University of Virginia Library

A Different James Bond

By Carl Erickson
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

James Bond Returns With A New Face

New Image Too, As He Is Both Funny, And Eventually, Married

James Bond is back. 007 has
returned to the screen with typical
bravado along with M. Q. Miss
Moneypenny, and the rest of
England's most well-known secret
service. Even the enemy is familiar;
for who among you who have
devoured Ian Fleming's classic
series can forget the cunning, evil
genius of Ernesto Blofeld?

In "On Her Majesty's
Secret Service" Blofeld holds the
secret to the annihilation of the
world's entire store of wild stock, an
anti fertility serum. Zounds! It is
Bond's job to uncover his disreputable
achievement and destroy its
potential, a task which everyone
knows is impossible for any man.
Bond, of course, is not just any
man and his success proves this.

Typical James Bond film? Not
quite. There are innovations in "On
Her Majesty's Secret Service" and I
am not speaking about weapons. In
fact, the noticeable lack of new,
fantastic Bond-like accouterments
may be considered an innovation
itself. The changes of which I am
speaking deal with the character of
007 himself. A surprising one,
although in no way is it the most
drastic, is the fact that for the first
time James Bond is wrapped up in
one woman. In fact, Bond marries
her and (another surprise) retires
from his exiting, albeit dangerous,
occupation. This relationship adds a
new and interesting dimension to
the character although I sure
that those of you who consider
Bond as a super Hugh Heiner will
be disappointed. Be of good faith,
though. Bond's domestic life
quickly ends.

A more major change in 007's
character is evident in the film and
is manifested in the casting of
George Lazenby as the fearless
secret agent. Lazenby, although
provided with many of the same
types of lines which Sean Connery
had made use of, shows a talent for
the comic which Connery was never
able to grasp. Lazenby's facial
expressions and accurate delivery of
lines provide us with just the right
amount of humor to awaken us to
the fact that what we are viewing is
indeed sathal. In the opening
sequence, in which he rescues Diana
Rigg from two burly killers, he
adjusts our viewpoints marvelously
with the line. "This never happened
to the other fellow," obviously
referring to Mr. Connery.

This brings us to the most
important change evidenced in the
latest James Bond film: the directorial
style. For once we have a
Bond film which is not totally
dominated by the leading actor and
I am not in any way devaluating
Lazenby's performance. In fact,
this "new" Bond is enhanced under
the shrewd direction of Mr. Hunt.
Violence has always played a major
part in this genre and Hunt's
razor-sharp cutting and wise camera
placement add a savagely exciting
dimension to it. Examples of
Hunt's knack for violence are
evident throughout the film.

Whereas Hunt has injected a
more humorous life into the film
by casting Lazenby, he also provides
us with engrossing suspense
which was always missing in previous
Bond films. Here again, Hunt
cuts with almost flawless timing
and building up to a crescendo of
anxiety.

At the end, Hunt cheats us
although he undoubtedly had no
other choice. Diana Rigg must die
so that in the future 007 can return
to his normal lifestyle. I half-heartedly
hope that Mr. Hunt will direct
future Bond films. His feeling for
violence, suspense, and humor is
needed. I say half-heartedly,
though, because I would also like to
see him go on to the direction of
films which are not already so
limited in their scope. In either
case, Mr. Hunt will undoubtedly in
the future provide us with many
interesting and intelligent films.

(Now at the Barracks Road)