Memories of another Bond

MARQUEE

Though I haven't seen Casino Royale yet, I've heard many gushing things about Daniel Craig's reinvention of James Bond; these include "He's grittier and more matter of fact than Sean Connery and Roger Moore were" and "He's more sensitive, a New Age 007".

The latter observation derives largely from the fact that this is the first Bond film since 1969 to show the philandering spy in a serious relationship. He even, dare one say it, falls in love!

Ah, 1969. That was the year man landed on the moon, the Beatles gave their final public performance, Woodstock happened, Wal-Mart was incorporated...and James Bond wore a skirt, courtesy a couple of scenes that featured Australian actor George Lazenby (in his single appearance as the super-spy in On Her Majesty's Secret Service) in a kilt "" the plot has Bond masquerading as a Scottish heraldry expert.

Chauvinistic jokes about those scenes were all the rage at the time: Connery's Bond could charm any woman out of her skirt within 10 minutes of their acquaintance, young men boasted on their hero's behalf; but if Lazenby were around, he'd probably put the skirt on. (Ol' George nearly kilt the Bond franchise was another typical tagline. And so on.)

On Her Majesty's Secret Service has been something of a conundrum for many Bond fans. On the one hand, many critics and 007 aficionados consider it the definitive Bond movie.

It had all the elements the series is loved for, some outstanding action scenes, a strong villain (played by the menacing Telly Savalas), a very appealing heroine, Teresa di Vicenzo (played by the classy and reasonably well-respected TV actress Diana Rigg "" no one would ever dismiss her as just another Bond Girl), and the strongest relationship in the entire franchise.

Bond actually marries Teresa, and her tragic death in the climax gives the movie the unhappiest ending of any 007 film.

But even so, very few people were able to warm to the Australian's performance in the lead. He was beaten before his feet even touched the ground "" any actor replacing Connery would have been in a no-win situation.

But time has enabled us to see Lazenby's performance in a kindlier light. It's true that he wasn't as charismatic as his predecessor (how many actors were?), but his laconic portrayal was just as valid as Connery's loveably raffish one (and probably truer to the spirit of the Ian Fleming books "" not that that was ever a priority).

Lazenby's regular-guy-doing-an-irregular-job take on the character would probably have been better received if On Her Majesty's Secret Service had been made today; by all accounts, Daniel Craig has gone the same route in the new film.

Also, in today's world, where a leading male icon can appear on a magazine cover wearing a sarong, even the kilt scene might have worked quite well "" Lazenby's Bond was metrosexual decades before the word came into use, secure enough in his masculinity to be unmindful of the skirt riding above his knees even as he charmed the ladies at a party.

P S This is as good a time as any to recall that one of the names bandied about last year as a strong candidate for the new 007 was Orlando Bloom, whose most famous film role was as a fairy (okay, okay, Elf, same difference!) in the Lord of the Rings films.