Their Holiday Favorites: Josh Frank Prefers Bond. The Lazenby Bond.
By Jette Kernion on December 22, 2011 - 2:30pm
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Their Holiday Favorites is a series in which members of the Austin film community tell us about movies they enjoy watching during the holiday season. Today, Blue Starlite Drive-in owner Josh Frank recalls a film that might not seem like an obvious choice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service:
Every holiday season since I can remember, one of the basic cable channels has at some point shown a James Bond Holiday Marathon. So James Bond has become synonymous for me with snow, cozy warm days off and in, with holiday spirit, presents and 24 to 48 hours of James Bond ... save 4 hours of infomercials in the wee hours between 3 and 7 am when even Bond must catch some shut-eye.
There never seemed to be a rhyme or reason to the order. A Connery flick would be stuck between two Roger Moore's then a Pierce Brosnan and then back again. Every so often, they would show (at least once in the cycle) my favorite most underrated James Bond movie. All of Sean Connery's were great, and most of Moore's have a place in my heart if for no other reason then as an 8-year-old I didn't know better, so I watched them so many times that they became lore.
But On Her Majesty's Secret Service is that little-known Bond movie that most people don't pay attention to, mainly because its star is a one-time Bond who was not an actor but a famous British model, but they really should. Not just because it's the perfect Holiday Bond, taking place in a winter wonderland with snow, and even jingle bells echoing through the night on horse-drawn carriages in the little ski town where most of it takes place.
But George Lazenby really nailed the Bond that Ian Fleming had in mind. He nailed the BOOK BOND, who often is not what ends up on the screen. This as well is a more balanced Bond, a more human Bond, and the closest thing to the brute force Bond we'd see until the series update in 2006 with Casino Royale!
I urge you to check it out, it's a great adventure to take when home for the holidays, and a great lesser-known Bond whom I would have loved to see in a few more adventures before he was retired. That's why we are showing it in January at the Drive-in, and it's what I will be watching this Christmas Day when the next Bond marathon hits my cable box!
Want to watch? On Her Majesty's Secret Service is available to rent on DVD from Vulcan Video.