George Lazenby 007

The choice of George Lazenby as the cinema's second James Bond was surely one of the more unlikely pieces of casting in screen history. An Australian male model with experience of acting, he found himself following the immensely popular Sean Connery at a time when the world was very much in love with all things 007. Connery's portrayal had become synonymous with the character of the smooth yet ruthless British secret agent, establishing the film series as a top box office draw of the 1960s - and so it came as a damaging blow to Eon Productions when he refused to sign for a sixth Bond film after 1967's You Only Live Twice. When last minute money offers proved fruitless, Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, producers of the films, turned their attentions towards the search for a suitable replacement. Director Peter Hunt aided them in that quest, recalling that, "we eventually decided that we would try as hard as we could to find a physical replica of Sean Connery - and that was what we looked for, and that is how we came up with Lazenby." The man that they found was far removed from the experienced international star that Sean Connery had become. Thirty year old George Lazenby had moved to England in 1964 after a successful career as a car salesman in his native Australia. It was while selling a Mercedes to fashion photographer Chard Jenkins that the idea of a career as a male model was recommended to him and very soon his cheery handsomeness was to be seen promoting everything from BP to Fry's Chocolates. It is worth remembering that even before Bond, Lazenby was, if not a household name, then certainly a household face. His role as Big Fry in particular endeared him to a generation of children. Albert Broccoli first noticed this potential Bond in a Mayfair hair salon, although Lazenby himself would later make a more formal approach to Harry Saltzman, who was also impressed by the Australians's looks and chunky physique. TESTS Screen tests commenced in April 1968, with Eon Productions hoping to pacify distributors United Artists' demands for footage of the Bond hopefuls in action. Another four actors were therefore tested alongside Lazenby, among them it is said John Richardson, star of One Million Years BC. The screen test consisted on an elaborately choreographed fight sequence, staged by George Leech, in which Bond is attacked by a man in the bedroom of a Portuguese hotel. Lazenby's excellent handling of the fight impressed all who saw it, and proved insturmental in winning him the part of James Bond. Four months of testing finally convinced the New York offices of United Artists, and , despite their suggestion that he change both his name and his accent, George Lazenby accepted an offer of twenty-two thousand pounds to become the second screen incarnation of 007. It is worth noting that this offer was almost the same as that given to Sean Connery for 1962's Dr No, although Lazenby also received a fully furnished London apartment and the services of a chauffeured linousine. It seemed that he was now to become accustomed to the comfortable, elegant lifestyle of the character he would shortly portray. MODEL Lazenby's preparation for the role found him reading a number of Ian Fleming's original novels and watching the Connery films. Ideas soon followed, including a wish to play a slightly looser character than tha established by Connery's protrayal. At the same time, however, he realised that to deviate too alarmingly from the Connery template would be disastrous, and so chose to model much of his perfromance on his predecessor's style and appearance. George Lazenby appears to have been a man well aware of his limitations, once revealing "as far as acting was concerned, I thought 'leave it to the character guys, the ugly boys'." It is somewhat unfortunate, therefore, that his first outing as Bond would be On Her Majestys Secret Service, adapted from the book that revealed more than any other the emotional depths of the James Bond character. The new incarnation of 007 is skillfully introduced to cinema audiences slowly established in the film's teasing pre-titles sequence. A shot of the failiar dark Aston Martin is accompanied by a confident rendition of John Barry's Bond theme, immediately creating an atmosphere of intrigue and excitement. We view the driver of the car from behind, watch his fingers prepare a cigarette, glimpse a strong dimpled chin and firm, tight mouth. His hands remove sunglasses, though his eyes remain hidden. A gun and a spy-scope are seen in the glovebox, and the car is soon speeding to the rescue of a beautiful woman on an eerie dawn beach. The figure steps out, face masked by shadow, and we barely have time to take in the recognisable elements of dark hair, evening dress and shoulder holster before he is saving the woman from death in the sea. It is only when the woman is lying safe on the beach that eyes blink open and the mysterious rescuer introduces himself., "Good morning," announces a pleasant voice with a hint on Australian still lingering, "my name's Bond, James Bond." The face we see is warm and strangely innocent, though darkly handsome enough to be a believable 007. In the fight scene that follows the new Bond acquits himself admirably, showing a ruthless, prowerful fighting style that makes use of items to hand, such as oars and anchors and, even a whole boat. At the close of this sequence, left behind by the girl he has just rescued, Lazenby grins and comments, "This never happened to the other fella." an amusing but perhaps unnecessary reference to the still haunting presence of Sean Connery. Certainly, it's an even more knowing aside than any Connery himself might have made. TITLES The title sequence that follows if filled with images from past Bond films, reassuring the audience that the film now beginning is indeed a part of the same series as Goldfinger, or From Russia With Love. At the same time, however, there is something of a new flavour in the driving, totally insturmental theme tune and very British, very '60s Op-Art graphics. Lazenby's James Bond is being presented very carefully, tied to Connery's past yet still hinting at a possible new direction. The story continues with Lazenby placed in a variety of typical Bond situations - he walks through a hotel lobby with a pleasant relaxed expression, strolling where Connery would have prowled. The gaming table scene soon follows, and while Lazenby shows good facial reaction upon seeing Tracey (played by Diana Rigg), there's a strangely innocent air to him that's quite contrary to the spirit of Bond...or, at least, the Connery Bond. Although he slaps her soon after, his eyes remain gentle, his face almost naive, and there's a continually chivalrous air to his portrayal that is actually very likeable. This gentleness works extremely well in the various love scenes that are an important part of the film's story. Lazenby handles the romantic side of the character with confidence, believably portraying a Bond who can fall in love and marry and thus leave the secret service. His performance in the tragic final scene, cradling his murdered bride, is sensitively played and sincerely tender. His portrayal of sadness and bewilderment is touching, and it is to Lazenby's credit that he is able to end the whole film on a note of emotional depth. Unfortunately, however, he flounders whenever he is matched with such charismatic foils as M or Telly Savalas' Blofeld. On these occasions his own screen presence seems painfully weak and he lapses into a kind of quiet shallowness that lets him be overpowered by the stronger performances. With M, he seems like an impetuous junior clerk, lacking the depth to pull of the resignation scene, and with Blofeld he has none of the strength of personality needed to make the two men seem convincing, well-matched enemies. His later scene with M is an improvement though, played with more anger and conviction. Perhaps he was learning as he went along... His action scenes are always convincing, however, full of a graceful sense of movement that may be the result of all those years of closely directed modelling. His ability to throw an excellent punch was not enough to save him froma savage critical mauling when the film was finally released. In a sense he was, as Roger Moore later agreed, placed in a no-win situation by having to follow the tremendously popular Sean Connery. As such he had to face the ire of a public who were perhaps noticing the absence on Connery rather than his own, unique contribution. A few people were willing to take him on his own merits, however, with noted film critic Alexander Walker proclaiming him "almost as good a Bond" as the other fellah. He would conclude that Lazenby was actually an asset rather than a hindrance, revitalising the film series with a portrayal "definitely all set for the seventies." It was not to be. Even before On Her Majestys Secret Service was released Lazenby announced that he would not be playing James Bond again. This decision came as the climax to months of soured relations with Eon Productions, and so infuriated the producers that they immediately began downplaying the actor's involvement in press and publicity. Lazenby had experienced much tension on the set of the film, particularly in his working relationship with director Peter Hunt, who, he claimed, treated him with disregard and aloofness. This completely unsettled the inexperienced Lazenby, who was used as a model to precise and continual direction - Hunt would later explain that he was purposefully distant, hoping to draw a spontaneous performance from the untrained Lazenby. There was a well-publicised desagreement with co-star Diana Rigg, blown out of proportion by a British press eager for an angle on the new James Bond. Diana Rigg herself would later admit that the relations between her and Lazenby were not as bad as they had been portrayed and that the infamous 'garlic before love scene' incident was, in fact, a simple lunchtime joke, taken a little too literally by Fleet Street. And yet Lazenby definitely felt himself being treated as an inferior, particularly by the more experienced members of the cast and crew. His insecurity led to wilful and awkward behaviour on set, earning him a reputation as something of a prima donna. "I became hot-headed, greedy and big-headed" he would later admit and he took to living the part of Bond outside the studios as well, indulging in an extravagant lifestyle of women and London nightclubs. Such behaviour served to alienate him from Broccoli and Saltzman, and by the time he announced his refusal to play Bond again his relations with the producers were at an all-time low. "I mean, no one was talking to me at that stage. Everyone was upset with me because I didn't want to play Bond again." Lazenby found himself alone and disliked, only able to rely on Ian Fleming's words when it came to the difficult playing of the tragic final scene. "I had nothing else to go on" he admits, and if that is true then his sympathetic handling of Bond's bereavement is all the more admirable. REFUSAL Lazenby's refusal of a second Bond film was a calculated career move that was actually a terrible piece of misjudgement. He intended to make his name with On Her Majestys Secret Service and then move on to other, equally lucrative projects without being typecast. As it turned out, however, his difficult reputation and critical failure as James Bond both worked against him and the expected offers of film parts failed to appear. It would be two years before he worked in the business again, in 1971's Universal Soldier, and since then he has only appeared in low-budget oddities, camp comedies and American TV movies such as Cover Girls and Is Anybody Out There? He has even made a couple of cheeky cameo appearances as 007 over the years, driving an Aston Martin in 1983's The Return of the Man From UNCLE (: the 15 Years Later Affair) and, more recently, playing a character called James B in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents entitled Diamonds aren't Forever. Rumours of a comeback are never far away, although with a Californian house and a fortune amassed from shrewd real estate dealing monetary considerations are the least of his worries. It is, of course, quite unlikely that he well ever play the real James Bond again, although a growing appreciation of his one-off portrayal is at least revising a good few opinions. For too long he has been dismissed as the failed Bond, the forgotten Bond, the middle man between Connery and Moore, worthy of only a sneer and a footnote in film books. George Lazenby may well have been an improbable Bond, but his sincere, romantic performance deserves rather better than that.