20 replies to this topic

[PrinceKamalKhan]

Many OHMSS fans know about ABC's famous(or infamous) narrated version they aired for its American television debut in February 1976. And for those who don't, this is a good article discussing it-

http://shatterhand00...tedVersion.html

Anyway, someone has posted the first 18 minutes, 17 seconds of this version on youtube:

Part 1-



Part 2-

http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

I wonder what 1st time viewers of OHMSS thought of it?

[Jericho_One]

Very nice find. Thank you!

On the other hand,

It was in the South of France that we met (...)

South of France?! What the hell? Did ABC had something against Portugal back then?

[AMC Hornet]

I saw that broadcast back in '76. I had quite a fight with my sister over whether I got to watch part 1 or she got to watch a Neil Diamond concert. If I'd known what I was in for I would have watched N.D. with her.

So who's that voiceover claiming to be Bond? Surely Lazenby would have done it for scale.

[Agent Leiter]

Great find, Kamal Khan!

You seem to have a knack for digging up fascinating bits of Bond history!

[DR76]

I was a kid when I first saw ABC's version of "OHMSS". I was so confused by the whole that I didn't know what to think about it and put the movie out of my mind for the next decade.

Good grief! They even managed to edit the fight scene between Bond and Draco's men in the pre-title sequence.

[Professor Dent]

Great find.

[john.steed]

Thank you for the links. OHMSS had been my first Bond film back in 69 and had been looking forward to seeing it again back once ABC had started airing the Bond films in the 1970s. I had been enjoying them, and then came this weird version of OHMSS.

[crheath]

So who's that voiceover claiming to be Bond? Surely Lazenby would have done it for scale.
[/quote]

I heard that it was George Baker, who played Sir Hilary Bray and dubbed Bond's voice when he was disguised as Bray.

[marktmurphy]

That's utterly bizarre. I'd heard of it but it really is quite a shock to actually see it; what were they thinking? If you have to tell the audience what's happening onscreen then surely something's gone wrong? And what's with the cropping of the gunbarrel? Shocking!

Thanks for the link- excellent find!

Amazing that someone's tape from the mid-70s looks so good!

[Major Tallon]

Remember that OHMSS was broadcast over two nights. My theory is that, because the first half of OHMSS has less action than the second, ABC felt it needed to add a fair amount of thrills, copied from the film's second half, to show on the first night, as a hook to get the audience to come back and watch the second half the following evening.

[JimmyBond]

Remember that OHMSS was broadcast over two nights. My theory is that, because the first half of OHMSS has less action than the second, ABC felt it needed to add a fair amount of thrills, copied from the film's second half, to show on the first night, as a hook to get the audience to come back and watch the second half the following evening.

I read something similar explaining the motives behind this broadcast.

[Napoleon Solo]

It didn't air on consecutive nights. Part II aired a week later.

[Shaun Forever]

Was there no backlash from this?


I'd be surprised if Cubby never vented his frustration at this, as a matter of fact, was this even legal what ABC were doing?

[Solex Agitator]

1976 was the height of the "mini-series" craze. It being broken into two parts is a reflection of the times.

I saw this broadcast when it first aired. I was 11. I loved every minute of it. I did not know it was a truncated and shuffled version. I loved every minute of it. I was 11.

11!

[lazenbyland]

For those who are interested, both halves of Lazenbyland did an interview about the ABC 1976 edit.

You can read it here.

http://www.angelfire..._Interview.html

Sadly Drummond Grieve who ran the excellent Blofeld's Cat website had an excellent review of the 1976 edit, has disappeared without trace.

Edited by lazenbyland, 09 February 2010 - 11:44 PM.

[Double-0-7]

How odd! Rather nice that we were able to jump to one of the best parts of the film right off the bat, but they put an action scene immediately before the only action scene from the beginning of the movie.

Great find though!

[Blofelds Cat]

....Anyway, someone has posted the first 18 minutes, 17 seconds of this version on youtube:

Part 1-



Part 2-

http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

The version of the ABC Edit of OHMSS that is currently on'YouTube' (see quoted links, above) is the second broadcast from the early 1980's. The first broadcast (1976) had, "Edited By ABC For Television" superimposed over the gunbarrel.

[Mark_Hazard]

....Anyway, someone has posted the first 18 minutes, 17 seconds of this version on youtube:

Part 1-



Part 2-

http://www.youtube.c...feature=related

The version of the ABC Edit of OHMSS that is currently on'YouTube' (see quoted links, above) is the second broadcast from the early 1980's. The first broadcast (1976) had, "Edited By ABC For Television" superimposed over the gunbarrel.

Shamed into removing their credit perhaps?

[blueman]

1976 was the height of the "mini-series" craze. It being broken into two parts is a reflection of the times.

I saw this broadcast when it first aired. I was 11. I loved every minute of it. I did not know it was a truncated and shuffled version. I loved every minute of it. I was 11.

11!

Similar experience, I was deep into reading the books then and thought the two-part flashback version that aired on ABC was incredibly awesome. Saw it on the big screen a year or two later as part of a Bond film fest, was shocked it didn't start with the flashback. (I got over it ) What was great about it, you got to see the escape from Piz Gloria chase sequences twice!

[scaramunga]

Just due to the oddity of it, I'd love to be able to have this as an extra on the On Her Majesty's Secret Service blu ray. It won't happen, but still it would be cool to have.

[A Kristatos]

For those who are interested, both halves of Lazenbyland did an interview about the ABC 1976 edit.

You can read it here.

http://www.angelfire..._Interview.html

Sadly Drummond Grieve who ran the excellent Blofeld's Cat website had an excellent review of the 1976 edit, has disappeared without trace.

And after reading his review, I was floored to see that even during the Louis Armstrong montage, ABC had the audacity to return to the car chase one more time (the last view of it during Part 1). WTF were they thinking there?! Yikes!