The Woodstock Bond
Ian Fleming’s tenth spy novel, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” was published in April 1963. Originally, its film adaptation was planned to follow “Goldfinger” (1964), but this did not come to pass. “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” was postponed twice before finally premiering worldwide on December 18, 1969. Only six years separated the publication of Fleming’s novel and its adaptation, but those six years completely transformed Western society.
The Summer of Love in 1967 changed the world. Men now sported long hair and tattered jeans, while radical feminists burned bras and “Playboy” magazines. Instead of vodka in martinis, LSD made its way into Kool-Aid, and a massive protest movement had emerged in Western countries, with demonstrators taking to the streets almost daily against the Vietnam War. The harmless Beatles tune I Want to Hold Your Hand was replaced by the dark and thundering Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones. It was the first major societal paradigm shift since the end of World War II.
Had James Bond, the patriotic combat gorilla of the conservative establishment, become obsolete? Original Bond actor Sean Connery had thrown in the towel after “You Only Live Twice” (1967). The casting for “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” could have responded to the zeitgeist with a more contemporary character. Director Peter Hunt fittingly asked producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli, “Do we want to become modern and have a long-haired one?” They decided against it. They were searching for “another Sean Connery type.” The continuity of the character was non-negotiable.
The hunt for Connery’s successor was on. Over 400 hopeful Bond candidates were tested in the typical Bond disciplines: kiss, kiss, bang, bang. Among them were notable names like Roger Moore (“The Saint”), Adam West (“Batman”), and Oliver Reed (“The Assassination Bureau”). The final contenders were John Richardson, Hans De Vries, Anthony Rogers, Robert Campbell, and the completely unknown Australian, George Lazenby. On October 7, 1968, Lazenby was introduced to the press as the new James Bond. In “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” he would succeed superstar Sean Connery and face the SPECTRE organization and its mastermind, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, in the Swiss Alps.