ThoseBack on a legendary film –When James Bond started to attack the Schilthorn
None of the James Bond was as controversial as “in the secret service of His Majesty”. A voluminous work returns to the shooting, in the Bernese Oberland, of the film that has become cult.
Posted today at 2:53 p.m.
Australian George Lazenby delivered a completely acceptable service in front of the camera.
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- The most spectacular scenes of the film “In the secret service of His Majesty” were shot in the Bernese Oberland.
- If he did not have great success when he was released, the film is now considered a remarkable part of the adventures of the agent 007.
- The new book “The Blofeld Files” returns to the set. Its size as its content is exceptional.
In 1969, when he went out on screens, “on her Majesty’s secret service” (“In the secret service of His Majesty») Is first considered to be the weakest component of the adventures of the secret agent James Bond.
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With 87.4 million dollars, Peter Hunt’s film revenues at the world box office are significantly lower than those of almost all five predecessors, who put Sean Connery featured. The successor of the Scottish, the Australian George Lazenby, is considered soft and tasteless. It is true that the latter, 29, a model by profession, lack of experience as an actor.
Meeting at the top in front of the Piz Gloria panoramic restaurant: Tely Savalas (left) in the role of Blofeld and George Lazenby in that of James Bond.
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Today, positive criticisms are largely prevailing. “In the secret service of His Majesty” is even regularly praised as one of the most faithful adaptations of a novel by Ian Fleming. The intrigue, unusual, is akin to a romance at times.
Enjoy lobster in the mountain village of Mürren: the chef Josef Amrein serves the Bond Girl Mona Chong.
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For Markus Hartmann, president of James Bond Club Switzerland -The “older fan club of 007 in the world”-, “The film tells a very special story and goes deep. There are many romantic and tragic elements. In terms of content, this is one of the best leaps. ” The soft-movie’s moments of the film are accompanied by “We have all the time in the world”, by Louis Armstrong.
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An alpine decor that has become cult
But what makes the film 142 minutes – the longest James Bond Until 2006 – really cult, it is its alpine decor. The scenes were shot in Bernese Oberland Under the direction of Peter Hunt, and especially of the second team director, John Glen.
George Lazenby surrounded by James Bond Girls at the Mürren Palace hotel, with a view of the Eiger. He will be the only James Bond of the Australian.
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It is to these scenes that the work “The Blofeld Files– Reference to Ernst Stavro Blofeld, one of the jurors of the secret agent, embodied here by Tely Savalas.
With its 27 x 33 centimeters and 3.2 kilos, the book is large, very bulky. It costs just over 100 francs, with an initial draw of 5,000 copies. It is, boasts the co -author Peter Wälty, “the most colorful and smartest leap book on the market”.
“The Blofeld Files” weighs 3.2 kilos. It costs just over 100 francs and has an initial draw of 5,000 copies.
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Difficult to verify all the information of the work, as the publications on the secret agent of His Majesty abound. Released in 2009 for the 40e Birthday of the film, “The Making of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” by Charles Helfenstein describes behind the scenes in a very detailed way and with excellent illustrations. The book is considered essential by fans.
Many new images to savor
What makes “The Blofeld Files” really unique are its more than 700 photographs, many of which are unpublished. Most are taken from photographic archives From the Federal Polytechnic School of Zurich (EPFZ) and the Ringier publishing house, as well as private collections.
When madness James Bond was blowing throughout the Alpin village of Mürren, to schoolchildren …
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… And to the carriage driver.
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-Construction work in Schilthorn, arrival of the filming team in Mürren, avalanche at Tschingelgrat, figure skating in Grindelwald, pursuit of cars in Lauterbrunnen, bobsleigh race at AllMendhubel, excursions to Berne and Zurich, waterfalls, festivals, etc.: photographed themes go in all directions.
The book can be tasted by slices, failing which it is the overdose that is watching for.
The Bernese Ruedi von Allmen was considered one of the team’s most daring cascaders.
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If it is above all a book of photographs, the texts are nevertheless full of unprecedented information-with the foreword by George Lazenby, the interpreter of the secret agent, and Steven Saltzmann, the son of producer Harry Saltzmann.
A circuit has been built from scratch between Lauterbrunnen and Stechelberg for a car race sequence.
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Dimol: the texts are in English only, the authors having found that their previous work devoted to James Bond, “The Goldfinger Files(Ed. Steidl, exhausted), had been mainly sold in the United States, Asia and Latin America.
Mannequins are used for ski scenes.
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Hubert Fröhlich’s decisive role
According to the epilogue, the notes of the German production director Hubert Fröhlich, who will then work on the action film “Le Mans” (1971, with Steve McQueen), were “central” for the design of the work. According to “The Blofeld Files”, “he tells himself with covered words that he would have been blacklisted due to financial irregularities that occurred during the shooting of” On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. “
Hubert Fröhlich on the set. Usually very active, he needed to take a break from time to time.
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What is certain is that the producer played a decisive role. It was he who unearthed the village of Mürren, to which he had remained very attached, and the famous panoramic restaurant of Schilthorn, renamed since Piz Gloria. Died in 2005, he rests in Interlaken.
“Unique waterfalls”
With this book, the co -author Peter Wälty wanted to pay a grand tribute to his favorite James Bond. Why this preference? “The film is characterized by hard realism, without compromise action scenes and breathtaking chases. The frantic shots on snowy slopes and ski waterfalls are unique! ” he replied.
An explosive face-to-face which ends with the destruction of PIZ Gloria.
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Peter Wälty also remembers the first time he saw the film. He was then 16 years old and was on a ski vacation in Grindelwald. “I think I had tears in my eyes during the final scene. And I was then fascinated by the fact that I was sitting in the middle of the film, in the Bernese Oberland. The next day, at Lauberhorn, I imitated his style of skiing! ”
«The Blofeld Files“, From Peter Wälty and Steffen Appel, Éditions Bleuchamp, 105 francs (in English only).
Alex Karlen is a freelancer at the “Berner Oberländer”. Before his retirement in early 2024, he was his editor -in -chief and deputy. Editor -in -chief. After studying German and journalism in Zurich, he had worked for NZZ and Telekurs AG and WEF in Davos, among other things, before he reinstated to the Oberland around 40 years ago.More info
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