandt (Karin Dor) doesn’t make a major impact and sidekicks Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi) and Kissy Suzuki (Mie Hama) are identical.

Jeffrey Lyles stated in his review, “The voice dubbing is a bit jarring in this outing and resembles one of those Kung-Fu Theatre films for how suspect the dubbed in voice matches the actor’s performance.”

For the fifth time reprising the role of 007, Sean Connery may seem like he has gotten tired of the character and his performance doesn’t have the same shine as the previous films. Despite that, it’s Connery playing Bond so he can’t fail at the role.

This is the first time we completely see Ernst Stavro Blofeld, played by the late Donald Pleasance, the evil genius behind SPECTRE, the organization that has been chasing Bond since “Dr. No.” Pleasance is enjoyably evil and he makes the complete reveal of Blofeld worth the buildup.

Director Lewis Gilbert gets the Bond formula completely right, but has some pacing issues, mainly with the fight scenes that would have been better with tighter editing. For a film made in 1967, the effects are nice even if the technology wasn’t at the level needed to make them as perfect as he thought.

Lyles stated, “For its first half, “YOLT” rolls along as smoothly as the previous films in the series, but it stumbles in the second half thanks to a number of ill-advised and confusing plot decisions.”

The main thing is easily the difficult plan to have Bond fight with a ninja team to break into Blofeld’s lair. Lyles mentioned, “Bond + ninjas is a money combination, but screenwriter Roald Dahl mucks up that fun by having Bond “become Japanese” (getting false eyebrows and a hairpiece), undergo ninja training (in two short days) and staging a marriage to allow him entry into the fishing village near the hideout.”

Was there a reason why 007 couldn’t just get his new ninja team to help him sneakily enter the lair without all this trouble?

Despite these little nitpicks, there’s still a lot to like here. Having the film take place in Japan gives some beautiful images and gives a welcome culture shift for Bond, who for the only time in the franchise, never drives a car. Gilbert has some fun views of the action, including an engaging rooftop fight scene. Jon Barry’s amazing score is an easy highlight as are the excellent performances from Pleasance and Tanba.

“You Only Live Twice” may be a weaker Bond film to star Connery, but it’s still one of the series’ films that you should not skip. The reason why: Connery doesn’t fail in impressing his fans with his amazing memorable role of his entire career. Definitely give this one a watch because you will fall in love with it.

Check in tomorrow for an installment that isn’t really so good in “James Bond Month.”

Casino Royale (1967)

At one time or another, “Casino Royale,” released in 1967, must have had a schedule to film, a script and a story. If any one of those three elements were in here, this would have been made into a good movie.

All the while, the version we got is a pure example of what can happen when everyone working on a film goes insane at the same time.

Lines and scenes are made up right on the spot. Roger Ebert noted, “Skillful cutting builds up the suspense between two parallel plots -- but, alas, the parallel plots never converge.” Doesn’t matter since that is forgotten. Actors from the late Peter O’Toole to Jean-Paul Belmondo are thrown into the movie. Peter Sellers, finally free from every trace of discipline goes completely bonkers.

This has got to be the most easy-going film ever made. There is no holds barred. Ebert said, “Consistency and planning must have seemed the merest whimsy.” You can think the directors (there were five, all working on their own) coming into work and thinking what they were going to film that day. How could they lose? They had so much money, because this film was given the powerful name of James Bond.

Maybe that was the problem. Ebert noted, “When Charles Feldman bought the screen rights for "Casino Royale" from Ian Fleming back in 1953, nobody had heard of James Bond, or Sean Connery for that matter. But by the time Feldman got around to making the movie, Connery was firmly fixed in the public imagination as the redoubtable 007. What to do?”

Ebert went on to say, “Feldman apparently decided to throw all sanity overboard instead of one Bond, he determined to have five or six.” What we got here is David Niven playing Sir James Bond. He is summoned out of retirement to go up against SMERSH.

Sadly, we don’t know what is going on. Other Bonds are made right in front of us. Ebert said, “Peter Sellers is the baccarat-playing Bond.” He meets Le Chiffre, played by the late Orson Welles, in a baccarat game. Why? We don’t get an explanation.

The five directors were told only to film their own segments, according to everyone, and no one knew what the other directors were doing. We can clearly see that.

There are some nice moments, though. Comedian, writer, filmmaker and musician Woody Allen barely is not funny, and the magnificent presence of Welles make you want Le Chiffre to have been taken seriously.

Sadly, the positive elements are very often lost in the chaotic switching back and forth between camera shots. The steadiness of Terence Young, who made the original Bond films likable despite their tricks, is completely missing here.

Ebert said, “I suppose a film this chaotic was inevitable.” There has been a stain of these desultory comedies, usually starring Sellers, Allen, and/or Jonathan Winters, where the idea is to show how crazy and smart everyone is when he doesn’t follow the script and ad-libs right in front of everyone.

However, comedies are understatements in just about every way better than extra.

Ebert noted, “Sellers was the funniest comedian in the movies when he was making those lightly directed low-budget pictures like "I'm All Right, Jack." Now he is simply self-infatuated and wearisome. And so are the movies he graces.”

If only Charlie Feldmen had took some time to think, early on when first working on this film, and said that everyone simply had to get their heads on straight and think clearly.

To be completely honest with everyone, this shouldn’t even be counted as a James Bond movie. There is nothing in here that falls into the category of anything good that James Bond does in his movies. Everything is sorely missing. It feels like they were trying to be like “The Benny Hill Show,” but I wouldn’t know since I never saw that. I know that this was non-EON produced, but I still wanted to count it for this month. Just don’t watch at all, you can safely skip this one, it’s the worst in the franchise, hands down.

Well, check in tomorrow for a much better movie in “James Bond Month.”

Thunderball

“Thunderball,” released in 1965, is about the one-eyed antagonist Emilio Largo, played by Adolfo Celi, leading Bond’s arch-nemesis organization known as SPECTRE. They hijack two warheads from a NATO plane and threaten to drop nuclear bombs that are about 100 million pounds. James Bond is assigned to recover the warheads from the base of Largo’s lair in the Bahamas, fighting through underwater attacks from sharks and men. He must also convince Largo’s mistress, Domino, played by Claudine Auger, to become his main player.

Eoin Friel stated in his review, “Thunderball has always been up there with the very best of the James Bond films for me.” Sean Connery is perfect here and will never be topped as 007 but this movie also adds a special ingredient, which it has one of the best final action sequences in motion picture.

The underwater fight is nothing like we’ve seen in any movie prior to this or afterwards and looks like it has never been bested. The photography during those moments is completely amazing and it’s all done without any CGI, but with practical effects. We also get a fight above the surface between a warship and a weapon-filled yacht which was engaging.  Friel mentioned, “It was only let down by the comically accelerated hydrofoil/yacht towards the finale which caused some unintentional mirth.”

The best Bond movies are the ones that have SPECTRE and “Thunderball” has some amazing scenes. Friel said, “One of the opening moments is pure Austin Powers and yet still manages to be chilling with Number 1 (Blofeld) not tolerating failure.”

Friel admitted, “I’ve always been a big fan of Adolfo Celi as the villain Largo who was a nasty piece of work and yet kinda cool at the same time; after all, he has a swimming pool full of sharks at his house. Pretty sure we all wish we had one of those in our back yard…”

John Barry’s music is one of the best in the franchise which, despite never using the main Bond music during the movie, has other catchy tunes that you will be singing long after seeing this. Tom Jones gives, hands down, one of the best Bond themes as he plays it over the opening credits.

Friel admitted. “Domino is one of my favourite Bond girls but so is Fiona (Luciana Paluzzi) who is a refreshingly nasty yet beautiful adversary for our trusty secret agent.”

Friel went on to say, “It may be a little slow in parts for some tastes but I love how it feels more like an espionage movie and there are some truly ingenious ideas like the whole stealing and camouflaging of the plane.”

Friel continued, “I just thought the story was well thought out and it never went into camp territory; although there was some funny humour they got the tone spot on.”

It kept the action a tad bit leveled so you could really feel that mostly everything was engaged which kept you excited until the tense finale.

In the end, “Thunderball” is one of the best Bond films which has one problem with speeding up the action during the climax but its impressive music, fascinating villain and beautiful women make it stand out with the best.

There you have it. If you haven’t seen “Thunderball,” go out and see it, especially if you liked the other Bond films with Connery as Bond. These Bond movies never fail to disappoint fans since they are always engaging and never have a dull moment or flaw that we notice.

Check in tomorrow to see what comes next in “James Bond Month.”

Goldfinger

Is "Goldfinger" not the influential James Bond flick? Peter Bracke stated in his review, "As venerable a character and a franchise as 007 is, he was probably never as much in touch with the cultural zeitgeist as he was with this, his third big-screen adventure. James Bond in 1964 was not just a fad, or a predestined blockbuster, or a marketing phenomenon -- he was the very touchstone of all that was hip and now in pop culture. 'Goldfinger' took the elements that had begun to form with his first two film adaptations ('Dr. No' and 'From Russia with Love') and finally synergized them into the template upon which all future James Bond installments would be judged." The opening scene, the brilliant Maurice Binder titles, the theme song, the stunts, the gadgets, a great villain..."Goldfinger" got everything pitched perfect. Put in Sean Connery, who is still considered the best actor to have portrayed Bond, and you have an amazing spy movie. 

The story in the James Bond movies are now so conventional that you can easily forget that they were at first fresh, inventive, and conflicting to the stale, fixed conventions of previous spy movies. The story of "Goldfinger" is, obviously, familiar to everyone, even those who have never seen a 007 movie. There's the classic Bond villain, played by Gert Frobe, and his typically outrageous plan to take over the world (something that involves blowing up Fort Knox – quite believable, really, when looking at future Bond plans). There's his memorable right-hand-man, Oddjob, played by Harold Sakata, who knows how to use his bowler hat as a weapon. The usual assembly of top-notch Bond girls, particularly one covered completely in gold (Shirley Eaton), and Honor Blackman as the perfectly-named Pussy Galore. Bracke mentioned, "And the stunts and the gadgets, including an exciting car chase with Bond's Aston Martin (still the best Bond vehicle in the entire series), some tightly-choreographed hand-to-hand fights, and a very memorable scene with a laser beam pointed at a certain part of Bond's anatomy." 

At last there is Sean Connery. I agree with Bracke when he said, "As much as I enjoy Roger Moore's wry humor, Pierce Brosnan's unflappable cool and Daniel Craig's brute physicality, Connery still remains the ultimate James Bond." He's rough, handsome, stylish, a famous misogynist, and so gosh darn arrogant he's impossibly likable. Bracke mentioned, "Connery in 1963 defined not only Bond, but the very definition of what an English gent was supposed to be and know -- an appreciation for fine food, great booze, impeccably dressed with his own tailor, and absolutely correct in how to present himself with a snobby air yet the touch of the common man. The fact that he worked as what is essentially an assassin for Queen and country only enshrined his vices as virtues." 

Bracke goes on to say, "If there is one thing that 'Goldfinger' has more than any other Bond, and that no other Bond will ever be able to match again, is sociopolitical relevance. It's not only the freshness and vigor in which the filmmakers attack Ian Fleming's greatest novel, nor the smug, brash charisma of Connery, that keep 'Goldfinger' so smart and sharp." "Goldfinger" must have been released during the right place and time – a spy just right for the Cold War environment, whose intimate politics were revolutionary and dependent on technology was ground-breaking. At a time when the new actor to play Bond like Daniel Craig looks like he is following the coolest heroes of his present-day characters (like Jason Bourne) rather than leaving them far behind, "Goldfinger" shows everyone the time when James Bond set the standards rather than following others. Bracke admitted, "I'm glad 007 is still with us, but James Bond will never be hipper or cooler than he is in 'Goldfinger.'" 

"Goldfinger" is not just classic Sean Connery as Bond, it may be the influential spy movie ever – it's a classic that the entire genre is based on. As you can probably tell, the Connery Bond movies just seem to be getting better or just as good. None of them seem to have disappoint fans, and you will see that once you see the movie for yourselves. You will love this one if you have seen the other Bond movies with Connery as Bond. Definitely do not skip this one because it is one of the best. 

Stay tuned tomorrow for more excitement in "James Bond Month."

From Russia with Love

To avenge the murder of one of their men Dr. No, international crime syndicate SPECTRE have Soviet spy-mistress Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya) and lunatic Red Grant (Robert Shaw) execute a plan to murder British agent 007, James Bond. 

"From Russia with Love," released in 1963, is the second James Bond movie, and still one of the best. Kim Newman stated in her review, "It opens with a classic piece of misdirection as Connery’s super-agent is found in the middle of a dangerous mission, and then swiftly killed by hard man Robert Shaw – but this turns out to be a test run with a Bond lookalike, and we’re into a diabolically clever scheme to lure 007 to his doom and only incidentally serve the strategic interests of the Soviet Union." 

Newman goes on to say, "It’s a long chase scene, studded with memorable set-pieces: the hair-pulling gypsy cat-fight between (Vida) Aliza Gur and (Zora) Martine Beswick, Bond tumbling to the fact that the villain is only impersonating an English officer and gentleman because he orders the wrong wine with fish (and then throttles him with a trick briefcase), Hitchcockian cat-and-mouse with an attack helicopter, and an attack by the wonderful Lotte Lenya with a poisoned shoe." 

Daniela Bianchi isn't one of the more memorable Bond girls, which is sad because her character is supposed to have been picked for the mission due to her appeal to Bond, but Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell continue to further their regular roles as M and Miss Moneypenny and Desmond Llwewllyn makes his first appearance as Q. 

Seen only in shadow, the boss of SPECTRE, cat-stroking Blofeld is played by Anthony Dawson and dubbed by Eric Pohlmann – but he would not be seen in "Goldfinger," Blofeld's rancor with Bond would be a continuing story arc from "Dr. No" to "Diamonds Are Forever." Newman mentioned, "Monty Norman’s Bond theme recurs, but we also get the first Bond hit song – Matt Monro’s balaleika-scored title number." 

This is one of the franchise's best, and if the dated action can be excused, this is also an intense cold war movie. See it if you have already seen "Dr. No," since it's also, an amazing movie, and if you liked "Dr. No." In fact, all of the Bond movies that star Connery are some of the best, but we'll see more on that further in the week. 

Check in tomorrow to look at the next entry in "James Bond Month."

Dr. No

Welcome everyone to James Bond month! A few months back, I saw every one of the James Bond films, so I will be reviewing every single Bond adaptation every day of August. Let's jump right in, shall we? 

Bosley Crowther started his review, "IF you haven't yet made the acquaintance of Ian Fleming's suave detective, James Bond, in the author's fertile series of mystery thrillers akin to the yarns of Mickey Spillane, here's your chance to correct that misfortune in one quick and painless stroke." It's by watching the first movie adaptation of a Fleming novel, "Dr. No." 

This action-packed, entertaining movie, released in 1963, should not be taken seriously as non-fiction or even art, any more than, as Crowther states, "he works of Mr. Fleming are to be taken as long-hair literature. It is strictly a tinseled action-thriller, spiked with a mystery of a sort." If you are able to catch these things, it satires science-fiction and intercourse. 

For the crime-fighting mission that James Bond is put into is completely exaggerated, so clearly improvised, that it is really silly and not to be taken seriously. It is a risky mission of finding out who is controlling a device on the tropical island of Jamaica that "massively interferes" with the critical rocked launchings from Cape Canaveral. 

Crowther said, "Nonsense, you say. Of course, it's nonsense — pure, escapist bunk," with Bond, a suave man, played by Sean Connery, doing everything (and every woman) than a useless day-dreamer wants to do. Called from a casino in London to be assigned his mission (Bernard Lee) and weapons (Peter Burton) and get on his flight to Jamaica before a seductive lady (Eunice Gayson) distracts him, Bond or 007 looks fresh from the start. Crowther noted, "And he keeps on being natty, naughty and nifty to the end." 

It's not the mystery that keeps you engaged, it's what happens on the journey – the attempted capture at the Jamica airport, the tarantula planted in Bond's hotel room, sleeping with Miss Taro (Zena Marshall), and the encounter with the beautiful Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) on the beach of Crab Key. Everything that is happening so well in the beautiful Jamaica location, looking real and gorgeous in color, that is worth seeing for this first Bond movie. 

The ending, which has our villain, Dr. No, played by Joseph Wiseman, as Crowther said, "being frankly James Masonish in an undersea laboratory that looks like something inspired by Oak Ridge, is a bit too extravagant and silly, and likewise too frantic and long." On the flip side, something silly has to be seen with what ends off this crazy mission. 

This movie has to be seen, especially if you want to start checking out James Bond. The main reason to see this is because of Sean Connery. He is the best actor to have played James Bond, hands down. Everyone puts Ursula Andress as the best Bond Girl, which might be true, because she is amazing in this role. After seeing this movie, you will be going around saying, "The name is Bond, James Bond" and, "I would like a Martini. Shaken, not stirred." Check it out if you haven't, it's a must see movie for everyone. 

Check in tomorrow to see how well Connery does in the rest of the Bond movies he starred in.