By J.T. Johnson
Director: Terence Young
Cast: Sean Connery, Robert Shaw, Daniela Bianchi, Pedro Armendariz, Lotte Lenya, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn
Photos courtesy of EON Productions
After the modest success of “Dr. No” in 1962, producers Albert “Cubby” Broccoli and Harry Saltzman immediately began work on the next James Bond adventure. They more than doubled the budget and decided that “From Russia with Love” was the appropriate film to continue the saga after learning that the Ian Fleming novel was one of President John F. Kennedy’s favorite books.
The film, like the previous movie, helped develop many of the conventions found in later films. One example includes a cold opening, or pre-credits sequence. From this film on, all Bond films would have a pre-credits sequence in one form or another.
Also worth noting is that EA games adapted both the film and novel into a video game in 2005. It not only featured the likeness of Sean Connery, it also featured Connery voicing the character for the game. This would be the first time Connery assumed the role in 22 years since ‘83’s “Never Say Never Again.”
This time, the story takes Bond (Connery) to Istanbul after learning that Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi), a cipher clerk for the Soviet Union, wants to defect. This would be no big deal except for the fact that she also wants to give the British the Soviet decoder known as the Lektor, a device that the British have been trying to get their hands on for years.
Unknown to either Bond or Romanova, this is all an elaborate plan by SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) in order to pit the Russians and the British against one another while obtaining the Lektor for themselves. Also, they know that MI6 will inevitably assign Bond to the case which will give them a chance at revenge for Bond killing one of their operatives, Dr. No.
The movie is considered by many, including Connery himself, as one of the best Bond films in the series. One of the reasons for this is that Connery is on top of his game as Bond. While he did a great job in “Dr. No,” here he seems more at ease in the role. All of the charm and lethality of the character is present and accounted for.
However, Connery is not the only reason this film is one of the more popular movies. There is a wide array of characters that come along either to assist Bond or attempt to kill him.
One of those characters is Ali Kerim Bey (Pedro Armendariz). The character proves to be a powerful ally for Bond and is played with absolute perfection by Armendariz. The most interesting yet tragic story of the film is that Armendariz was declared terminally ill with cancer during filming. He struggled to finish the role in order to give his family some financial security.
A month after filming all of his scenes, his illness progressed into the advanced stages and Armendariz committed suicide in a hospital in Los Angeles. Before he left the world, however, he left audiences with one more film performance that fans have enjoyed for decades.
The film also offers two of the best villains in the series. First, there is Rosa Klebb, played by Tony award winning actress Lotte Lenya. One can tell that Lenya is having a great time playing this absolutely vile woman and one of her best scenes is when she tries to kill Bond with a poisoned-tipped dagger on the bottom of her shoe.
Then there is Robert Shaw as Red Grant. Throughout most of the film, Red is stalking Bond throughout his journey and does not even say a word until he reveals himself to Bond later in the movie. Shaw’s Grant is another one of those villains that future Bond villains would try to imitate in later films.
Finally, this film also features the first appearance of Desmond Llewelyn as Q, referred to in this film as Major Boothroyd. In the story, he gives Bond one of the first gadgets to ever appear in a Bond film: an attaché case which features a smoke grenade and fifty gold sovereigns along with a hidden knife. Llewelyn would continue in the role of Q for the next 36 years until his last appearance in 1999’s “The World is Not Enough.”
The only real problem with this film is that of Tatiana Romanova. There is not anything wrong with actress Daniela Bianchi’s performance of the character, there is just not much there. In the end, the character is more boring than Ursula Andress’ Honey Ryder from “Dr. No.”
Beyond that small criticism, however, “From Russia with Love” contains a better story with better action and, for the most part, better characters than those found in “Dr. No.” Audiences of any type should definitely give this one a go.
PRO:
- There is better action and a better story than “Dr. No.”
- Sean Connery is better than ever in the role of 007.
- Robert Shaw is great as Red Grant and his fight with 007 on the Orient Express is one of the bigger highlights.
- Lotte Lenya and Pedro Armendariz are especially noticeable at Rosa Klebb and Ali Kerim Bey, respectively.
CONS:
- While there is nothing wrong with Daniela Bianchi’s performance, her character is just not as effective as Ursula Andress’ Honey Ryder from “Dr. No.”
GRADE: A
