Her Majesty was actually Ian Fleming’s second book in the so-called Blofeld trilogy set between Thunderball and You Only Live Twice. He was 33 for 1963’s Blofeld debut From Russia With Love, 34 by 1964’s Goldfinger, 35 in 1965’s Thunderball, and 37 in 1967’s You Only Live Twice. But, since the movies were made in a different order, the stories were altered for the screen. Happy 77th birthday to George Lazenby! The Maximilian Largo character in this movie was called Emilio Largo in Thunderball (1965). Dr. No (1962) • From Russia with Love (1963) • Goldfinger (1964) • Thunderball (1965) • You Only Live Twice (1967) • Diamonds Are Forever (1971) George Lazenby: On … Hunt talks about all the Bond films in which he was involved, as well as several of the actors and reveals his somewhat surprising opinion on Roger Moore as Bond and Thunderball. George Lazenby. This movie was based on the original Thunderball (1965) screenplay, and not the script for the released version of Thunderball (1965). George Lazenby Lazenby in But Lazenby has a gentle screen presence, one that harkened back to the first two James Bond films, rather than predecessors ‘Thunderball’ (1965) and ‘You Only Live Twice’ (1967), adding a much needed humility to the series, while providing a sex appeal that only Pierce Brosnan has … Connery was 41 in when he returned to the role and replaced George Lazenby in his final outing as Bond, 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever. I visited Oslo, Norway last week for the James Bond in Oslo red carpet gala held on the 1st of September, at which Lazenby was the guest of honour and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was screened in restored 4K. Connery's Bond also swigged Turkish raki in a gypsy camp outside Istanbul in From Russia with Love (1963) and drank a rum Collins in Thunderball (1965). The 007 of the books is different from the 007 of the movies, and Sean Connery is James Bond for the film-going audience (with apologies to George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan). If Thunderball is the first Bond film in which the series begins to repeat itself – or, pardon the expression, starts to tread water – that would not have been an issue if Eon had made OHMSS instead: a story in which Bond suffers a great tragedy that will further define his character. Lazenby’s co-star, Diana Rigg, said in a 2011 interview to the BBC, “Poor old George. I don’t know what he’s doing now, but he was definitely the architect of his own demise as a film star. It shouldn't be a surprise that the audience feels cheated by a George Lazenby … 2. The underwater sequences, which are choreographed and directed with great skill, are Thunderball's standout feature. Well, he never played the official Bond again, but he still came back as 007 in 1983's Never Say Never Again, a non-canon remake of Thunderball from co-writer Kevin McClory. Peter Hunt Interview - posted in George Lazenby (1969): I thought some members might find this interview interesting, I certainly did. Four Bond girls were also honoured at this event: Martine Beswick from From Russia with Love and Thunderball, Caroline Munro from The Spy …