MovieChat Forums > On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) Discussion > Bond's Box of Memories

Bond's Box of Memories

posted 8 years ago by eholzapfel26
5 replies | jump to latest

I couldn't find mention of this in the Trivia section - but when Bond is in his office, after he's just tendered his resignation to "M," he's seen packing up his belongings.

He pulls multiple items out to place in his box, and each item is something from the former movies. For instance, I think the first item he holds up is the knife belt that was worn by Ursula Andress in "Dr. No".

Can anyone identify all the items, which movie they were from and what role they played?

P.S. Why wouldn't such an interesting piece of trivia be in the trivia section?

[–] garree 8 years ago

The items are:

Honey Ryder's belt from Dr. No.

The watch Red Grant tried to strangle Bond with in Bond with in From Russia With Love. This scene was on the train.

Bond's underwater breathing apparatus from Thunderball.

[–] eholzapfel26 8 years ago

Thank you. This was a first watch for me (but have been watching the original Bond films in order). I couldn't place the watch with what appeared to be a garote wire. Now I remember the scene on the train!

It's interesting that they referenced three previous Bond films in the first film where a different actor played Bond (but I don't recall Sean Connery referencing the other movies in his prior films as 007.)

[–] garree 8 years ago

I hope you are enjoying the films! :-)

The producers at the time (Broccoli and Saltzman) were in nothing short of a minor panic. They'd lost their star, who as part of the promotional material for just the previous film, was loudly proclaimed as "Sean Connery IS James Bond". So to be without him was a major challenge at the time. We all look forward to who the next Bond will be, but in the late 60s, they did anything but.

They were even apparently considering having an elaborate scene depicting Bond undergoing plastic surgery, so they could explain the change in appearance. However in the end, they thankfully just decided to go for a straightforward recast.

There are other trinkets to remind the viewer that they are still watching the same film series though. Watch the egg timer in the opening credits for example... Lazenby even makes fun of the fact that he's different too by saying after his inaugural fight "this never happened to the other fella".

So yes, Bond was never meant to change actor like he does now, but given the crisis the series was facing at the time, I actually quite like how they handled their first changeover. Even if they did get a rather uninterested Connery back for the next one.

Hope this helps explain it a bit :-)

[–] eholzapfel26 8 years ago

Thanks. As more time goes on and with more Bond films under my belt I seem to like Lazenby more and more, especially with the premiere of Roger Moore's Bond. Nothing wrong with Moore's acting, but he just doesn't look like a Bond (he looks like a Saint!) ;)

I didn't think Lazenby's acting was as awful as some say. It's true he didn't have the chops of Connery, but his look was very good for Bond.

[–] KingCobra686 7 years ago

I think its strange that they intentionally put these items in there to show continuity from the previous movies, but also made a plot that broke continuity from the last movie. If he is the same guy as Connery, how did Blofeld not instantly recognize him in OHMSS?