Charles Austin Miller

Trivia: One perceived problem with George Lazenby as James Bond was that he did not exude the same self-confident charm and humor as Sean Connery's James Bond (who always quipped some memorable and comedic sound bite, particularly after killing a villain). Lazenby's humor-deficiency was acknowledged during production of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"; toward rectifying this apparent lack of humor, Lazenby was allowed to do something no other James Bond ever did: Addressing the viewing audience with the line, "This never happened to the other fellow," which was a direct in-joke reference to his predecessor, Sean Connery.

Charles Austin Miller

Deliberate mistake: Blofeld doesn't recognize James Bond in this film, even though they met face-to-face in the previous movie, "You Only Live Twice." There is a production-related reason for this. Ian Fleming wrote "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" in 1963 (in which Bond and Blofeld met for the first time), and he wrote "You Only Live Twice" in 1964. However, "You Only Live Twice" was adapted for film first (in 1967), and "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was adapted afterward (in 1969). Because the 1969 film was so faithful to its source material, Blofeld and Bond are basically meeting for the first time... again. The producers were aware of this continuity problem and intended to have James Bond undergo plastic surgery for "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (which would conveniently explain Blofeld not recognizing him, as well as the fact that Sean Connery had been replaced by George Lazenby in the lead role). But the plastic surgery idea was discarded in faithfulness to the novel, resulting in a glaring continuity problem between the 1967 and 1969 films.

Charles Austin Miller

Trivia: Although Australian George Lazenby received mixed critical reception for his portrayal of James Bond in 1969, producer Albert R. Broccoli was so impressed with the actor that he offered Lazenby a contract to star in the next seven (7) James Bond films. If Lazenby had accepted the contract, it would have erased Sean Connery's return in 1970 and Roger Moore's participation in James Bond film history through the year 1983. As it happened, Lazenby's agent poorly advised him that the James Bond franchise would never survive the 1970s, so Lazenby turned down Broccoli's extraordinary contract offer.

Charles Austin Miller

Trivia: Unlike other James Bond movies, this film is the most faithful adaptation of any James Bond novel. Everything that happens in Ian Fleming's 1963 novel, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," is included in this film.

Charles Austin Miller