From Russia With Love (1963)

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Texty

Director Terence Young

Stars Sean Connery, Robert Shaw, Lotte Lenya, Daniela Bianchi & Pedro Armendariz

Things You Might Like

• Connery develops Bond into a detailed character
• A villain who’s a physical match for Bond
• Chilling, shoe-spiking Rosa Klebb
• Warm and loyal friendship between Bond and Bey
• A gadget that is useful and realistic

Things You Might Not Like

• All the best action saved for the end
• Bond ‘civilises’ the gypsy camp
• Ponderous henchmen stop boats next to fuel cans
• Useless Bond girl is useless

Conclusion
The second film in the series develops Bond across the board.  Connery and Young push the character forward and deliver a more human spy, while the triple villain threat is well underplayed but life-threatening.  Still missing some key elements, and not set in Russia, Bond Part Two is a film that cements 007 as a spy who entertains.

4 out of 5 Attaché Cases

Luke McGrath will return in Goldfinger

***

The difficult second film wasn’t so difficult back in the 1960’s.  These were the days before billion dollar franchises made every summer that little bit less special.  They were the days before a sequel had to be darker to be worthy.  They were the days before your last effort might be rebooted by the end of the decade.  Making the second James Bond film was a made a simple task by the successful framework of the first.

From Russia With Love sticks pretty close to the highs of Dr. No and manages to sidestep some of the weaker points.  The producers knew that the villain couldn’t be held back so long, instead showing him beating Bond before the credits role (these being the days when credits were literally all up front).  Immediately after the titles, another three key SPECTRE players are introduced.  For the first time we see the back of Ernst Stavro Blofeld’s head – the enigmatic villain used again but with far more dangerous and visible henchmen and women.

The mission, while tight and sufficiently complex, can be a little difficult to follow for anyone expecting lighter fare (not including Felix who does not appear this time).  SPECTRE plans to trick Bond into stealing a decoding device from the Russians, steal it from Bond and then sell it back to said Russians.  To do this it enlists the help of former Russian Colonel Klebb to fool current Russian operative Tatiana Romanova into believing she must help mother Russia by seducing Bond and letting him steal the device.  As a bonus SPECTRE will then kill the agent who ruined Dr. No’s previous hi-jinks.  Like I said, tight and sufficiently complex.

Fortunately the plot is largely a convenient way of getting our characters to meet, and it is they who propel this movie into greater territory than the last.  Connery is beginning to fill out Bond (though not as much as he will in Diamonds are Forever…) and finds a depth to his personality that we have not previously seen.  His friendship with Turkish operative Kerim Bey is central to this development; more so than with Quarrel or Leiter, 007 bonds (!) with a colleague to the point of loyal friendship.  However, when dealing with Romanova, Bond also shows his professionalism and a ruthless detachment in getting vital information – he can seduce as hard as he can punch.  These layers shape Bond into a hero that we can support despite the challenges his character presents.

The supporting cast is much improved from Dr. No, with M, Q and Moneypenny beginning to find their feet in expository scenes.  The aforementioned Kerim Bey is a pointer to what Bond might become if he survives long enough.  Grant provides Bond’s physical challenge and the best scenes as he tries to pass as a fellow agent on the Orient Express.  His stumbles are delicate but enough to warn Bond of the danger (red wine with fish, the madman).  Their compartment battle is as tense an exchange of wits and blows that you’re likely to see in the franchise.

The women are a mixed bag; Romanova is alluring enough to catch Bond’s eye but rather too useless to provide him with any real entertainment (compare with the underrated Eunice Gayson who steals the film’s first act as Bond’s put-upon woman).  Klebb is treated with little tact, her lesbian tendencies made to look crude and sickly, yet the movie is an improvement on the novel.  When she’s focused on work, Klebb is a forceful villain and a truly memorable opponent.

From Russia with Love is a step forward from Dr. No in many ways.  The action has been channelled into an intricate plan and every recurring character has improved their role.  Yet it is the one-off allies and opponents that make the film a success, bringing Bond’s struggles and victories more meaning than before.  Bond part two is a setting mould, only a few tweaks from perfection.

Buy From Russia with Love from Amazon or pre-order the James Bond blu-ray collection from Amazon