MovieChat Forums > On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) Discussion > What was the opinion on Lazenby replacin...

What was the opinion on Lazenby replacing Connery at the time?

posted 7 years ago by KingCobra686
3 replies | jump to latest

I'm curious what the public perception of Lazenby replacing Connery was, back when OHMSS came out. Was it negative or positive? Is anyone here old enough to have been around and seen the reactions?

Recasting the main character of a big franchise is a major event for those movies, but by the time I started watching 007 movies they were already into the Brosnan era. Changing the Bond actor every 5 or so movies was just part of the franchise and nothing new.

[–] LordBAElish (2015) 5 years ago

People were not enthusiastic about him. He had the job of replacing Connery, while he gave a good effort IMO, he couldn't.

[–] Roguemail (1565) 5 years ago

I think a lot of this depends on your earliest viewing of Bond movies when You were young, and the perception that stays with you in later life.

What I mean is, my first ever Bond movie experience as a kid in a cinema was Live And Let Die. I was aware of Connerys movies but had not seen any of them.

Therefore my abiding memory is of how totally awesome LALD was to a young kid. The history of Connerys involvement, problems and disagreements were meaningless to me.

And to this day that movie still holds a place in my memory, despite its flaws.

[–] liscarkat (16692) 5 years ago

After having seen all of the Bond movies since "Dr. No" when they debuted in theaters, I saw this one when it was released. I was skeptical about anybody, let alone an unknown actor, replacing Connery, but I was surprised at how good "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was. Lazenby didn't have a lot of charisma, but he got the job done, and Diana Rigg was one of the best Bond women, ever. Among the audience I was in, the consensus seemed to be that it was an entertaining entry in the series, and definitely not a failure. It's still one of my favorite Bond movies.