What If George Lazenby Had Signed That Seven Picture Contract?

BIG TAM

How would the '70s & early '80s films have turned out had dear old George not listened to Ronan O'Reilly? Difficult to analyse. One would imagine DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER might have become more of a revenge thriller with a Blofeld scheme shoe-horned in. From then on little may have changed. Lazenby's good at humour so that element may have stayed. Slapstick's not George's forte, so that would have been curtailed. Perhaps audiences may have eventually died off as the STAR WARS generation kicked in. I just can't imagine George wandering around space stations, battling Jaws for some reason.

What's everybody's thoughts on this most tantalising of ideas?

don p

i think he would have slotted into the roll well

The Domino Effect

One would hope that by the 6th film he might have been able to pull-off an English accent...and possibly learned to act.

Thunderpussy

I can imagine him in LALD and TMWTGG. Diamonds are forever would probably
of been less "Camp" He may even of stayed for TSWLM, But like Connery. I'm
sure he'd of gotten Bored with the role and left.

thesecretagent

I think he was a better actor towards the end of the film. He relaxed a bit. I quite liked him in the role.

don p

i agree. he did get better as the film went on,

Peppermill

"i agree. he did get better as the film went on"

I've heard this a lot before but does anyone know whether this movie was shot in sequence?

CJ007Goldeneye

Would of been a disaster.

Golrush007

To be honest, as much as I like On Her Majesty's Secret Service, I don't think George Lazenby was a good actor. I think it was probably for the best that he left the series. Perhaps he could have had another film or two, but I think the series would probably have died had be stayed on for seven. I don't think Lazenby had the talent to sustain the series over a long run.

Moore proved to be the right man for that time, and regardless of whether he was a great Bond or not, his charisma and comic touch kept the series going.

don p

i think Moore turned the whole thing into a joke, he didnt like the fights,, he flinched when he fired a gun, the scripting was awful ..

they needed to get back to the hard tough movies, which they did with \Brosnan,,

Dutchfinger

I think it would only have been better for DAF, but further more, I think it wouldn't have been much of a succes...
I'm not to keen of Lazenby personally... ( he's actually the only Bond i'm not to keen of... I even like both Dalton and Moore in there own way!)
The guy is a male model, he's not even an actor... I just think he never should have been casted in the first place...

Golrush007

don p wrote:

i think Moore turned the whole thing into a joke, he didnt like the fights,, he flinched when he fired a gun, the scripting was awful ..

they needed to get back to the hard tough movies, which they did with \Brosnan,,

I agree with you don p. I prefer a tougher Bond as well, but the Moore films seemed to suit the times that they were made in (just look at the box office figures for TSWLM and MR), but by the 80s times had changed again and a tougher Bond was needed.

Moore Than

From a physical stand point George Lazenby was fine, no problem. I can easily imagine an improvement in his acting but not to the level of the others. Besides, he had no charisma. I know I am biased but I just cannot imagine he would have been as popular a Bond as Roger Moore was at that time.

The Domino Effect

don p wrote:

i think Moore turned the whole thing into a joke, he didnt like the fights,, he flinched when he fired a gun, the scripting was awful ..

I'm not sure that any actor selected to play Bond has much power to 'change' Bond. The change comes from the producers via the writers and the director and the lead actor is then either cast to reflect that change or if already in place, directed to reflect that change. Even if Moore had wanted to turn Bond into a virtual caricature, he wouldn't have been able to do it without the director and script...and likewise had he attempted to make his Bond dark and hard it simply wouldn't have worked given the material.

Sir Miles

Peppermill wrote:

I've heard this a lot before but does anyone know whether this movie was shot in sequence?

It wasn't.

George's first day of filming - actually his first shot - was of him walking up the stairs in Piz Gloria resplendent in kilt -{

DrFragment

I would have loved to see GL in DAF, as a proper revenge thriller. OHMSS was a bloody good film / adapt of Fleming's novel. The begining of DAF totally loses / bypasses the end events of OHMSS. Because of that, I'll always rate it a poor film (which it is).

77007

No thanks. The Laze is big reason why I dont like OHMSS.

Fatsnbul

I think what if Peter Hunt got to direct the next 7 is the better question. I love the job he did with OHMSS. I think he would have kept the series gritty.

chrisisall

Fatsnbul wrote:

I think what if Peter Hunt got to direct the next 7 is the better question. I love the job he did with OHMSS. I think he would have kept the series gritty.

^^^^THIS!!!!

Manxman

Lazenby's performance in OHMSS is my favourite interpretation of Fleming's Bond, bar none. I'd go further and call it an acting tour de force in the most demanding Bond film. However, this was partly down to a perfect match between script and actor — Lazenby captures Bond's resigned, restive mood partly because he genuinely wasn't comfortable and enjoying himself. How he would have dealt with a script that was surreal and campy, I have no idea.

BIG TAM

I'm going to stick my neck out on this one & say Lazenby gives a better performance as Bond in OHMSS than Connery does in YOLT. I'm aware of Lazenby's shortcomings. Some of his line readings are a bit wooden, but he has a good physical presence & should be commended, as a non-actor, for carrying a 140 minute picture virtually on his tod. Sacrilege perhaps, but for me Connery gets by on star power alone. For some that may be enough but I like an actor to give at least a smidgen of effort in what he's doing. I'd like to think had Connery been given OHMSS to do as his fifth Bond he might have been compelled to commit some feeling to it. But I'm not entirely convinced.

don p

BIG TAM wrote:

I'm going to stick my neck out on this one & say Lazenby gives a better performance as Bond in OHMSS than Connery does in YOLT. I'm aware of Lazenby's shortcomings. Some of his line readings are a bit wooden, but he has a good physical presence & should be commended, as a non-actor, for carrying a 140 minute picture virtually on his tod. Sacrilege perhaps, but for me Connery gets by on star power alone. For some that may be enough but I like an actor to give at least a smidgen of effort in what he's doing. I'd like to think had Connery been given OHMSS to do as his fifth Bond he might have been compelled to commit some feeling to it. But I'm not entirely convinced.

hmmmm.. not sure if i agree with you here,, YOLT was a better film ijn my opinion,, however DAF was rubbish,, and maybe good old george might have been better in that film,,

Blackleiter

I disagree about Connery. Sure he had star power, but that came about largely as a result of his peformance as Bond. He appeared supremely confident and increasingly comfortable in the role, and sometimes I think he made it appear so effortless that it's mistaken for disinterest or laziness. I am a big fan of OHMSS and agree that Lazenby did a pretty good job considering his lack of experience as an actor. I would have enjoyed seeing Lazenby grow into the role. But to me, Connery was light years ahead.

BIG TAM wrote:

I'm going to stick my neck out on this one & say Lazenby gives a better performance as Bond in OHMSS than Connery does in YOLT. I'm aware of Lazenby's shortcomings. Some of his line readings are a bit wooden, but he has a good physical presence & should be commended, as a non-actor, for carrying a 140 minute picture virtually on his tod. Sacrilege perhaps, but for me Connery gets by on star power alone. For some that may be enough but I like an actor to give at least a smidgen of effort in what he's doing. I'd like to think had Connery been given OHMSS to do as his fifth Bond he might have been compelled to commit some feeling to it. But I'm not entirely convinced.

Moore Than

Blackleiter wrote:

I disagree about Connery. Sure he had star power, but that came about largely as a result of his peformance as Bond. He appeared supremely confident and increasingly comfortable in the role, and sometimes I think he made it appear so effortless that it's mistaken for disinterest or laziness. I am a big fan of OHMSS and agree that Lazenby did a pretty good job considering his lack of experience as an actor. I would have enjoyed seeing Lazenby grow into the role. But to me, Connery was light years ahead.

BIG TAM wrote:

I'm going to stick my neck out on this one & say Lazenby gives a better performance as Bond in OHMSS than Connery does in YOLT. I'm aware of Lazenby's shortcomings. Some of his line readings are a bit wooden, but he has a good physical presence & should be commended, as a non-actor, for carrying a 140 minute picture virtually on his tod. Sacrilege perhaps, but for me Connery gets by on star power alone. For some that may be enough but I like an actor to give at least a smidgen of effort in what he's doing. I'd like to think had Connery been given OHMSS to do as his fifth Bond he might have been compelled to commit some feeling to it. But I'm not entirely convinced.

Sean Connery was light years ahead as an actor but for much of You Only Live Twice he did not perform and was clearly disinterested. Part of the reason perhaps relates to the filming in Japan where he was besieged by the press/media. But I am pretty certain that at least part of it relates to Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman's refusal to make him a partner. Whatever the reason, it was a thoroughly unprofessional performance from an actor of his calibre.

I am no great fan of George Lazenby but I would rather have him than a bored and disinterested Connery.

GordoLeiter

Sean Connery from Dr.NO to Thunderball : "I love this role "
Connery YOLT&DAF : "Oh god please kill me X-( )

Lazenby : 8-) ...ill pass on the 7 movies thanks

chrisisall

GordoLeiter wrote:

Sean Connery from Dr.NO to Thunderball : "I love this role "
Connery YOLT&DAF : "Oh god please kill me X-( )

Lazenby : 8-) ...ill pass on the 7 movies thanks

Timothy Dalton from before TLD: "Let me do it seriously!"
Dalton after LTK: "It's a pleasant paycheck, but make me wait and I'll be on to other things."

GordoLeiter

chrisisall wrote:

GordoLeiter wrote:

Sean Connery from Dr.NO to Thunderball : "I love this role "
Connery YOLT&DAF : "Oh god please kill me X-( )

Lazenby : 8-) ...ill pass on the 7 movies thanks

Timothy Dalton from before TLD: "Let me do it seriously!"
Dalton after LTK: "It's a pleasant paycheck, but make me wait and I'll be on to other things."

Roger Moore all of his movies : )

chrisisall

GordoLeiter wrote:

Roger Moore all of his movies : )

Pierce Brosnan in Goldeneye: "YES!!!! Finally." -{
Brosnan during DAD: "They're killing me here...."

GordoLeiter

Craig : Just shut up and PAY ME! X-( X-( X-(

chrisisall

GordoLeiter wrote:

Craig : Just shut up and PAY ME! X-( X-( X-(

Yes, he does the job, has fun at it, and wants the money, in a way, the perfect Bond actor! B-)

BIG TAM

The sequence in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE where Bond first comes back from the dead on the submarine shows Connery at his most bored. Dear old Bernard Lee states how critical this mission is & Connery reacts as though he's just been asked to pop out for a pint of milk.