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The following *
audio files * are copies of the 1976
American Broadcasting Company's 'narrated
version' of ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. To hear a sound clip
just double click on the * blue
colored headings *.
These recordings were
captured on my portable cassette tape recorder live while this OO7 film was
shown. The mp3 files have been enhanced for the best
possible sound.
For the first time on any website you can hear the
tragedy that was done to the American television premiere of this 1969 Bond classic.
*
Preview of the ABC Monday Night Movie *
"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" aired in the last half of February 1976.
It was
sweeps month and ABC was on a winning streak. This was the first time ever in it's history
that ABC was beating CBS and NBC in the TV ratings war. Their big hit of the season
was the mini-series "Rich Man, Poor Man", which starred
Richard Strauss and Nick Nolte.
James Bond films were big ratings for ABC during
the 1970s and 80s, and when they had acquired the broadcasting rights to OHMSS,
they did not really know how to present it since it starred an actor whom no one
had ever heard of before. The Sean Connery films had already been
broadcast and Roger Moore was the current OO7. So who was George Lazenby
and how do you present this film?
A process was created by a committee and it was
decided that OHMSS would be shown in two 90 minute parts and used to help
promote the Winter Olympics. It would also help nail down the primetime
slots on the last two Monday nights in February. A night which CBS
normally dominated with their sitcom line of "Rhoda" and
"All In the Family".
Another idea was to re-edit the first half of
the film and add narration to connect each part. The final results would
have ABC successfully locking out it's competitors and winning the ratings war,
but it was another nail in the proverbial coffin for OHMSS.
On Monday February 16th,
OHMSS - part 1 premiered at 8:30 pm and ended 90 minutes later at 10:00
pm. Rich Man's latest episode
came afterwards. The following Monday, February 23rd, OHMSS - part 2 was shown
at the same time slot.
This is a copy of the Washington Post TV
Guide listing for Monday, February 23, 1976. Note the star of the movie is
Telly Savalas who was TV's Kojak at the time.
Now, part 1 begins with the gun-barrel scene.
George Lazenby walks across the screen, drops to one knee and fires at the
camera. The gun-barrel then fades into a
close-up of Bond placing his foot into one of the skis.
*
Gun-barrel Opening *
Bond prepares to get a leg-up on Blofeld's
scheme.
A man's voice, (not Lazenby's) begins to narrate by saying,
"Bond, James Bond, agent OO7, On Her
Majesty's Secret Service" We then watch Bond escaping down a dark
mountainside while SPECTRE agents fire at him. My guess is that the person narrating is not British, but
just imitating. The entire scene with M, Q and Moneypenny discussing the whereabouts of OO7 was cut out completely.
If you listen carefully the narrator
mispronounces the name Stavro and says Stravro instead.
Bond eludes his enemies.
*
"He's
Making For the Village" *
We then see Blofeld and his men chase after Bond
on skis. At one point a SPECTRE agent says to Blofeld that Bond is making
for the village. ABC-TV cut out the line, "Alright, we'll head him
off at the precipice" during this re-edited opening montage.
Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas) joins
the chase after OO7
One of Blofeld's men lights up the Piz Gloria mountainside
with his flare.
Blofeld spies OO7 through his infra-red binoculars.
OO7's destination is the village below Piz Gloria.
The scene quickly changes and we see Bond being chased through the winter carnival by
Irma Bunt and her men.
Irma
Bunt pushes her way through the crowded Winter Carnival.
*
Skating
On Thin Ice *
Trapped, Bond tries to blend in with the
holiday crowd.
Bond quickly hides out among the ice skaters. All alone on the skating rink sideline, Bond is rescued
by an angel of mercy.
The angel of mercy has arrived. Tracy
di Vicenzo.
Bond tells Tracy there are people after him.
Bond and Tracy escape in her red Cougar with Irma Bunt in hot pursuit. They drive away from the carnival and the scene then segues into the opening beach scene with Bond pursuing a depressed Tracy in his Aston Martin. The movie follows in correct sequence until after the opening credits.
*
Escaping
in Tracy's Car *
OO7 and Tracy temporarily escape Irma Bunt
and her men.
The title segment was panned and scanned so
that the credits could be shown on the 4 x 3 TV screen.
The opening credits end and we pick up with Bond and Tracy trying to make a phone call to London at the post office. Suddenly, Irma Bunt and her men start machine gunning the phone booth. Bond makes a narrow escape by catching up to Tracy's car. The chase continues, as well as the narration.
*
After
the Opening Credits *
Bond uses the Post Office telephone booth to call London.
Irma Bunt proves she is a deadly shot.
The scene segues again from
Bond and Tracy driving into an ice car rally to Bond's Aston Martin pulling up
to the hotel, which is where the movie originally began after the opening
credits.
Tracy drives into an Ice Rally.
Bond pulls up to his hotel and sees the red Cougar.
The movie continues in it's original order until Bond is forced, by gunpoint, to go for a ride with four very rough looking men. They drive down the highway for awhile as Bond tries to add humour to his potentially deadly situation. Suddenly the roof of the convertible they are in is raised, the scene then fades back to Bond and Tracy still being chased in the ice rally. A few exciting moments are shown and then the scene fades back to Marc-Ange Draco's warehouse office. The movie continues in it's original sequence.
*
Bond
Takes A Ride With Draco's Men *
Bond is forced to cancel his golf game.
Going for a ride.
Tracy shows she is more than capable of
taking care of herself.
OO7 is lead into a warehouse where a janitor is whistling a famous theme song.
After the meeting with Tracy's gangster father, Marc-Ange Draco, Bond heads back to MI6. Where M, the head of the secret
service, orders Bond off of "Operation Bedlam" and forces Bond to consider handing in his resignation. However, it is the faithful Miss Moneypenny who turns in a "two weeks leave" request rather then his resignation. Bond is happy to accept and travels to Draco's birthday party. But not until we are shown another scene of the ice car rally, and more narration.
*
"I hope my big end will stand up to this." *
Moneypenny diverts OO7's resignation from the Secret Service.
SPECTRE joins the Ice Rally.
Tracy does not appear too pleased that James
Bond is at her father's birthday party.
After a moment of anger and misunderstanding, Bond and Tracy fall in love. We then see them in a romantic montage while Louis Armstrong sings "We Have All the Time in the World". In the middle of the song there is one more re-edited interruption. The scene changes back to the ice car rally where the narrator mentions how much he cares for Tracy and whether he can get both of them out alive. This is the last time we will hear this narration during the movie. Then the
scene fades to Bond, Draco and Tracy arriving at Gumbold's office in Bern, Switzerland. From this point on the rest of the film is shown in it's original sequence. The ski chase and ice car rally will be shown again in part 2 as it was originally presented.
*
"This
Never Happened to the Other Bond Films" *
Tracy and Bond enjoy a romantic moment.
SPECTRE's car closes in for the kill.
Draco is pleased to see his daughter's
happiness.
Bond leaves Tracy and Marc-Ange while
he pays a visit to Gumbold's office.
At the end of part 1, Bond returns to his Piz Gloria room after having dinner with the girls and meeting with Blofeld. An interesting sound effect was added that signaled the end of part 1 and the transition into the previews for part 2. Bond finds Ruby's room number lipsticked on his thigh. In the original film, there is a musical sting that sounds sexy but silly. In the ABC version, they used the musical sting from the scene where Blofeld is inserting his hypnotic cassette tapes. The ABC announcer begins by telling the viewing audience that OHMSS will continue next week at this same time and then shows a few highlighted scenes from the second half.
Blofeld observes the delicate snow covered mountain he is
about to disrupt.
One of the scenes is the famous avalanche and Blofeld's smug look as he realizes he has buried 007. Another scene has Bond sliding across the ice during the attack on Piz Gloria as the announcer says "Bond goes for the gold." - a little
hint towards the 1976 Winter Olympics also shown on ABC.
Bond goes for the gold in the final scenes of OHMSS.
The following Monday night, February 23rd, ABC showed the second half of OHMSS and
even used the narrator's voiceover to tell us what had happened in the week
before. Fortunately, the narration does not continue after the short montage.
It will be several years later when
OHMSS would air again on ABC. The second airing had the film shown in one night but the narration was still
part of the first half. By the third airing in the early 1980s, ABC
had eliminated the added narration and OHMSS was shown properly.
But the damage was done to
this thriller and it would be years before On Her Majesty's Secret Service would earn the respect it so richly deserved.
Now You Can Own The DVD Version.
The first broadcast on US television in 1976, and not widely seen since
it's second and final screening in 1980, the ABC version of 'On Her Majestys
Secret Service' has gained legendary status in 007 fandom. Featuring
re-ordered scenes and narration, this skillful re-edit is a
controversial alternate version of the similarly controversial 1969 James Bond film - the "different" 007 film with the "different" 007.
Drummond Grieve, webmaster of 'Far Up! Far Out! Far More!', the
premiere OHMSS website, has produced a full-featured DVD of the complete ABC
broadcast which has been, up until now, generally unavailable to 007 fans.
The DVD includes all ABC idents, teaser's and re-caps; and the disc
itself has all the interactive navigation features expected of a professional
commercial DVD including chapter selection & information pages and
navigation menu's.
For copyright reasons, the DVD cannot be purchased outright. But by
making a fixed donation to Drummond's website, via secure PayPal payment, you
will be sent the DVD as a "thank you" gift.
For more information, follow this link to
'Far Up! Far Out! Far More!'
and scroll down to the "make a donation" box."
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