21 replies to this topic

[trumanlodge89]

I was thinking about this earlier today... what OHMSS would be like unspoiled. I read the novel before I saw the film, so I knew what was coming... but was anyone caught off guard at the end of the film? If so, what was it like?

[Napoleon Solo]

I was thinking about this earlier today... what OHMSS would be like unspoiled. I read the novel before I saw the film, so I knew what was coming... but was anyone caught off guard at the end of the film? If so, what was it like?

I was 11 years old and hadn't read the novel. I was completely surprised and blown away, though I can't claim to be a sophisticated viewer in late 1969.

[Turn]

I was thinking about this earlier today... what OHMSS would be like unspoiled. I read the novel before I saw the film, so I knew what was coming... but was anyone caught off guard at the end of the film? If so, what was it like?

I was 11 years old and hadn't read the novel. I was completely surprised and blown away, though I can't claim to be a sophisticated viewer in late 1969.

Seeing OHMSS for the first time was an interesting experience for me. I was only 7 and it was on a double feature with DAF in the summer of 1974. I had seen all the other Bonds before and knew nothing about it.

DAF, which I'd seen twice when it was first released, was shown first and I was in a comfort zone, knowing what to expect. So it was that much stranger going into OHMSS, which I'd never heard of. Mind you it never got rereleases and nobody mentioned Lazenby.

Who was this guy playing Bond? I found it weird that the guy who played Kojak was the villain. I don't remember a whole lot about it other than it was just really different. I liked Bond, but was in a big Batman and Planet of the Apes phase at that point of my life.

However, I recall even at that age being shocked at the ending. So much so that I went through my uncle's novel (who took me to see the film) to see if Bond's wife really died in that too and it was the same. Even said "We have all the time in the world." It really stayed with me.

Although it wasn't the type of film that blew me away at the time, I always stayed curious about OHMSS, saw that infamous '76 two-parter on ABC and clinched it being one of my favorites on a showing in 1980. I was becoming a big Avengers fan and it was great seeing Emma Peel with Bond. OHMSS has remained one of my favorites.

[Double-0-7]

Even knowing what happens in the final scene, it still hits hard. One of these times I will stop the movie at the end of the wedding scene and leave it on a happy note.

That would make a better opening scene in the Diamonds Are Forever PTS. At least we'd know why Bond was racing around the globe assaulting everyone who might know where Blofeld was.

[HH007]

I was 11 years old and hadn't read the novel.

I was also very young when I first saw OHMSS on TV (10 or 11). It ended on such a down note and I found that very surprising, because I was used to Bond always prevailing in the end, with the girl. So yeah, I was pretty blind-sided.

[DamnCoffee]

I remember very well, I was 9 the first time I saw the film, I was really enjoying it. My Nan came through the sitting room, looked at the TV and said "Oh, is this the one where his wife dies?", So NO, I've never been caught off guard!

[Jericho_One]

I was thinking about this earlier today... what OHMSS would be like unspoiled. I read the novel before I saw the film, so I knew what was coming... but was anyone caught off guard at the end of the film? If so, what was it like?

I remember being saddened and somewhat shocked by the brutal and totally unexpected ending. Bond's feeling of loss was almost palpable.

[Cody]

I don't think I knew Tracy died, but I wasn't too shocked when it happened because I knew Bond wasn't married in any of the movies that followed. I think I was more surprised by the marriage than the ending.

[Licence_007]

I don't think I knew Tracy died, but I wasn't too shocked when it happened because I knew Bond wasn't married in any of the movies that followed. I think I was more surprised by the marriage than the ending.

I think this is how I reacted. Was quite young when I first saw OHMSS though so I can't be sure.

[David_M]

I agree; the marriage was a bigger shock than the murder. I grew up on Bonanza, Star Trek and the Six Million Dollar Man, so I knew the #1 rule of action heroes: falling in love occasionally is okay, but any wives/fiancees must die by the end of the episode.

And I saw the film version of OHMSS first, so I suppose you could say it "spoiled" the book for me.

[Safari Suit]

I think OHMSS was the first Bond I saw all the way through, so I neither knew about it nor was especially shocked.

[Mr. Blofeld]

I'm afraid I saw it spoiled, as I suppose that was part of the allure for me; the ending, however, still left me shocked.

[Agent Ostlund]

The ending was a huge shock to me. At the time I had not read any of the Bond books.

[FlemingBond]

I had seen FYEO, so i knew Bond's wife had died, and i put off watching OHMSS for quite a while. When i did see it, it still made a big impact on me.

[baerrtt]

I saw the movie when ITV screened it during the 80s (Christmas sometime I believe) and was shocked at the ending (I was under 10 when I saw the film and it left a lasting impression to say the least). The beautiful thing about OHMSS up until that era (and I'm speaking for casual members of the general public) is that with no knowledge of the novel(s) it wouldn't suprise me that after 15 or so years from 1969 people were coming to the movie with no idea how it would end. Yes i and everyone else had seen the Moore era unfold either on tv or in the cinema but I've found out that people (in general) only remember certain moments in Bond (the stunts, gadgets, henchmen etc) than the entire plot so even though people knew by this point Lazenby came before Moore people were still suprised that the marriage was resolved that way (I watched it with my entire family and we were all shocked at the ending).

Pretty nice to know that in those pre internet times you could watch a movie on tv made decades earlier and not know how it was going to end.

Edited by baerrtt, 26 January 2008 - 12:58 PM.

[Double-0-Seven]

I was probably about seven years old when I first saw it. It instantly became my one of my favorite Bond films. However, I do not remember feeling the emotional impact of Tracy getting killed. To me it was just another part of a great Bond film. I guess at that age I wasn't yet capable of understanding the love that Bond had for Tracy and how much she meant to him.

[dodge]

I'd never read, and still haven't read, the novel. By TB I'd grown weary of Big Tum--I mean Big Tam, Sir Sean. And OHMSS blew me away--not only the ending, the whole bloomin' shebang. There, at last, was a Bond for the ages...of more than 8-18. Please, lord, give us a time warm and allow Laz to do just one more youthful Bond, and slip it past the radar of my fierce pal, Judo Chop!

[sharpshooter]

I remember the first time I saw OHMSS. The ending of the film was really unexpected and depressingly downbeat. The Bond theme really gets you out of that scene.

I had only seen OHMSS once, most likely from the almost off putting finale. I recently over the last few years have had an increased admiration for the film, and have watched it probably the most out of all the Bond films. First time watching it in a while, the finale still struck me. Classic ending.

[hilly]

I first saw it when it premiered on UK tv in the late '70s. I was about 10, so was probably more interested in the fights and car chases than I was in any dramatic developments.(I can remember my Dad watching it with me and referring to Lazenby as "Big Fry", indicating what George was known for back in 69) By the time I saw it again, I was in my late teens and, whilst I had stayed a Bond fan, British tv seemed to be oddly neglectful of OHMSS, preferring to re-run Goldfinger and YOLT endlessly (or so it seemed at the time). I'd pretty much forgotten about the whole marriage thing, so it was a real jolt when Tracy was killed.

[Dell Deaton]

On Her Majesty's Secret Service was the last of the "catch-up" films I watched on VHS, I'm gonna say around 1988. Like others here, I'd already seen For Your Eyes Only, and knew it came sequentially after, but somehow it failed to click for me. I was absolutely shocked and down; to this day, that particular rendition of the James Bond theme evokes the emotions I felt then.

It seemed to me then and now that it would have been better placed at the start of Diamonds Are Forever. Although truer to the Ian Fleming novel as filmed, I think it was too much for a new actor to carry. On the other hand, it would have made for a very different Diamonds Are Forever, now wouldn't it?

[john.steed]

I was 13 when I saw it back in 1969. It was my first Bond so I did not know for sure how it should end (i.e., Bond with the girl) but I had seen enough of the imitations to get an idea that he should go off happy with the girl. Hence, I was quite sad with ending. Especially so since I was already a big Avengers/Emma Peel/Diana Rigg fan. (I cried when Emma left the series).

[Marty McFly]

I was very young when i saw OHMSS, which was on tv. Not being allowed to watch any bond movies, i intently watched it, even though I didn't know who George Lazenby was. I had just seen Thunderball and Live and Let Die previously, so this was probably my third Bond movie. I was completely shocked at the end when they shot Tracy, almost crying (I was little gimme a break). It was an emotional experience and I'm glad that I went through it.