It is said that this film is the most watched spy film in history. If so, it's time well spent because this film illustrates just how good a Bond film can and should be, when simple sensory delights are combined with ingenious storytelling and other substantial filmmaking qualities.

Historical Background: Producer Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli had a winner in 1962 with Dr. No but a single successful film is a far cry from a franchise. When they set out to make a second film based on the novels by Ian Fleming and the Bond character, there was some question as to whether they could make the idea work again. For a storyline, they settled on Fleming's novel From Russia with Love, often considered the best of Fleming's works. Broccoli and Saltzman had no reason to tamper with their previous choice of a director, since Terence Young had acquitted himself so very nicely in the first Bond outing. Young would end up directing a total of three of the Bond adventures, later returning for his last time to helm Thunderball (1965). Nothing else in Young's career matched his three successes working with Saltzman and Broccoli, but Young can be credited with getting the most successful movie franchise in history off to a fast start. It was during Young's tenure in the series that the major ingredients of the Bond formula were established. From Russia with Love, for example, contributed the idea of the pre-credit sequence, established Q and his gadgets as a component of the stories, and brought long-time Bond composer John Barry on board.

The Story: The pre-credit sequence consists of a tense man to man showdown between James Bond (Sean Connery) and a blond assassin, Donald "Red" Grant (Robert Shaw). It's nighttime and they're moving through shadows and shrubbery, each keenly aware of the other's presence. Grant finally sneaks up behind Bond and wraps a wire around his neck and strangles him. Bond falls dead on the ground. Yes, you read that correctly! Bond killed in the first five minutes of the film! Oh, wait a minute. Suddenly some floodlights turn on and the trainer, Morzeny (Walter Gotell), approaches to congratulate Grant for finishing the job in just one minute and fifty-two seconds. Then Morzeny reaches down and removes a rubber mask from the dead man's face. It's not Bond after all, but a training exercise for SPECTRE assassins.

The credits now run against a stirring orchestral rendition of the title song and a collage of dancing girls and belly dancers. Words from the credits sometimes stretch across the female torsos like body paint. The film proper now opens on a chess championship in which Russian grandmaster Kronsteen (Vladek Sheybal) is pitted against an Anglo challenger. Kronsteen defeats his opponent with a brilliant coop. Immediately after completion of the match, Kronsteen reports to #1 at SPECTRE headquarters, Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Anthony Dawson, voice by Eric Pohlmann). Kronsteen, it seems, in addition to being a chess master, is Director of Planning for SPECTRE. He's agent #5. He and #3, Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya), have been called in to report on progress with the latest SPECTRE scheme – the theft of a Russian Lektor decoding machine and its resale to the U.S.S.R. for a hefty price. The plan, devised by Kronsteen and to be implemented by Klebb, entails hoodwinking British Secret Service agent James Bond and a Russian cryptographer, Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi). As a bonus, the plan will also bring about the death of James Bond, thus avenging his earlier assassination of SPECTRE operative Dr. No. "Let his death be a particularly unpleasant and humiliating one," says Blofeld.

Klebb's first order of business is to interview a candidate for the assassin's role in the plot. At the SPECTRE training facility, Grant, a murderer and psychopath, is brought before Klebb. She studies his physique, circles around the man, and then, wearing brass knuckles, punches him as hard as she can in the gut. When he doesn't flinch, she declares him "fit enough." He's to report to Istanbul in 24 hours. In Istanbul, Klebb, a former KGB agent, baits the trap for James Bond by secretly interviewing a Russian cipher clerk, Tatiana Romanova, who works at the Russian consul. "You're a fine looking girl," says Klebb, touching the beautiful young woman provocatively. The plan is for Tatiana to send a letter to MI6 declaring that she's fallen in love with James Bond from a picture of him on file at the Russian embassy. She's prepared to furnish the British with a stolen Lektor provided that Bond comes to Istanbul personally to bring her and the machine to England. Tatiana is led to believe that she undertaking this deception for Mother Russia, unaware that Klebb has defected to SPECTRE. "The Consul security man must not know," says Klebb. "This is classified far above his level."

M (Bernard Lee) has a bit of difficulty locating Bond, who's busy boating and snuggling with Sylvia (Eunice Gayson). Although M (Bernard Lee) and Bond both suspect a trap, the possibility of obtaining a Lektor is too important to pass up. Bond will fly out to Istanbul in the morning. First, he gets a smart looking piece of luggage from Boothroyd (Desmond Llewelyn) of Q branch. It's a briefcase with hidden assets, including 20 rounds of ammunition, a flat throwing knife, an AR7 folding sniper's rifle (.25 caliber) with infrared telescopic sight, 50 gold sovereigns, and a tear gas canister disguised as a tin of talcum powder, triggered when the catches are opened in the usual horizontal manner. "I shouldn't think I'll need it on this assignment," says Bond. In the outer office, as he's leaving, Bond whispers sweet nothings to Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell): "You've never been to Istanbul where the moonlight on the Bosphorus is irresistible?" Then he signs the picture of Tatiana, "From Russia with Love."

Bond's arrival in Istanbul does not go unnoticed. Bond is to meet with British agent Kerim Bey (Pedro Armendáriz); his son is at the airport to escort Bond. Also separately observing Bond's arrival are Grant and a Bulgarian spy (Hasan Ceylan). Bey is a personable and shrewd man and every bit the match for Bond as a womanizer. He's got an exceptionally attractive lover (Nadja Regin) with such a hyperactive libido that she actually wears the man out. All of Bey's employees are his sons. Bond checks into his hotel and finds his room bugged and the phone tapped by the hotel porter. Outside, Grant murders the Bulgarian spy's driver in order to stir up animosity between the Russians and the British. Later, a bomb goes off outside Bey's residence. Bey takes Bond through a secret doorway into an underground waterway with giant pillars, built by the Emperor Constantine 1600 years earlier as a reservoir. One branch of the tunnel travels beneath the Russian embassy. Bey has had a periscope installed through which he can observe what's going on in the conference room. What he sees is alarming. The Russian Director of Intelligence, Gen. Vasily, has brought back Bulgarian assassin Krilencu (Fred Haggerty), which spells trouble. Bey suggests that they'd better spend the night at the gypsy encampment until Krilencu can be neutralized.

At the camp, Bond and Bey discover it will be a spirited evening. Two gypsy girls are in love with the same man and it must be settled in the old way. First, however, the gypsy leader Vavra (Francis De Wolff), offers Bond and Bey the hospitality of his table. While dining, the men are entertained by a gypsy belly dancer (Lisa Guiraut), whose command of her pelvis is exceptional. Then, the two rival women, Vida (Aliza Gur) and Zora (Martine Beswick), appear and engage in a ferocious catfight, wrestling and clawing at one another with lethal intent. The struggle is interrupted by a sudden attack led by Krilencu and involving a large number of Bulgarian hirelings. Bond and Bey join the fight. Bey takes a flesh wound in his arm while Bond manages to kill several of the intruders and save Vavra's life. Vavra declares Bond his son, in accordance with gypsy tradition, and grants him any request. Bond asks that Vavra stop the fight between the women. Vavra agrees but says that Bond will have to decide which woman is to have the chief's son. Both will be Bond's for the night. "This may take some time," says Bond.

The next day, Bond and Bey locate Krilencu's hideout and his secret escape hatch through a billboard, at a point where a woman's mouth appears in the advertisement. Bey uses Bond's sniper rifle to shoot Krilencu dead. "That pays many debts," says Bey. Returning to his hotel, Bond finds Tatiana naked in his bed. "You look just like your photograph," she says. Bond is torn between grilling her for information about the Lektor and just turning her into a shish kabob. Unknown to either Bond or Tatiana, their tender moments together are being surreptitiously filmed from behind a one-way mirror.

The next day, Bond and Tatiana meet at a mosque so that Tatiana can deliver a floor plan of the Russian consul. She's tucked the piece of paper into her compact and leaves it beside a large column. The compact is almost intercepted by the Bulgarian agent, but Grant is there to make sure nothing goes wrong with SPECTRE's plot. By the time Bond reaches the compact, the Bulgarian agent is lying dead beside it. Bond and Tatiana later have a third rendezvous on a ferryboat, where Bond grills Tatiana for information about the Lektor while recording her responses on a tape recorder disguised as a tourist's camera. After MI6 reviews the tape, which is liberally sprinkled with Tatiana's passionate entreaties, they are convinced that Tatiana is describing the genuine article and instruct Bond to proceed. "Am I as exciting as all those Western girls?" Tatiana wonders.

Bond and Bey work out a plan. Bond enters the Russian consul on the pretense of seeking a visa. Bey sets off an explosion beneath the Russian embassy and releases tear gas. Bond, equipped with a mask, moves swiftly into the cipher room and gathers up both Tatiana and the machine, escaping into the tunnel. Bey, Bond, and Tatiana emerge through a hatch in a market stand and race down the street to the train station. Bey has already arranged false passports and tickets for a double compartment. Unfortunately, a Russian security man, Benz (Peter Bayliss), spots them as they board, and climbs aboard as well.

The rest of the film plays out like a good railway thriller. Bey confines Benz to his compartment, but Grant later kills both. Bey had been planning to pay off the conductor (George Pastell) to stop the train at the Bulgarian border, but with Bey dead it rolls right past the escape route. At Belgrade, Bond arranges for MI6 to send an agent from Station Y to meet him in Zagreb to provide help getting across the frontier strip between Yugoslavia and Trieste. Grant, eavesdropping, overhears the plan and intercepts Capt. Nash, the man sent by Station Y. After killing Nash, Grant impersonates him and presents himself to Bond as the help he requested. Bond becomes suspicious when Grant uses an excess of dated and stereotypical English colloquialisms, orders the wrong wine, and drugs Tatiana. Nevertheless, Grant gets the drop on Bond, and taunts him a bit by showing him the film taken earlier of his lovemaking with Tatiana. Bond manages to extricate himself from his crisis by an ingenious stratagem involving the briefcase furnished by Boothroyd (Q). A life-and-death struggle ensues between the two men within the confined space of the rail compartment.

After emerging from the train with Tatiana and the Lector, Bond still has to make his way to the coast, but agents of SPECTRE are sprinkled all along Grant's "escape" route. There's a prolonged action sequence that finds Bond fending off a helicopter attack, first from a truck and later on foot, followed by a sea chase in which three SPECTRE speedboats, armed with rifle grenades and machineguns, pursue Bond's boat. After a fiery finale to the chase scene, Bond and Tatiana finally make it to the relative safety of Venice.

Meanwhile, at SPECTRE headquarters, Blofeld summons #3 (Klebb) and #5 (Kronsteen) to express his displeasure that the plan has thus far failed. Morzeny is called and ordered to punish the one responsible for the failure. A poison-releasing spike suddenly springs from the tip of Morzeny's shoe. It looks like Klebb is going to take the rap but, at the last moment, Morzeny kicks Kronsteen instead. He dies a ghastly death in just 12 seconds. Klebb is advised that she'd better not fail to recover the Lector from Bond. In Venice, Rosa Klebb makes her way to Bond's hotel room, disguised as a hotel maid. When her initial effort to steal the Lector quietly is interrupted, she confronts Bond with a handgun while ordering Tatiana to take the Lektor and wait outside. Instead, Tatiana knocks the gun from Klebb's hand. Klebb is still lethal, however. She has been armed with one of those poison-releasing spikes in the toe of her shoe. The horrible old woman kicks and frets until Tatiana finally shoots her dead. "She's had her kicks," says Bond.

As Matt Monro now belts out the title song in full flower, Bond and Tatiana can finally relax and settle into a bit of faux-honeymoon. As they glide down one of Venice's famous canals, Bond tosses the scurrilous pornographic tape seized from Grant into the Venetian waters.

Production Values: Johanna Harwood adapted the story for this film from the novel by Ian Fleming. Richard Maibaum then wrote the screenplay. It's the most tightly crafted of all of the Bond stories, skillfully blending spy intrigue, action, and romance into a coherent package. The pace is excellent, though a few interludes from tension (notably the gypsy camp scene and the Venetian denouement) are included to provide atmosphere. Few of the Bond films are so full of style and old-world ambiance. The locales are magnificent, especially the scenes in Istanbul and Venice. The soundtrack, which adds nicely to the atmosphere, was the first by John Barry and one of the best in the series. It includes a sultry title song, though we are obliged to wait until the film's conclusion to get the vocal rendition. Here's a Bond film that can stand beside some of the better European art house films or the Alfred Hitchcock thrillers.

Instead of just a series of action set pieces, From Russia with Love delivers intelligent intrigue worthy of adult viewers. The action scenes provide real dramatic tension rather than just kinetic energy. Compare the fight scene between Bond and Grant in the railcar with fight scenes in the Bond films starring Brosnan and you'll see that there really is no comparison. Sean Connery and Robert Shaw look like two men genuinely locked in a fight to the death while the fight scenes in the most recent Bond films often come across as cartoonish kung fu gymnastics or shoot-em-up nonsense. Robert Shaw provides one of the most brutal and realistic henchmen of the Bond series and illustrates the benefit of casting talented actors in such roles, rather than actors who are simply unusually large physical specimens. It's no coincidence that Shaw has been in a lot of fine films: A Man for All Seasons (1966), Young Winston (1972), The Sting (1973), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), Jaws (1975), Robin and Marian (1976), and Black Sunday (1977).

Connery was at his best for this film – more fully self-assured than in the predecessor film and oozing charisma and charm, to balance the ruthlessness so evident in Dr. No (1962). It is this film and the next two in which we have the best Bond giving his best performances. Who could ask for more? Daniela Bianchi has all of the sophisticated good looks to have been a topnotch Bond girl, but is too bland in personality to rank even in the top half.

Then, there's Lotte Lenya is the role of Rosa Klebb. The average Bond fan never imagines that the shriveled up old hag of a character lashing out at Bond or perversely resting her palm on Tatiana's knee is also one of the greatest performers ever to appear in a Bond film. Certainly Stephen Murray understands the greatness of Lotte Lenya but only a relatively small fraction of other readers will as well. There are certain rare instances in history – a particular time and place – when a certain artist or group of artists come to personify a singular era, with its peculiar concerns, atmosphere, and tensions. Bobby Dylan did so during the tumultuous sixties in America and the Beatles a bit later on. Lotte Lenya was an enormously talented cabaret-style singer who captured the essence of the decadent pre-Hitler Berlin of the early thirties, with its amazing contrasts between gaiety and desperate squalor. Lenya possessed a powerful voice that was simultaneously resonant and harsh, projecting great emotional intensity. She was closely associated with the works of the brash young composer Kurt Weill and the companion lyrics by leftist poet Bert Brecht. Lenya married Kurt Weill, but Weill died relatively young and Lenya had very nearly a second lifetime as a widow. Lenya was a talented actress both before and after her success as a singer. She was so revered in her day that an entire generation of German female popular singers mimicked her gestures and inflections. Her German diction was perfect and her dramatic intensity unsurpassed. You haven't heard anything until you've heard Lotte Lenya singing "Seeräuber-Jenny" ("Pirate Jenny") from Die Dreigroschenoper (Threepenny Opera), Surabaya Johnny" from Happy End, or the "Alabama-Song" from The Rise and Fall of Mahagonny. "Oh, Moon of Alabama, we now must say good-bye. We've lost our good old mama and must have a boy, oh, you know why." If you only know Lotte Lenya from the Bond film, From Russia with Love, you may find it difficult to believe that she was once a lovely young woman with intense eyes and a bright, toothy smile. I can say that with some confidence since I have a-half-dozen photographs of her from the thirties laid out beside me as I write. You can also see Lenya in The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961) or Semi-Tough (1977). Remember as you watch Rosa Klebb that you're watching a legend. Mike Myers appreciated the indelible quality of the character when he fashioned Frau Farbissina after her for the Austin Powers series.

Sadly, From Russia with Love was the last film of Pedro Armendáriz. It is hard to believe that he was already dying while the film was being shot and was gone before the film reached the screen. His performance reveals a joie de vie that belies the actor's status. He later shot himself in the hospital when he was dying of cancer, with a pistol that he kept hidden beneath his pillow. In my opinion, his performance ranks among the best in the Bond series for non-villainous, non-recurrent characters, along with that of Gabriele Ferzetti as Draco in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). Armendáriz was a revered Mexican actor who appeared in such films as The Fugitive (1947), The Three Godfathers (1948), and Apache (1948).

Also noteworthy are Vladek Sheybal as Kronsteen and Fred Haggerty as Krilencu. Sheybal also appeared in Kamal (1957), Women in Love (1969), The Boy Friend (1971), and The Wind and the Lion (1975), and effectively reprised his role as Kronsteen in the Bond spoof Casino Royale (1967). Among the lesser Bond girls of the film, two had multiple appearances in Bond films. Eunice Gayson, who plays Sylvia, had already appeared in Dr. No (1962) while Martine Beswick, who plays one of the gypsy women, would later play Paula Caplan in Thunderball (1965).

Desmond Llewelyn made his first appearance in this Bond film, though he's listed as "Boothroyd" and described as "from Q branch." Along with Q came the gadgets, of course, and therefore From Russia with Love made a significant contribution to refining the Bond formula. Lois Maxwell has one of her finest performances as Moneypenny in this film. She has a touching interaction with Bond near the beginning of the film and her reaction to the tape revealing Tatiana's passionate interest in 007 is priceless. Walter Gotell, who would later become a regular in Bond films as Gen. Gogol, plays Morzeny in the present film.

Bottom-Line: There are plenty of extras available with the DVD version of this film. The audio commentary track is a nicely edited series of interviews rather than a scene specific analysis of the film. Participants include director Terence Young, actors Walter Gotell, Aliza Gur, Martine Beswick, and Lois Maxwell, editor Peter Hunt, and composer John Barry, among others. There are two documentaries, one entitled "Inside From Russia with Love" that deals with production challenges and the other called "Harry Saltzman: Showman," about the co-producer of the first nine Bond films. There're also trailers, television and radio ads, and a collection of stills.

From Russia with Love is the Bond mystique at its best – intelligent, adult-quality cinema, with great acting, plot, character development, and atmosphere. Here, then, is my Overall Certified Gold Bond Rating (designed to facilitate comparisons between the various 007 films):

Bond: Sean Connery Rating: 5/5

Villain: Rosa Klebb (#3)(Lotte Lenya) 5/5; Ernst Stavro Blofeld (#1)(Anthony Dawson; Eric Pohlmann voice) 4/5 Overall Rating: 5/5

Henchmen: Donald "Red" Grant (Robert Shaw) 5/5; Kronsteen (Vladek Sheybal) 5/5; Morzeny (Walter Gotell) 4/5; Krilencu (Fred Haggerty) 4/5; Benz (Peter Bayliss) 3/5 Overall Rating: 4/5

Bond Girl: Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi) Rating: 3/5

Secondary Bond Girls: Sylvia (Eunice Gayson) 4/5; Gypsy Dancer (Lisa Guiraut) 5/5; Vida (Aliza Gur) 4/5; Zora (Martine Beswick) 4/5 Overall Rating: 4/5

Colleagues: M (Bernard Lee) 5/5; Major Boothroyd (Desmond Llewelyn) 5/5; Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) 5/5; Kerim Bey (Pedro Armendáriz) 5/5; (John Kitzmiller) 5/5; Vavra (Francis De Wolff) 3/5 Overall Rating: 4/5

Storyline: SPECTRE playing Russians and British off against one another; chance to obtain Lektor; Russian agent in love with Bond's picture; spy intrigue in Istanbul; riding the Orient Express Rating: 5/5

Action: pre-credit SPECTRE training exercise 4/5; cat fight and battle at gypsy camp 4/5; Kirlencu's assassination 3/5; Bond vs. Grant on train 5/5; boat chase on way to Venice 3/5; Klebb gets her kicks 5/5 Overall Rating: 4/5

Toys: Briefcase with 20 rounds of ammunition, throwing knife, AR7 folding sniper's rifle with infrared telescopic sight, 50 gold sovereigns, magnetized tear gas container triggered by rigged catches Rating: 4/5

Character Development: Expanded the wry element of Bond's personality; Kerim Bey nicely humanized; bland Tatiana Rating: 4/5

Music: Title song "From Russia with Love," instrumental with front credits and sung by Matt Monro during end credits 5/5; John Barry first Bond score 5/5 Rating: 5/5

Locales: Istanbul, Gypsy camp, Balkins, Venice Rating: 5/5

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Overall Certified Gold Bond Rating: 52/60
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You may also enjoy my other reviews for 007 films:

Casino Royale (1954), non-series, television
Dr. No (1962)
Goldfinger (1964)
Thunderball (1965)
You Only Live Twice (1967)
Casino Royale (1967), non-series
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Live and Let Die (1973)
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Moonraker (1979)
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Octopussy (1983)
Never Say Never Again (1983), non-series
A View to a Kill (1985)
The Living Daylights (1987)
Licence to Kill (1989)
GoldenEye (1995)
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Die Another Day (2002)

Recommended:
Yes

Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older