46 replies to this topic

[Scottlee]

1)Why the flaming nora would you climb up the side of Piz Gloria ("Campbell" was it?) in a bid to sneak in when you've got already got bond doing a perfectly good job on the inside? What was Blondie's intention, to run around all guns blazing when he got to the top? To plead with Irma Bunt's aching heart to let him just wander around on deck admiring the women? Deserved everything he got in my book.

2)Blofeld, the world's biggest threat on mankind, is "presumed" dead and left dangling from a tree in the middle of a bobsled, and no-one thinks to go back for the body. That's sensible.

3)Bond has read up on butterflies, just in case he comes across a psychopathic villain who is into ....umm....butterflies rather than piranha fish. Errrr....

4)Bond has a key to Gumbold's office and even knows what times the dear old Penfold lookalike leaves and comes back to his office, somehow. Also, the Swiss construction company next door has temporarily been comandeered by the British government. Geneva orders, no doubt. Errr, yah.

5)Blofeld fails to recognise Bond disguised as Sir Hilary, despite clear indications at the beginning of the film that Bond is after him either because of the events of YOLT or DAF. If he hasn't encountered Blofeld before, he seems awfully to keen to remain on a dead-end case that hasn't yielded any results for 2 years.

6)I can only presume the character of Sir Hilary Bray attracted those women because of a lack of other men being present on Piz Gloria. If I attempted to engage 12 women in a conversation about family name crests for 2 hours I would be swiftly be crossed off the list of each and every one of them as potential shag material long before the 2 hours were up.

7)At the speed that cable car was moving (I.e quite slow), it would have been pretty bloody superman like for Bond to let go of the rope and then be able to grab onto the centre structure bit of the cable car. The cut-away, though, kinda hides the impossibility of it all unless you really stop to think about it.

[Loomis]

Excellent points, Scotlee. Also:

Why does Bond nick Gumbold's jazzmag? I'd have thought that if Gumbold had returned to find his pørn stash interfered with, it would have been a dead giveaway that his office had been turned over. Also, why does Bond need pørn? I mean, it's not as though he can't get laid, is it?

And then there's the little matter of: why, after Tracy has abandoned him on the beach, does Bond stop dead in his tracks and, grinning, remark to thin air: "This never happened to the other fella"?

[Loomis]

If I attempted to engage 12 women in a conversation about family name crests for 2 hours I would be swiftly be crossed off the list of each and every one of them as potential shag material long before the 2 hours were up.

LOL, exactly - don't think I haven't tried it! I mean, Bond disguises himself as the most boring, unshaggable bloke on the planet (who more or less freely admits that he's not interested in sex).... and ends up doing far better than he ever did when just being Bond!

[Scottlee]

The Playboy thing is a good spot. If you're going to give away the fact you were in the office (no matter how subtley), you might as well just not bother with the photcopying thing and just nick the safe. It would reduce the risk of having Gumbold walk in on you as well.

"This never happened to the other fella", a supposed reference to Connery if you ask most people, but it's totally pointless, and just leaves most non Bond-experts (such as my friends) going "What's he on about?"

Edited by Scottlee, 07 June 2004 - 11:53 AM.

[Loomis]

Why is Gumbold's dwarf cleaner whistling the theme song to a film that was never made?

[stromberg]

Scottlee:
1) Becomes clear when you read the book. Apart from that, Campbell needs to get in contact with Bond to get information about what is going on (notice that Bond wants to grab the opportunity to get to valley in the cable car with Campbell).

2) That's not the first (and not the last) time this mistake is made, not a specific OHMSS problem.

3) Maybe he just read about it to impress M. No indication that he didn't read about pianhas as well. Nympalis polychloris, Large Tortoiseshell. Not very diffucult to recognize, even if you're not an expert.

4) Not a Swiss company. Read the signs, they say "Draco Constructions".

5) Well, yes, but Blofeld is his domain.

6) Obviously like you say (Maybe greed comes in as well. A Baronet? Still sounds like an old castle and lots of old money)

7) C'mon don't start counting the "impossible things" James Bond did in 20 movies. If you take on board the impossibles done by villains and henchman, you won't be finished before the release of B21

Loomis:
1) Has been discussed in a specific thread. Why did he take the grape in TB and DAD? He didn't seem to be hungry...

2) Never happend to the other fella that he saved a girl's life twice (once from herself, second time from presumably bad villains) and she simply runs away from him instead of falling for him.

[B007GLE]

Regarding the ceterfold, and Campbell.

THe centerfold was aobviously taken by Bond who has no need for it to give Campbell something to do while Bond was p on the mountain. By the time BOnd was up oin the mountain the new issue of Playboy came out and Campbell picked it up. He decided that Bond would not be getting anywhere with the girls on the mountain as he was forced to discuss family crests all the time (Little did he know!) So Campbell feeling for BOnd and his pent up...well you know, climbed up to return the centerfold to one who he thought desperately needed it.

Several Mysteries solved.

[Bon-san]

Regarding the ceterfold, and Campbell.

THe centerfold was aobviously taken by Bond who has no need for it to give Campbell something to do while Bond was p on the mountain. By the time BOnd was up oin the mountain the new issue of Playboy came out and Campbell picked it up. He decided that Bond would not be getting anywhere with the girls on the mountain as he was forced to discuss family crests all the time (Little did he know!) So Campbell feeling for BOnd and his pent up...well you know, climbed up to return the centerfold to one who he thought desperately needed it.

Several Mysteries solved.

Good one!

[Bon-san]

Why is Gumbold's dwarf cleaner whistling the theme song to a film that was never made?

I am confused by this comment. Are you referring to the scene in which Draco's dwarf cleaner whistles the tune to "Goldfinger"?

[Loomis]

Never happend to the other fella that he saved a girl's life twice (once from herself, second time from presumably bad villains) and she simply runs away from him instead of falling for him.

Well, I know what he was referring to when he said "This never happened....", but who is "the other fella" meant to be? Another agent called James Bond? I know, I know, it's an in-joke, and an amusing one (in fact, an inspired one, nay, a masterstroke - just the thing to provoke a few laughs and cheers among the audience at the end of a pre-credits sequence in which 007 is, shockingly, left on his own, Billy No Mates-style), and I'm not really knocking it. I just thought I'd slot it in - with a , you'll notice - in a good-humoured thread about "goofs" in OHMSS, a film which I'm sure we all have the highest regard for (and rightly so).

[Loomis]

Why is Gumbold's dwarf cleaner whistling the theme song to a film that was never made?

I am confused by this comment. Are you referring to the scene in which Draco's dwarf cleaner whistles the tune to "Goldfinger"?

Oops. Yes, I meant Draco, not Gumbold. (And since there are not - one presumes, at least - any Bond films in the universe of Bond, the film GOLDFINGER cannot exist, and therefore neither can its theme song. Of course, it's quite possible that, in the universe of OHMSS, what we know as the GOLDFINGER theme is actually the theme of another hit movie, or that the dwarf cleaner has simply made the tune up on the spot.... but I'm just being picky. )

[Loomis]

Loomis:
1) Has been discussed in a specific thread. Why did he take the grape in TB and DAD? He didn't seem to be hungry...

No one's going to notice one missing grape, though. But when Gumbold returns from lunch and wants to crack one off over Miss November but finds his magazine's missing, alarm bells are likely to ring.

And how do we know whether Bond was hungry or not?

[stromberg]

Well, I know what he was referring to when he said "This never happened....", but who is "the other fella" meant to be? Another agent called James Bond? I know, I know, it's an in-joke, and an amusing one (in fact, an inspired one, nay, a masterstroke - just the thing to provoke a few laughs and cheers among the audience at the end of a pre-credits sequence in which 007 is, shockingly, left on his own, Billy No Mates-style), and I'm not really knocking it. I just thought I'd slot it in - with a , you'll notice - in a good-humoured thread about "goofs" in OHMSS, a film which I'm sure we all have the highest regard for (and rightly so).

Damn, I hate it when I have to hurry to finish a post.
Caught me on that one, Loomis. I've always asumed that "the other fella" is another form of "another fella" and thus isn't too obvious (as it is in German). Seems that I was wrong on that.

Never assumed that you're knocking it. Seems like I forgot to insert some s to my post. .

[stromberg]

No one's going to notice one missing grape, though. But when Gumbold returns from lunch and wants to crack one off over Miss November but finds his magazine's missing, alarm bells are likely to ring.

And how do we know whether Bond was hungry or not?

Of course alarm bells are likely to ring. And that's the joke.
That was 1969, owning a Playboy was still considered a bad and evil thing back then.

He noticed it was missing. Where can it be?
"Fr

[Loomis]

[quote name='stromberg' date='7 June 2004 - 18:23'] [quote name='Loomis' date='7 June 2004 - 19:44']No one's going to notice one missing grape, though. But when Gumbold returns from lunch and wants to crack one off over Miss November but finds his magazine's missing, alarm bells are likely to ring.

And how do we know whether Bond was hungry or not?[/quote]
Of course alarm bells are likely to ring. And that's the joke.
That was 1969, owning a Playboy was still considered a bad and evil thing back then.

He noticed it was missing. Where can it be?
"Fr

[Moore Not Less]

Regarding the ceterfold, and Campbell.

THe centerfold was aobviously taken by Bond who has no need for it to give Campbell something to do while Bond was p on the mountain. By the time BOnd was up oin the mountain the new issue of Playboy came out and Campbell picked it up. He decided that Bond would not be getting anywhere with the girls on the mountain as he was forced to discuss family crests all the time (Little did he know!) So Campbell feeling for BOnd and his pent up...well you know, climbed up to return the centerfold to one who he thought desperately needed it.

Several Mysteries solved.

I like it, B007GLE. You forgot the punchline. After Campbell reaches the top of the climb and is hanging upside down he is spotted by Blofeld and Bond.

Blofeld: "You perverse English."
Bond: "He's just hanging around."
Blofeld: "He has a slight stiffness...........
Bond: "In the shoulders."

[Turn]

1)I could never figure out the Campbell thing either. They keep him in the background kind of like Leiter in TB. It is no surprise M would send a back-up agent, but both he and Bond should know they would be constantly watching him like Hawks. Even if he went down to the city, they would have wondered who he was talking to. And just what exactly was Campbell wanting to talk to him about. Bond wasn't in any immediate danger at the time.

I liked the book's use of Campbell better as he would have blown Bond's cover. That was some tense stuff. This was a flaw in an otherwise great film. Another scene from the book I'd have liked is the one where Blofeld executes one of his own people by sending him down the bobsled run. In fact, SPECTRE doesn't dispose of one of its own in this film at all. Strange.

2)That brandy from the St. Bernard is one drink Bond will always regret.

3)He did that just to boost M's confidence in him and to get in the typical dig.

4)My concern would be what if the construction was on the other side of the building. Movie rules here. As far as the centerfold goes, I think Bond gave it to Campbell as a reward.

5)Movie rules again.

6)Hey, he's Bond. It can't be any less believable than riding a motorcycle off a cliff and catching up to a falling plane or any of the other outrageous things he does.

[doublenoughtspy]

Scottlee,

Here are the answers:

1) Cambell was trying to reach Bond for a few reasons. 1) to get his report on what was going on at Piz Gloria. 2) To get Bond some equipment - he was trying to get him a weapon. Bond had to go in completely clean and his luggage was checked. You might want to read OHMSS the novel.

2) I'm sure that Bond & crew went back to look for Blofeld. I'm sure the area around Piz Gloria had escape routes. Perhaps Irma Bunt came by in a snow mobile or helicopter.

3) I don't question Bond's expertise. While butterflies are a bit unusual to be an expert on - I chalk it up to Bond probably going undercover as an entomologist on a previous assignment. Bond would also be wise to know what his boss does in his spare time. While I have little interest in Jazz music - my boss does so I've read up a little so I can at least converse on the subject. If you don't buy the entomologist theory then chalk it up to Bond trying to score brownie points with M.

4) You accept the fact that somehow Draco knew about the Blofeld-Gumbold connection - but something anyone with eyes and a watch could pick up - his lunch routine - is somehow top secret and hard to know? As others have pointed out - it's not the British government next door - it's Draco construction. Which again explains how easy it would be for Draco's people to keep tabs on Gumbold and know his schedule and make a key.

5) Director Peter Hunt treated YOLT as if it didn't happen. While there is YOLT footage in the credit sequence - it is never referred to in the film itself. Notice the fact that there are no YOLT props in the desk, Blofeld makes no mention of a prior meeting or Bond destroying his volcano, etc. etc. Bond wants to remain on the case because he wants to crush SPECTRE.

6) You must have missed the key line of dialog "...may be related to a Royal House". He is telling these girls they may be princesses and not know it! What woman does not want to be a princess? Again in the book he strings girls along because they are more than excited about the possibility of being royalty. And Bond does have to keep up appearences - if he drops the ancestry bit straight away and tries to get in their pants he wouldn't have lasted a day.

7) I assume he swung first, and was helped by a gust of wind.

---

The Playboy theft has been discussed ad nauseum - but I agree with the theory that Bond wanted Gumbold to know someone had stolen something from his office - and thus he would be agitated and more likely to make a mistake.

---

Turn - Blofeld does execute SPECTRE members - he sends some of his men after Bond & Tracy and then creates the avalanche that kills them.

[Qwerty]

You might want to read OHMSS the novel.

I think the point is that Campbell was important enough and had a large enough role in the novel, but they seemed to just throw him in the film. He reminds me of The Living Daylights's Felix Leiter. Yeah, he's there, but the film doesn't need him.

You don't find out enough about this character, that's why I think he's one of the murky parts of this film.

[Turn]

Turn - Blofeld does execute SPECTRE members - he sends some of his men after Bond & Tracy and then creates the avalanche that kills them.

5) Director Peter Hunt treated YOLT as if it didn't happen. While there is YOLT footage in the credit sequence - it is never referred to in the film itself. Notice the fact that there are no YOLT props in the desk, Blofeld makes no mention of a prior meeting or Bond destroying his volcano, etc. etc. Bond wants to remain on the case because he wants to crush SPECTRE.

True, he does send men to their deaths, but it wasn't intentional for their indescretions. I meant the classic execution style like Fiona blowing up Lippe's car, Morzeny giving Kronsteen the boot or Ms. Brandt getting tossed into the piranhna pool. The death on the bob sled run from the novel would have just been such a realistic death in keeping with the movie whereas some of the others were more fantasy-based, like the pirahna pool death.

I don't think Hunt treated YOLT like it didn't happen. It was downplayed for sure, but why else would they refer to Blofeld by name if Bond hadn't yet met him? Unless they had captured some SPECTRE agent and they told them Blofeld was their leader, how would they know who led SPECTRE?

Just because there was no memorabilia from YOLT in his desk didn't necessarily mean they were ignoring it either. Notice there is nothing from GF in there either. And M mentions Bond has had two years, the time elapsed between YOLT and OHMSS, to run Blofeld down. It would have been roughly a year-and-a-half between TB and YOLT.

[bryonalston]

I do think the film completely disregarded YOLT, resulting in one of the biggest plot holes of the series:

IF BLOFELD SAW BOND (even with the convincing Japanese disguise,) IN YOLT, WHY DIDN'T HE RECOGNIZE HIM AT FIRST SIGHT?

It Blofeld had plastic surgery in the time between YOLT and OHMSS, then it would be understandable why Bond wouldn't recognize him, but I can't think of any possible reason why Blofeld wouldn't recognize Bond. (except for the two novels being out of order)

[Qwerty]

It Blofeld had plastic surgery in the time between YOLT and OHMSS, then it would be understandable why Bond wouldn't recognize him, but I can't think of any possible reason why Blofeld wouldn't recognize Bond. (except for the two novels being out of order)

Agreed. I love On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, but it does indeed have perhaps the greatest instance of a scene where 'you just have to accept it.'

[bryonalston]

I think that Vincent Price would have made a formidable Blofeld. A classic villain. I also agree with the comment about making Blofeld more hands-on because SPECTRE was pretty much disbanded. This makes since, but the quality that made SPECTRE so threatening was the whole "octopus" theory:
-Blofeld was the enormous head of the octopus, and he had tentacles spread all around the world, ready to crush and suffocate his prey when necessary. I understand that SPECTRE was like a mafia, bit the thing that appealed about them was that it's members weren't gangsters, they were businessmen, royalty even. It had a certain level of class, which just wasn't seen in OHMSS. The lack of SPECTRE made Blofeld dull, and rather pointless.

Also, the villains plan wasn't really that formidable either. It was just to spread biological agents throughout the world unless he's paid a sum of money. Compared to some of the Blofeld plots in YOLT and DAF, this seemed pretty bleak.

[Scottlee]

How does one die by being pushed down a bobsled run?

[Johnboy007]

4)Bond has a key to Gumbold's office

Lock pick...

[bryonalston]

Why is Draco's dwarf cleaner whistling the theme song to a film that was never made?

In case you haven't noticed, Bond songs popped up in the Connery and Moore era movies as well.

-FRWL: From Russia With Love is heard on the radio by Bond and Sylvia at the lake or river
-DAF: Tiffany Case has Diamonds are Forever playing in her Amsterdam apartment
-LALD: The jazz singer in the Fillet of Soul restaurant is singing Live and Let Die
-OP: The James Bond Theme is played by Vijay in India

Now, why would ALL of these songs be heard in the Bond movies if Bond movies don't exist in Bond's world?

[bryonalston]

How does one die by being pushed down a bobsled run?

How does one die by being pushed down a bobled run?? I don't get it.

[Johnboy007]

High speed and violent turns = Death

[Qwerty]

High speed and violent turns = Death

Not too mention no control over the bobsled.

[SPECTRE ASSASSIN]

Has anyone mentioned the destruction of Piz Gloria at the finale? Obviously Draco set the timers at, let's say 10 seconds I think (?). Then Bond had time to escape that fast?