The Man Who Wouldn't Be King | Icons Unearthed: James Bond | Episode Two

With the first three installments of the James Bond franchise, box offices worldwide had shaken and stirred to the tune of more than a quarter of a billion dollars. I got the impression someone had been selling tickets. It became like a license to print money. Sean Connery's portrayal of the smoldering spy has solidified 007 as the most famous character in film history. I couldn't agree with him more. And while audiences were enamored with the world of fast cars, none of that impressed this guy. He got a lot of girls, that Connery guy. The only thing that excited him was. I used to be screwing one and one would be banging on my wall. Stop that, you're making me horny. With an inexperienced actor. It was April and it was cold. Freezing. I could tell by the size of my dick. It's true. Causing trouble behind the scenes. I'd pull a check, take it to a hotel and give them the bill. The producers were taking a shot in the dark. He said okay you two, knock the **** out of each other. And with a franchise that was careening toward the edge. You've got two partners that are not getting on and you've got a star that wants out. Everything was riding on one film. When he walked in there and I think he fired half of them straight away. All the while wondering if the public would accept a different 007. It's kind of petering out a little bit. The story had gotten a little tired. Or would this new recruit kill James Bond forever? In nine short years, Ian Fleming's James Bond had found his way from the page to the screen. Dr. No is a hit. Thank you. For more short while becomes the highest grossing film ever released in England. Then Goldfinger comes out. The films were such a success that by the mid-60s, James Bond's finely tailored suit was getting wrinkled by imitators on the big and small screen. Get Smart, Mission Impossible. We had I Spy and we had The Man From Uncle which became a phenomenon within the spy phenomenon. From the music, John Barry's soundtrack album knocked the Beatles off number one. Bond's fashion, Bond's champagne. But behind it all was a suave and magnetic Scotsman who brought Bond to life. It's almost impossible to have a discussion about it without Sean Connery coming out. I have no objection. It left an indelible impression on film characters and probably will for a long time. Everything he touches turns to excitement as the ads went. And then in 1965, a rival British super spy movie called The Ipcris Fire was so hot and so real it was almost as if it had been produced by Cubby and Harry themselves. Which is actually partly true and more than partly a problem for the producing pair. Cubby and Harry then started to irritate each other. The problem was Harry Saltzman, he wanted to do other things. And Broccoli said, you're not able to concentrate on the Bonds. Cubby Broccoli was quite content just making Bond films. But Harry Saltzman, on the other hand, he had other ideas. He had fingers in all sorts of not just in films, but other businesses. When something becomes extraordinarily successful, people start thinking, well, you know, he's living off me and he's not doing his share and blah, blah, blah. But even with cracks forming behind the scenes at Eon, there was still the matter of where James Bond was off to next. As it so happens, Ian Fleming had written 12 James Bond novels, any of which could be made exclusively by Cubby and Harry, except for these two. Kevin McClory won the rights to Thunderball against the court case with Ian Fleming. And as for the film rights for Casino Royale, they ended up with a producer named Charles Feldman, who ended up with them by way of Jimmy Bond, they call him. No, no, no, not Jimmy Bond. The Rattots, who'd acquired the film rights from Fleming for $6,000. And with Bond mania gripping the world, Feldman was ready to Feldman then approached Broccoli and Saltzman and said, why don't we do it together? What would it take for you to see things my way? But Feldman wants too big of a slice of the pie. An enormous 75% of the pie. A lot more than you've got. And as for Kevin McClory, they couldn't possibly work with him. Because of the bad blood between McClory and Fleming. However, in 1964, Ian Fleming dies. And suddenly the bad blood stopped flowing. Because you can't piss off a dead man. And so McClory sat down with Broccoli and Saltzman and said, why don't we produce this picture under the Eon banner with Sean Connery? So in December 64, he cuts a deal to make Thunderball as the next film. Part of the deal gave McClory full producer's credit and a more reasonable 20% of the profits. And one more little detail. Part of his deal is that 10 years after Thunderball the movie, he would get the rights back and would be able to remake that film. Remake the movie 10 years later? Oh, never say never. Again. With the details and fine print out of the way, McClory, Broccoli and Saltzman set off to make the next James Bond film. And as for Felman? And they say to Charles Felman, if you just hadn't been so greedy, we could have made the movie with you. It was looking like Felman had played a bad hand. Someone has to lose. Meanwhile, with Kevin McClory aboard, Thunderball was rolling. They were hoping that if it was done properly, Kevin McClory's film wouldn't damage the vision of Bond for the future. Well, to help with that, they went to the director who created the vision of Bond. They went to Terrence Young to see if he would want to come back after directing Dr. No and From Russia with Love. And also the legendary editor of previous Bond movies. They went back to Peter Hunt to see if he'd be interested in editing. Thunderball may have had the same director and editor, but it didn't have the same budget, weighing in at almost six times the price tag of Dr. No. It was so big and so out of control The bigger budget allowed for even bigger set pieces and stunts. And most notably, Thunderball begins with a jetpack. Cubby Broccoli's U.S. liaison, Colonel Charles Roushon, actually sourced it for the picture. And for the first time, audiences around the world saw this wonderful device that allows a man powered flight for a few minutes. No well-dressed man should be without one. Where Dr. No's Jamaican shoot was a bit of a McClory's Bahamas were disproving the notion of trouble in paradise, as director Terrence Young was eager to call home about. And when they got all the bills in the accounting yet, Terrence Young had been chewed out by the producers for how much money he had spent on his telephone bill down in the Bahamas. They whipped him up one side and down the other. I'm truly sorry to have to dash off like this, but there's been a bit of a flap in the office. Terrence Young left the movie. Luckily, principal photography was completed and the film was left in the hands of the editor so he could fix it in post and shoot a few pickups. Peter Hunt had to step in and do a few little minor reshoots. He had ideas that he might one day be given the chance to direct, and he started to spend more time on the set. And he had to pull the editing of the film together by himself. And pull together he did. Christmas 1965, Thunderball opens everywhere and even outgrosses Goldfinger. As if it was intended. Thunderball had exploded on the screen, pulling in more than 140 million and solidified Bond's reign as the king of espionage. And becomes the highest grossing Bond film of all time, one of the highest grossing movies of all time. You seem to be unbeatable, Mr. Bond. It became like a license to print money. So much money that there was another partner in the Bond franchise who was starting to have some issues of his own. Sean Connery. He feels that his slice of the pie does not reflect the success of these films. Worldwide ticket sales for the first four Bond films broke 400 million dollars, yet Connery was locked into his same original deal and not very happy about it. As Connery said, there are too many fat producers making money off of the lean backs of actors. And like Harry, Sean Connery had been keeping himself busy between Bonds. He had done some good movies in between Bond films but they didn't do well. Although the role of 007 had rocketed Connery to unimaginable heights of stardom. He always likened himself to the Beatles and Sean Connery said I was like them. The problem was there was only one of me, there were four of them. All of this came to a head when the Fab One or rather Fab 007 aired his grievances to the public. Connery really let loose in the 1965 issue of Playboy. He believed he should have a share of the Bond production company. And in one of the boldest, riskiest decisions of their producing career, Harry and Cubby exclaimed. We think James Bond is the star of these movies. We don't think Sean Connery is the star. But Connery had a strong hand and went all in. Connery called their bluff and said you only live twice will be my last Bond film. Broccoli and Salzman were betting it all on the idea that it was Bond, not Connery, who was the star of the franchise. And it remained to be seen if they were right. While Sean Connery was looking to cash out. Connery called their bluff and said you only live twice will be my last Bond film. You never said that as if you meant it. Charles K. Feldman was looking to cash in by making Casino Royale without Connery, Harry or Cubby. Charles Feldman initially wanted to do a straightforward Bond film and he hired a screenwriter named Ben Hecht. He turned in that first draft to Charles K. Feldman and died within the day. And after having been spurned by Cubby and Harry in favor of McClory's Thunderball, Feldman decided to take a different approach. Feldman decided to create this gargantuan spoof informed by his mid-60s comedy What's New Pussycat. What's New Pussycat was an irreverent comedy musical with an ensemble cast and pretty much the polar opposite of any Bond movie ever made. It was a wacky film but it made a lot of money because no one had ever seen anything quite like it. With the rights to just that one movie, Feldman had nothing to lose. So he decided to make James Bond his way. Casino Royale is not what we think of when we think of a James Bond movie. Sir James Bond is back with his morals, his vows and his celibate image. It's a comedy with multiple actors playing James Bond. Welcome to the James Bond 007 training school. The James Bonds in that movie include Peter Sellers. That's the nicest thing that anyone's ever said. David Niven. I am Sir James Bond. Woody Allen. You realize this means an angry letter to the Times. Woody Allen had a statement to the effect that Charles K. Feldman is not trying to make a James Bond film. He's trying to make a film that will destroy the James Bond films. And for this rival Bond film that isn't really a Bond film, Feldman decided to bring back the leading lady from the first Bond film, Ursula Andress. And as per the contract she had drafted after being dubbed in Dr. No by Nikki Van Der Sel. She eventually had it put in her contract that Nikki Van Der Sel could not dub. This time Ursula came through loud and clear. Never trust a rich spy. But everyone would have to speak up on this chaotic set. There were so many people on the set. Everybody seemed to come out of the woodwork to watch what was going on. It was just chaos. We'd be filming one day and all of a sudden Peter O'Toole had turned up on the set. Let's put you in a costume and get you in a scene. Are you Richard Burton? No, I'm Peter O'Toole. And the chaos wasn't limited to casting. Even the special effects were caught up in the crossfire. We were filming in the control room with Orson Welles and I rigged it all with sparks and flames and flashes. So I talked him through where everything was and I said, put one hand here and one hand there but don't put them over there. And he put his hands right next to one of the charges and burnt his hand. To make matters worse, there was a revolving door of directors. Casino Royale had five directors. Working in different studios all over England. Literally I used to get up in the morning and have to try and remember which studio to drive to today. And while Feldman was busy running a circus, the unlikely trio of Cubby, Harry and Connery were suiting up to begin You Only Live Twice. Connery's last ride is Bond, perhaps. When they start work on the fifth James Bond film, you've got two partners that are not getting on and you've got a star that wants out. It became apparent that the only way Cubby and Harry could work together was if they took the lead on consecutive Bond films. They were still fully a partnership but increasingly they were on the set together on fewer and fewer occasions. And this time, Cubby was going to be the main producer on You Only Live Twice. And so producing solo in Japan, Cubby raced to get You Only Live Twice into the theaters. But it wouldn't be before Feldman's chaotic Casino Royale hit the big screen, premiering in April 1967. The result was a debacle. There are fun sequences. Then there are real stupid sequences. It's just out of control. The film to me never really made any sense. I've always found it to be quite enjoyable. A lot of people hate it. It's very far-fetched and very over the top. It's such a funny romp. Well, having played his vital hand, Casino Royale was the big payday Feldman had been waiting for. Casino Royale is actually pretty successful at the box office. It shows just how popular Bond was, even the spoof of James Bond. However, in the end, it was fate who dealt the final blow. Charles Feldman died the year after Casino Royale was released. But Casino Royale, of course, would live on. But we'll get to that. In 1967, just two months after the release of Casino Royale, You Only Live Twice had a royal premiere dripping with glitz and glamour. But as it hit theaters, the double dose of 007 left audiences confused as to which film was the real deal. The marketing campaign for Casino Royale didn't always overtly show that it was a madcap comedy. Peter Sellers is James Bond. A lot of people thought that was the official James Bond movie that year. A mistake Feldman and company were more than happy to embrace. This is extortion. Extortion is my business. But for Cubby and Harry, this misunderstanding had a very negative effect on ticket sales for You Only Live Twice, bringing in about 20% less than Thunderball. You Only Live Twice becomes this place where Bond plateaus. Whether it was the competition of Casino Royale or the loss of collaboration of Brockley and Salzman, Bond mania seemed to be dying down. We shall see a new power dominating the world. The story had gotten a little tired. But perhaps this was an opportunity for Eon to change things up a bit. Cubby and Harry were confident that they could pursue James Bond without Sean Connery. So confident, they began their search for a new man to fill the 007 shoes. But there was still a burning question facing Cubby and Harry. How was anybody going to follow Sean Connery as James Bond? Nonetheless, the show had to go on. In 1968, the biggest cast and call in movie history began to find the next James Bond. Almost every leading man anyone could think of was suggested. The attempts to replace Connery were all over the place. Everybody's name was in the ring. Can you imagine Adam West? Of course. How clever. Burt Reynolds. For the good old American life. Oliver Reed. You kill Buckingham or had him killed, it's no matter to me. Clint Eastwood as James Bond. I know what you're thinking. I don't know. Tim Dalton was young in his 20s and they loved him and he said, I'm a baby. I can't do this. How could I know? Can you imagine Dick Van Dyke as James Bond? Oh, it's you. Hello. Ah, you get the idea. Pretty much everybody was under consideration. But a big star would demand a big salary and contract and might quickly grow tired of the role just as Connery had. But what if? They could take an unknown and make him James Bond. And they would stick with this role and they would be groomed to be Bond and grow in the role and everybody would end up happy. And while a challenge finding a replacement for Connery was expected, where they'd end up would be anything but. In 1968, producers Cubby and Harry were facing the ultimate dilemma. How is anybody gonna follow Sean Connery as James Bond? And as they scoured the globe searching for that perfect blend of charm and suavity, they encountered a candidate who was nothing like they had seen before. This is George Lazenby. I'm George Lazenby and I did a lot of things for money. At the time, to earn some money. There was a chocolate candy known as Big Fry. And Lazenby was the guy who played the Big Fry Man. Didn't have a lot of experience as an actor, he was a model. I didn't know anything about the film business. But... He was the right height, the right build. He's Australian. And the story is incredible. And that story starts with a suggestion from an astute would-be renter. I was renting my place out in King's Road, London, and there was a guy who wanted to rent it called Ron O'Reilly. He said to me, you make a good James Bond, they're looking for him. He introduced me to Maggie Abbott. She was the one that persuaded George Lazenby to go and see the film's casting director, Dyson Lovell. So to prepare for the role, he did all he could to look the part. Starting with his part at the barber shop in the Dorchester Hotel. George went to the barber where Sean Connery got his hair styled and he said, I want you to cut my hair to look like James Bond in Doctor No. Next stop was Anthony Sinclair, the tailor who famously made the simple conduit cut suits Sean Connery wore as James Bond. I found out where Connery got his suits made and they were ridiculous. They were like 10 weeks wages. And I was walking out the door and the guy said, hang on a minute. I got one that he didn't want. Next thing I know, I tried it on and it fit perfectly. With the look complete, all George had to do was get past the casting director's secretary, which should have been no real challenge for a fledgling spy. George Lazenby turns up and he doesn't even have an appointment. He runs past the secretary, up the stairs and into the office where he found Lovell on the phone to Harry Saltzman. Dyson Lovell looked him up and down and said, I think we may have a contender. Harry said, bring him over straight away. By his force of will, he earned a spot as a potential candidate for James Bond. I shall be happy to start straight away. Admired a **** you attitude and that they liked. Now an official candidate for the role of Britain's favorite spy. His first call, dear old mom and dad. I called him up. I said, don't tell anybody, Bill. I'm up for James Bond. And mom says, oh, are you, son? That's good. But he hadn't won the role yet. George Lazenby went through a very rigorous screen test to actually win the part. I was a karate guy and I could shoot a gun. I was playing James Bond in life. He rode horses. He did swimming. They tested me in every which way you can imagine. Some ways it was hard to imagine. They even sent a girl around to see if I was gay. This guy, he knocks on my door at the Dorchester. And he says, there's a girl here who wants to know you. She comes in and she's getting undressed. I said, Jesus, does she want to know me? Quick. When I finished, I said, come on, it's your turn. He said, no, no, I'm fine. And he left with her. And I said, that was strange. It was when the pill came out and there was nothing that would kill you. Those were great times. But there was still the matter of the audition. And George would beat everyone to the punch. One day they were screen testing George. And they wanted to rehearse him for a fight scene. And I'd never done a fight scene. And he came at me and I just hit him on the chin. Down he went. Harry comes over and grabs hold of me. He said, well, go on, would you? Tell anybody and the deal's off. I hope I can live up to your high standards. I'm thinking, God, what about him? I don't give a ----. And while George was certainly lucky to land the role of a lifetime, as it turns out, he was lucky to even be there in the first place. I was told that I was going to die before I was a man because I only got half a kidney. Doctors told George's parents he would be lucky to live beyond the age of 12. I went through life thinking I was going to die. I thought, well, I'm going to die. I might as well have a good time. With their new bond in place, Eon Productions made the move to lock in their new star. They tried to get ways and be assigned for a multi-picture deal. Cubby and Harry would try to convince George to commit to the role of Bond long term. I didn't really care for either of them. You know, they were ruthless. But Eon was persistent. Sign my ******* contract, I'd say. And I said, I'll sign the contract when I get my lawyers to look at it. Surely the lawyers could iron out the details. After all, they were all on the same team. Contracts don't necessarily adhere to production schedules. You know, we're all basically on the same page here. Now we have to hammer out a contract. In the meantime, Salzman and Broccoli still had a movie to cast. And they started by bringing back the original actors who played M, Q, and Moneypenny from the Connery films. Same old Moneypenny. To make sure the audience knew this was a Bonafide Bond film, next on the docket was the villain of the film. Peter Hunt said he did not like Donald Pleasant and wanted someone more threatening. For one thing, Donald Pleasant was five foot seven. And with George standing eye to eye with Sean, they'd need a more imposing Blofeld than Donald Pleasant, who played the role in You Only Live Twice. So Tully Savalas was brought in. Who's American and speaks with a slight New York accent. You'll be very useful in helping to convince the authorities that I mean what I say. With the villain out of the way, producers turned their eyes to the next Bond girl. But this wasn't just any Bond girl. This was to be James Bond's wife. Will you marry me? Till death do they part. Oops! Spoiler! The idea was that when Sean Connery was going to make it, he was going to star opposite Brigitte Bardot. When George Lazenby, an inexperienced actor, takes on the role, they feel they want someone much more experienced than him. They cast Diana Rigg as his co-star. Diana Rigg had recently been on The Avengers. I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger initiative. No, not the Marvel Avengers. This was a television series born from Bond mania, and it made Diana Rigg a pop culture figure all on her own, as it had also done for Honor Blackman, who went on to play Pussy Galore in Goldfinger. It can't be a coincidence that she was starring in The Avengers, having taken over from Honor Blackman, who found stardom in The Avengers and quit to do Goldfinger. Business before pleasure. But Diana Rigg would be more than just another Bond girl to fans of the series. I'm not interested in your opinion of me, Mr. Bond. Tracy DiVincenzo is one of my favorite women in the franchise. She's somebody who's going through some deep emotions and someone who is greatly empowered over time. Diana Rigg's character would be an equal to 007, taking up far more screen time than most other Bond girls had in the past. I've always argued that we've already had our first woman Bond. I think that she's a stronger character. She's more compelling. She's got better fashion sense. It's the strength of Diana Rigg's acting. No sign of her yet. Or someone saying thank you. This was an experienced actress that could bring a lot of emotion to the role. Producers were counting on the seasoned supporting cast to elevate their young star. The ideas have great actors around him who are going to help him lift his performance up. But as it turns out, this amateur agent would find himself stumbling throughout the production. You know, that's a problem when you're an actor like Clasenby. The filmmakers surrounding you don't have the confidence that you're going to be able to pull it off. That had to have been unnerving for him. With a cast full of seasoned actors and a first-time lead in late 1968, Eon Productions was able to make the film they'd been intending since 1964. It was a story that would find Bond falling in love, battling the sinister Blofeld, and ultimately losing his new wife to the villain. On Her Majesty's Secret Service is one of the Bond films that's incredibly close to the original Ian Fleming novel. And maybe most importantly, Cubby and Harry were willing to allow somebody that had never directed a feature film before the reins of a James Bond film. Eon was turning to their long-time editor Peter Hunt to take the reins of this next installment of Bond. They thought by the time On Her Majesty's came along that he was ready for it. And ready or not, it wouldn't be a walk in the park for the new director. On Her Majesty's Secret Service had a lot of things going for it, but a lot of things going against it. And the first thing going against it was their new star. Lazenby had a swagger and an arrogance about him, but I think also an insecurity about him. Does this mean you've lost confidence in me? Insecurity isn't something 007 is known for, but could anyone really blame George? He hadn't acted for more than 30 seconds before making a James Bond movie, one of the biggest movies in the world. It was like Sean Connery's gig, and I broke into it. And Sean Connery's shoes were anything but easy to fill. This never happened to the other fella. And you can imagine you're constantly being compared to Connery, and at a certain point you may want to flex your muscles a little bit and say, I am James Bond. My name's Bond. James Bond. He was telling himself that he let his ego overtake him. I got to the point where I could do anything. I'd take it over. But it wasn't all bad. Up on the snowy peaks of the Alps, the actors were steadily into their roles and their lodging. We were in the most beautiful scenery of the Alps in Switzerland, staying at a very nice hotel. All the girls, we got along brilliantly. So it was like a party. A party that George was starting to grow tired of. I was very happy when we got to Switzerland. But then after being on that mountain for about a month, I said, jeez, I got to get off this thing. Why did you want to get off the mountain so bad? Because I loved all the girls. The ones that were there, I used to be screwing one and one would be banging on my wall. Stop that, you're making me horny. After you've been through the 10 or 12 girls they had up there, you're looking for another one. Oh, he had so many girls, but I didn't see any of that. He came, he worked, he went home. I was young and crazy for women. I said, give me the helicopter so I could go into Switzerland and have some fun. We'd go to clubs and pubs and I'd pull a chick, take her to a hotel and give them the bill. George pursued his insatiable appetite with wild abandon. Those were great times. As a side note, not without consequence. One day a girl, she came and knocked on my door and said, my mother just told me you're my father. And I thought, Jesus, how many of these have I got around the place? Well, leaving George to contemplate his life choices, back on the set, they still had a movie to make. And it wasn't exactly going swimmingly. Peter Hunt had some friends up on the set while they were shooting. And Peter Hunt, he had a bunch of gay guys around. And George asked that the set be cleared of everybody who was unnecessary. They disappeared, all the gay guys. That irked Peter Hunt off. Peter Hunt, he didn't like me. He's gay. I don't know what that had anything to do with it. I never said anything against homosexuals. I said, Jesus, the more the better. More women for me. Tensions between the director and the new star grew worse and worse each day. It hasn't been a lot of the time it wasn't engaged about the part of the role he was playing. According to what Peter told me, that was all one-sided. Despite the tension, producers were still trying The fact is, they wanted to rehire him. They wanted him to come back. So his behavior can't have been that bad. They offered me movies and money and everything to do another Bourne movie. And that was in no small part due to George's ability to perform stunts. He slid on the ice carrying a machine gun. He's jumping out of the helicopter and he mixed up in the fight scenes. He wanted to make it authentic. He was a big, burly Australian guy. And they limited the use of stuntmen for that film to replace him. Lazenby dislocated his shoulder a few times. Peter Hunt said, you're a big boy. You're from Australia. Just go out there and act. But the problems continued. Winter of 68 in Switzerland was unusually mild. And there wasn't enough snow to film the action scenes. But time is money. So much of the crew moved back to England so they could continue to film. But with work still to do in the Alps, Peter Hunt hired his longtime collaborator John Glenn to help clean up the mess left back on the Swiss mountain. John Glenn had grown up in British film, had done a lot of spy TV. Peter Hunt was an old colleague of mine. We were both young assistant editors. And when he was in a bit of trouble on The Magisters, he thought of me. Peter Hunt knew from experience the benefits that the path from editor to director could yield. David Lean was a film editor, became one of the world's greatest directors. So it's a very good way in to becoming a director. First on the docket for John, the bobsled chase between Bond and Blofeld. It was on the side of an original Bobsleigh course. And that course had been closed for some rather unfortunate accidents. They had several fatalities on the course, so they closed it down. So we resurrected it. But John would be faced with many of the same weather delays that Peter had experienced in the Alps. When the sun eventually did come out, you couldn't shoot after two o'clock in the afternoon because the ice started to melt. And melting ice would render the bobsled track too risky to use. But John, he was there to do a job and he wasn't about to slack off on the company dime. I filled in the time by shooting inserts, you know, like close shots of hands on the steering for the Bob run. Bullet hits on the cowling of the Bob and you keep shooting no matter what. All the while, there was another unit filming in the Alps alongside John, but they weren't exactly utilizing their time well. When you have continual bad weather, the unit really gets quite, not lazy, but they start playing cards and they forget what they're there for. And those impromptu card games would still provide a valuable lesson the day Cubby Brockley came to the set. The other second unit, they got to a stage where they didn't even bother to go up to the unit in the morning if the weather was bad. So when Cubby arrived on the set, there wasn't a soul to be seen. Cubby arrived at the hotel lounge to discover the other second unit sitting around filming nothing. I think he fired half of them straight away. With half the crew now unemployed, Cubby would turn to resourceful John to apply his time management skills to the rest of the filming in the Alps. I took over the whole direction, the rest of the action sequences. He was inventive and resourceful, and this was duly noted by Cubby Brockley at the time. With that order of business out of the way, Cubby looked around the set and found another equally important executive producer task, testing out the bobsled. He came up onto the Bob run one day and he said to me, I'd like to travel down. So we got the four-man Bob out and Cubby occupied two seats in the center of the Bob. Unfortunately, I was forced to do it as well. Perhaps flying down the bobsled was just what John Glenn needed to inspire him to direct the now legendary ski chase as Bond escaped from Pease Gloria. Olemassie Secret Service was the first major movie to employ ski action sequences. Partially shot by Hunt, John Glenn was tasked with covering all the stunt work to complete the scene. And George's inexperience would mean John would have to think on his feet, even if the actors didn't. The most difficult thing I had with George was keeping him off the skis. He desperately wanted to ski and he hadn't been trained as a skier. I'm not a sporting man, Drew, even when I'm at my best. I had a sledge specially made where actors would kneel on the sledge and then we had all these ace skiers all dancing around off camera, throwing up snow to make it look realistic. But what's the point of realistic action if you can't even see it? There's a scene where Telly Savalas lets off her flare. When I shot those scenes, I had to change the script to incorporate the flares and I called Peter in Portugal and he said, yeah, go for it. Peter absolutely trusted me. And Peter's trust in John would pay off. We end up with all this incredible skiing footage from Cameron skiing forwards, backwards, and it probably made for one of the most exciting ski case sequences that's ever been committed to film. With John Glenn handling the snowy stunts in Switzerland, Peter Hunt was in Portugal, concentrating on the emotional core of the film. When we got to Portugal, the wedding scene was the first thing we did. Shooting out of order and cutting straight to the Neptules. If there's anything you ever need. Thank you, Q, but this time I've got the gadgets. And there wasn't a dry eye in the house as Bond took his vows to have and to hold to death do they part. Oh, yeah, well, we'll get to that part later. Up next was... The fight scene on the beach. George and I went down the beach. Peter said, OK, boys, go in the sea and let's see some action. It was April and it was cold. Freezing. I could tell by the size of my dick. So George said to Peter, he said, Peter, look, he said, we're freezing cold. He said, can't you get two stunt boys to do this? Peter said, George, this is the opening scene of the film. You've got to do your own stunt work. Peter Hunt came back with two bottles of Portuguese brandy. Now come and have a real good pull. After the liquid courage, director Peter Hunt gave one more quick pep talk. He said, OK, you two, knock the **** out of each other. And knock they did, putting their hearts and livers into their work. Sorry about the preponderances, but it wouldn't be the same if I didn't laugh. And Terrence had to hold his breath for a while, too. That was filmed three months later in the studio. And would you believe it was Peter Hunt holding me underwater? Not many people know that, but now you know. But there was one more scene to film, the traditional James Bond cinematic ending. There was sort of a Bond formula, and that formula is that Bond ends up with a woman in his arms. When Bond marries Tracy DiVincenzo, she dies shortly after in the film. Bond is holding a woman in his arms at the end, but it's a dead woman for whom he's loved. George Lazenby, he played it at first crying with tears and was told by Peter Hunt, James Bond does not cry. The final version, you see, he has cried. His eyes are wet. I think it creates a wonderful moment. There's no hurry, you see. We have all the time in the world. It certainly felt very different. But were audiences that were going to see that film ready for an ending like that? Whether or not audiences would accept a bleak Bond ending would have to wait for the film's release. And as for how fans would react to the new face of 007, it was up in the air as to whether Lazenby was going to stick around and find out. Lazenby had been irritated by the end of the film. And with the film almost complete, there was still the now rather pressing matter of that contract George was having his lawyers look at. As the picture was being finished, Lazenby says that not only Saltzman, the United artist, told him to sign the contract. And they did everything they could to sweeten the deal. They got the money. They'd give me any film I wanted to do in between. I mean, they made me offers like you can't believe. Harry Saltzman offered him a million dollars for a five-picture deal. But I don't need a million pounds. Stop it. I never signed it. To this day, I've not signed it. Having refused to sign Eon's contract for more Bond films, George announced it to the world. Lazenby declared, I'm not returning as James Bond. I have the honor to request you will accept my resignation, effective forthwith. Lazenby was an unknown male model. No one could have ever believed that he would not sign the contract. As it turns out, the potential tenant that had first inspired George to try for the part of Bond was now assuring him that there were greener pastures on the horizon. Ron O'Reilly said, don't sign the freaking contract. Lazenby was advised by his close associates that it was a moment for the counterculture. Easy Rider, Peter Fonda, motorcycle films, that's the way to go. Bond will never last into the 70s. Quit while you're ahead, do the one film, get some name recognition, and get out. And Eon's perspective on the matter? They were passing around the word that he didn't quit, that they fired him. To say Broccoli and Salzman took it personally is an understatement. If I was working on a movie, they'd call up and say, you'll never release your movies under contract to us, because I wouldn't sign their contract. So I couldn't get a job anywhere. Being James Bond and not having any money is weird. And George's antics didn't win him any favors with the director either. I saw Peter in London, and I said, hey, Peter, it's me. And he says, I know, and kept walking. Eon may have been done with their new James Bond, but they still needed him to fill theaters. Cubby said we were left with the dilemma of having to promote a new James Bond, but one that no one was ever going to see again. On Her Majesty's Secret Service had a fascinating marketing campaign unique to the Bonds, like posters, rich art, and all these hand-drawn paintings and photos and things, but no face shown. It's certainly not Sean Connery, but could be a not very good painting of Sean Connery. And to make matters worse. He is saying things in the press that are not particularly kind. The people around me weren't exactly helpful, all of them. But I did all the shows, talk shows. Johnny Carson, he never asked me back again. He's not helping anybody's cause with that. Things came to a head when the studio asked their lead star not to attend the premiere. But maybe it was less to do with him bad-mouthing Eon and more to do with channeling his inner Easy Rider. They asked me not to go because I had a beard. During that time, I got a lot of publicity. Oh, well, I can grow a beard and a mustache. That'll help. Everything they didn't want. In December of 1969, On Her Majesty's Secret Service premiered in London. It was an event fit for a queen. Oh, it was a royal premiere, and it was quite an occasion. It was a magnificent experience. An experience Lazenby didn't intend to miss out on, beard or no beard. And we went. They had to let me in, of course. George was there with his big beard and his long hair, and he didn't look right. He didn't look right. Long hair or not, what was meant to be an occasion to celebrate the changing of the guard became a farewell to the one and done James Bond. And as for that bygone spy, well, he learned some lessons along the way. I don't regret not doing another one. When I think about it, I had a good life. I wasn't supposed to be here. I'm thinking every day is a lucky day. Is there anything I didn't ask you that you want to tell us? No, you can say I'm good in bed. On Her Majesty's Secret Service suffered a tremendous loss at the box office. They had made a gamble replacing James Bond with a nobody. A mistake Brockley and Salzman wouldn't make again. They tried to come back and do that again when they started casting for Diamonds Are Forever. Oh, scratch that. A gamble they were very willing to take again. They had signed American actor John Gavin to star in Diamonds Are Forever. That's when the studio stepped in. The brass at United Artists said no more blank checks. We're going to be more involved with the casting. What we'd really like is we'd like another film like Goldfinger. Which is another way of saying... We really want Sean back.