Hi! I’m Todd Gilchrist, Screen Rant’s Movies and Music Deputy Editor. I’ve always pursued media and entertainment as a generalist or a “master of none,” but James Bond is a film series that I’ve developed a more intimate knowledge of than some others. When I was offered the opportunity to champion the greatest entry in the franchise, the immediate — and only — choice was On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. If, for some reason, you don’t agree with this absolutely correct opinion, please leave me a comment below defending your choice!

Conceived in 1953 by novelist Ian Fleming and first adapted for the screen in 1962, James Bond has been a cinematic mainstay for more than 60 years. First played by Sean Connery, the character was formalized for moviegoers over his first five installments: a suave, calculating, cold-blooded killer with a tireless repertoire of special skills, from games of chance to international diplomacy, who always gets the girl (and, usually, a few of them). Following the maximalist (and by today’s standards especially, in many ways problematic) You Only Live Twice, Connery departed the franchise. Enter On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

OHMSS Changed and Deepened Bond After Connery Bid Him Adieu

Arriving at a time of tremendous cultural upheaval, OHMSS set itself apart from its predecessors in the very first scene: There’s no main тιтle song, and Bond doesn’t get the girl. Australian model-turned-actor George Lazenby, stepping in to replace Connery, cheekily observes, “This never happened to the other fellow.” Yet soon enough, Bond meets the young woman again: her name is Contessa Teresa “Tracy” di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg), and she’s the daughter of Marc-Ange Draco (Gabriele Ferzetti), the head of a European crime syndicate.

In Bond’s relentless pursuit of the international crime organization SPECTRE and its leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas), Bond quits MI6 and forms an alliance with Draco, who offers to provide tactical information in exchange for courting Tracy, who her father suggests needs a man to dominate her. Consequently, Bond brokers a partnership with the exact kind of individual he’d previously pledged to put away, and initiates a deeper relationship with a woman than he’d had in any of the earlier films. What subsequently occurs is that Bond gets out of his depths both emotionally and as an operative: the former when he falls completely in love with Tracy, and the latter when Blofeld uncovers his true idenтιтy and sends his minions to snuff the superspy out permanently.

The film further explores this in a dynamic, escalating action sequence when Bond, pursued by SPECTRE henchmen, is surrounded in a foreign environment with seemingly no place to turn and no confederates to rely upon. For the first time ever on screen (and really, one of the few ever in the franchise), we see Bond is worried. And then he’s subsequently rescued by Tracy in a combination of spectacular happenstance and some extremely skillful driving on her part.

OHMSS Has Influenced Every James Bond Adventure Since 1969

The subdued critical reaction to this film at the time resulted in the franchise’s producer, EON, re-hiring Connery at the then-staggering cost of $1.25 million for one more chapter (Diamonds are Forever, widely regarded as one of the worst in the series). Despite Lazenby’s general apтιтude for seeming unbothered and, conversely, his willingness to show Bond’s vulnerability, he was not a better Bond than Connery (he also announced halfway through production that he wouldn’t return to the role). But either in inspiration or relief, the Australian’s work has provided the backbone of virtually all of the films about Bond that have since been produced.

Roger Moore, his successor, played the role in a similar, easygoing way, albeit without as much emotional depth. In fact, Moore’s era as a whole felt like a rejoinder to the franchise’s attempt to factor in real-world complexity with OHMSS. If there’s a true compeтιтor in the “best Bond” compeтιтion against Connery, it would be Daniel Craig, but all of his films feel like descendants of the tone and storytelling from Lazenby’s.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service concludes, heartbreakingly, with the ᴀssᴀssination of Tracy as she and Bond depart for their honeymoon after marrying. It’s a gut punch to undercut the indisputably heroic triumphs of the Connery era. Also hinting at Bond’s retirement upon the union, the film establishes a psychological motive for his veteran status as a spy and (both personally and professionally) his callous treatment of women — choosing never again to get too close with anyone. What else is Craig’s Casino Royale but a retelling of a very similar origin story?

Modern Bond Films Frequently Reference OHMSS

Like Tracy, Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd is not simply another conquest or notch on Bond’s bedpost, but a formidable, accomplished counterpart who keeps Bond on his toes — and eventually, whose love exposes his soft underbelly, and death precipitates a kind of emotional hardening for him. The Craig era actually pursues this storyline twice, the second time (I’d argue to diminishing effect) with Lea Seydoux’s Madeleine Swann in Spectre, and ultimately in No Time To Die. But OHMSS set the precedent for these journeys to occur, which is also why the directors of these newer installments layer in references to it in their films.

As mentioned, OHMSS does not have an opening theme song, but it does feature one of the best songs in Bond history: Louis Armstrong’s swoon-worthy “We Have All The Time In The World.” Its central melody gets quoted multiple times in Bond films over the years, but most notably in Hans Zimmer’s score for No Time To Die as Bond and Madeleine are driving up the sun-dappled cliffsides of Matera, Italy, at the beginning of the film.

Ultimately, there are better actors to play Bond than Lazenby. It’s sometimes tough to compare action scenes from the earlier films to those that are more recent, but certainly, there are entries that set new pinnacles for the character to fight his way through. (Though a lesser film by other standards, Licence To Kill features some of the best practical stunts in franchise history, without even needing to reference, say, the parkour chase that opens Casino Royale.)

But Lazenby’s entry not only delivers great set pieces and a great story, but establishes the building blocks that would become a foundation for James Bond as we know and relate to him today. There’s a reason Steven Soderbergh calls it the best Bond movie, and that Christopher Nolan stole liberally (and affectionately) from it for the climax of Inception. As noted in the film on his family crest, Bond’s motto is “The World Is Not Enough,” but more than any other film about the character, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was the one to show audiences exactly how big a world Bond’s truly is.

Think I’m wrong? Want to argue Craig’s movies are superior? Love a bit of Moore? Prove it in the comments.