---
title: "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"
year: 1969
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/on-her-majestys-secret-service"
fi1m_score: 83
critics_score: 81
critics_reviews: 11
published: "2026-09-18T11:12:27.529916+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-18T11:12:41.484421+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

Directed by Peter R. Hunt · 2h 22m · MPA PG · Adventure, Action, Thriller

**Fi1m score: 83** · Critics 81 from 11 reviews

*In a sentence:* The one where Bond falls in love and the man playing him can’t quite keep up

> Peter R. Hunt’s one Bond film has a lead who cannot act, a middle that dawdles and a last half hour that nothing else in the series has matched. We recommend it, and we recommend patience with the man in the suit.

## Synopsis

A beach in Portugal at dawn. James Bond (George Lazenby) stops his car to pull a woman out of the sea, and is thanked with two thugs and an empty beach. She is Tracy Di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg), the daughter of Marc Ange Draco (Gabriele Ferzetti), who runs a European crime syndicate and would like Bond to marry her; he offers a million pounds to make it happen. Bond wants something else: the whereabouts of Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas), whom he has been hunting for years and whom M (Bernard Lee) has just ordered him to forget. Draco’s tip leads to a lawyer’s office in Bern, a claim to a noble title, and an allergy clinic on top of a Swiss mountain, where Bond will have to arrive as somebody else.

## Review

The sixth James Bond film arrived in British cinemas on 18 December 1969 with a new man in the suit and a first-time director, and for years it was treated as the odd one out. Sean Connery had gone, and George Lazenby, who had never carried a film, took over. Peter R. Hunt, directing for the first time, went back to Ian Fleming’s novel and kept most of it, including a Bond who falls in love and means it. The result is a Bond film with a lead who cannot act and a last half hour no other entry has come near. We think it is one of the best in the series, and we say that knowing exactly what is wrong with it.

Lazenby first, since he is the problem everyone names. He looks the part, moves well, and fights with real, thumping conviction; the brawl in a hotel bedroom early on, all thrown furniture and cracked plaster, is rougher than anything Connery did. But when he has to speak he goes flat, and Richard Maibaum’s screenplay gives him a great deal to speak. The film knows it. For a long stretch in the middle, Bond is undercover as Sir Hilary Bray, a genealogist, and his voice is dubbed by George Baker, who plays the real Bray. A Bond film that takes its star’s voice away for twenty minutes is telling you how much confidence it had in him.

Diana Rigg is the reason it does not matter as much as it should. Her Tracy is a rich man’s damaged daughter who drives too fast and does not want rescuing, and Rigg plays her with the same dry quickness she brought to *The Avengers* on television. She is better than Lazenby in every scene they share, and instead of sinking him she carries him. Gabriele Ferzetti, as her father Draco, plays the marriage negotiation as comedy and the worry underneath it as real. The scene between the three of them at Draco’s birthday party, with John Barry’s *We Have All the Time in the World* coming in underneath, is where we stopped keeping score against Connery and started watching the film.

Hunt was an editor before he was a director, and it shows in the action. He and John Glen cut the ski chases into short, hard pieces, the camera down on the slope with the skiers and the snow flat white behind them, so that the black figures read like ink dropped on paper. Michael Reed shoots the Alps in clear, hard daylight rather than postcard gold. Syd Cain’s Piz Gloria, Blofeld’s clinic on the summit, is a circle of glass and orange upholstery that looks like an airport lounge, and is the better for it. Marjory Cornelius puts Rigg in a fur-trimmed ski suit that is unmistakably hers and keeps everyone else in colours you could spot from the next mountain. A bobsleigh fight made us grip the armrest; it is done with real sleds on a real run and the camera going down with them.

Here are the faults. At 142 minutes the film is long, and the stretch at Piz Gloria, in which Bond pretends to be a heraldry expert and spends his evenings with a dozen young women, is a lot of dinner and not much threat. Telly Savalas plays Ernst Stavro Blofeld as a bruiser with a grievance rather than a mastermind, which we rather like, but the script never explains why a man who met Bond in the previous film does not recognise him now. Ilse Steppat, as Blofeld’s assistant Irma Bunt, is the film’s best villain, a smiling matron with a pistol, and she has too few scenes. Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell do their usual turns as M and Moneypenny, and one small exchange between Moneypenny and Bond over a letter is the warmest either character has been.

Then the last half hour, and we will not describe it. What we can say is that it drops the jokes, that Barry’s score does what the lead cannot, and that the final scene is the reason this film has been reassessed upwards ever since. We had seen it before. It still got us, and we sat through the credits saying nothing.

Nobody has made a Bond film quite like it since, though several have tried. If you can forgive the man in the middle of the frame for being a beginner doing his best, and we found that we could, the rest of the frame is as good as this series gets.

*Fi1m score 83, published 18 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

All eleven reviews are positive, and the praise lands in the same places. Most critics treat this as the Bond film that lets the character feel something, and they credit the closer adaptation of Fleming for it. Diana Rigg’s Tracy is singled out repeatedly as a heroine who is Bond’s equal in wit and action. John Barry’s score comes up in nearly every notice, as do Peter Hunt’s action sequences, the ski chase in particular. Several critics also praise the closing minutes, which we will not describe.

The reservations cluster around George Lazenby, whom most critics find capable but limited and inevitably measured against Connery. Digital Spy notes pacing problems across a long runtime; The AV Club mentions technical rough edges. The spread is narrow, 70 to 90, and it runs by date: the notices in Variety and The New York Times see a brisk chase picture with a new lead, while later reviews, from The Guardian to Den of Geek, call it a series high point that took decades to be recognised.

### Reviews we read (11)

- **RogerEbert.com** (90/100, inferred): The film is widely considered one of the best Bond entries despite the change in lead actor. It stands out for its strong story, exciting stunts, John Barry score, and especially Diana Rigg's three-dimensional performance as Tracy. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/on-her-majestys-secret-service)
- **The Guardian** (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film possibly the best Bond entry ever, praising its standout soundtrack, the way it takes the character into new emotional territory, and its unforgettable ending as one of cinema's finest. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/feb/23/on-her-majestys-secret-service-film-recap)
- **The AV Club**, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky (85/100, inferred): The critic calls it the definitive Bond fan’s film for its romantic depth, character investment in Bond, and visual beauty alongside the series’ usual pleasures. He singles out the faithful adaptation of Fleming, Lazenby’s vulnerable performance, and the striking direction and score for praise while noting some technical flaws and the actor’s limitations. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/fan-favorite-on-her-majesty-s-secret-service-is-the-dar-1842665090)
- **Empire**, William Thomas (80/100, inferred): The critic calls it the best Bond film for its strong plot, genuine emotion and fidelity to Fleming, singling out the sensitive romance with Tracy and the moving wedding and finale for praise, while noting Lazenby's acting limitations and the director's efficient action sequences. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/majesty-secret-service-review/)
- **Radio Times**, Jeremy Aspinall (4/5): The film is a magnificently memorable adventure despite divided opinions on Lazenby at the time. It features superb action, suspense, locations, emotional depth for Bond, a strong heroine in Diana Rigg, an evocative John Barry score, and the memorable Louis Armstrong song. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-m91lzv/on-her-majestys-secret-service/)
- **The New York Times**, A. H. Weiler (70/100, inferred): The sixth Bond film follows the established pattern of sex, crime and spoof, with its heart in a series of breakneck chases shot by first-time director Peter Hunt. It features the longest ski chase and bobsled run ever, plus other elaborate action set pieces. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1969/12/19/archives/screen-new-james-bondgeorge-lazenby-follows-the-connery-pattern.html)
- **Variety**, Variety Staff (70/100, inferred): This is a film of break-neck physical excitement and stunning visual attractions in which George Lazenby replaces Sean Connery as James Bond. Lazenby is pleasant and capable but suffers by comparison; the film highlights Diana Rigg as Bond's true love and equal in action and wit. [Read](https://variety.com/1968/film/reviews/on-her-majesty-s-secret-service-1200421871/)
- **Den of Geek**, Don Kaye (85/100, inferred): The critic highlights the film's daring originality as the most faithful Fleming adaptation with a new Bond and first-time director, praising its emotional depth, complex Tracy character, and influence on later entries while noting its initial underappreciation. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/on-her-majestys-secret-service-is-most-original-james-bond-movie/)
- **Digital Spy**, Simon Reynolds (80/100, inferred): The critic calls it a franchise classic reappraised over time for its emotional vulnerability, Diana Rigg's standout performance as Tracy, stylish direction, and devastating ending, while acknowledging pacing flaws in its long runtime. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/re-viewed/a552980/re-viewed-on-her-majestys-secret-service-the-forgotten-bond-classic/)
- **Film Stories**, Mark Harrison (80/100, inferred): The film is a singular one-off in the Bond series due to its new lead, director, and more grounded, romantic tone that humanizes Bond while delivering strong action and a tragic ending. It was initially divisive but has been reassessed positively for its emotional depth and fidelity to Fleming. [Read](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/on-her-majestys-secret-service-and-the-curious-case-of-george-lazenbys-james-bond/)
- **Eye for Film**, Stephen Carty (75/100, inferred): The film departs from prior entries with a serious, gritty tone, closer adaptation of Fleming, and a touching romance that humanizes Bond, leading to one of the franchise's most powerful scenes. Lazenby deserves more credit despite comparisons to Connery; overall it is much better than its initial maligned reputation suggests. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/on-her-majestys-secret-service-film-review-by-stephen-carty)

## Details

- **Director:** Peter R. Hunt
- **Director:** Peter R. Hunt
- **Screenplay:** Richard Maibaum
- **Novel:** Ian Fleming
- **Cinematography:** Michael Reed
- **Editor:** John Glen
- **Music:** John Barry
- **Production design:** Syd Cain
- **Costume design:** Marjory Cornelius
- **Producer:** Harry Saltzman, Albert R. Broccoli, Stanley Sopel
- **Cast:** George Lazenby as James Bond; Diana Rigg as Tracy Di Vicenzo; Telly Savalas as Ernst Stavro Blofeld; Gabriele Ferzetti as Marc Ange Draco; Ilse Steppat as Irma Bunt; Bernard Lee as M; Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny; George Baker as Sir Hilary Bray
- **Runtime:** 2h 22m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG
- **Release (the US):** 18 December 1969
- **Genres:** Adventure, Action, Thriller
- **Budget:** $7 million
- **Box office:** $82 million

## Where to watch in the US

- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd
- Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-18.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HU, ID, IE, IT, JP, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, RO, SE, SG, TH, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *From Russia with Love* (1963), Fi1m 84: The Connery entry closest in spirit: a real plot, a train, and a proper fight. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/from-russia-with-love.md)
- *The Ipcress File* (1965): The same producer’s answer to Bond: a spy who wears glasses and does his own shopping.
- *Where Eagles Dare* (1968): Alpine cable cars, snow and men in uniform who are not what they say.
- *Downhill Racer* (1969): Redford on skis, shot from the slope; the chases here without a villain attached.
- *Mission: Impossible – Fallout* (2018), Fi1m 87: The modern series that learned most from Hunt’s cutting and Lazenby’s bruises. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-fallout.md)

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/on-her-majestys-secret-service