Cast and Crew:  Peter R. Hunt (Director); Richard Maibaum (Screenplay); Ian Fleming (Novel); Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman (Producers); John Glen (Editor); Lois Maxwell, Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, Joanna Lumley

What It’s About:  James Bond (George Lazenby) saves the life of Tracy (Diana Rigg), the daughter of mob boss Draco (Gabriele Frezetti).  Draco offers Bond information about the whereabouts of his nemesis Blofeld (Telly Savalas) if Bond will marry Tracy.  Bond agrees and unexpectedly falls in love with Tracy, but must go undercover to find out exactly what Blofeld is up to at an allergy research clinic in Switzerland before he can marry her.

Why Watch it Today?:   Composer John Barry, who died one year ago today, composed and conducted the music for 12 Bond movies.  On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is some of his best work in the entire series, with a theme song bad ass enough to make the title credits.  Although George Lazenby is not my favorite James Bond, he is a good fit for this role, far more believable as an in-love Bond than Connery would be.  Diana Rigg, who came to the series off of playing her own super spy heroine Emma Peel, is easily the best love interest Bond ever had-beautiful, smart, capable, and deadly.  Savalas is good if a bit unconventional, more physical than Donald Pleasence or Charles Gray, going head to head with Bond.   The film also features some of the best scenery and action scenes in the series, with great ski chases, a fight on a bob sled, and a helicopter assault.

Where to Get It:   Libraries, iTunes and Netflix