The best Bond movie ever Or: Why "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is far better than its reputation

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,3, University of Potsdam (Anglistik/Amerikanistik), course: James Bond: behind the scenes, language: English, abstract: In 1953 Ian Lancaster Fleming created a protagonist that should soon become one of the most important icons of its age. Inspired by the name of an ornithologist he called his main character ¿James Bond¿, not knowing what gigantic ball he set rolling. Between 1953 and 1964 he authored twelve novels and three short stories reporting the adventures of the secret service agent James Bond. Up to today there have been 22 movies published, staring six actors as the MI6 Agent, each of which introduced his own interpretation of Bond. This paper will focus on the eleventh novel and sixth movie of the series: ¿On Her Majesty¿s Secret Service¿ (OHMSS).

Published in 1963 it took six years for the novel to be shown on the big cinema screens. Released on the 18th December 1969 it was the first Bond movie featuring a new leading actor. George Lazenby stepped into Connery¿s shoes, which will turn out to be far too big, according to some critics.