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From Russia with Love Trailer

Brief Synopsis:

• James Bond is informed by M that a beautiful Soviet agent has fallen in love with him and wishes to defect. She promises to steal a valued decoding machine called the Lektor which MI6 desperately wants. Bond is warned the scenario may be a trap, and indeed it is. Unbeknown to the “defector”, Tatiana Romanova, the Soviets and British are being used as pawns in an inspired scheme masterminded by SPECTRE. The plan is for Bond and Tatiana to steal the Lektor then be executed by assassin Red Grant. SPECTRE will then recover the machine and sell it back to the Soviets, embarrassing MI6 in the process and murdering Bond in revenge for his killing of Dr No.

Release Date:

• October 10, 1963

Rating:

• PG (US)
• PG (UK)
  

Plot:

• The theft of a LEKTOR and the embarrassment of MI6.

Box Office Results:

• $78.9 million

Awards/Nominations:

• 1963: British Society of Cinematographers- Best Cinematography (won)
• 1964: BAFTA Awards- Best Brit. Cinematography (won)
• 1965: Golden Globe Awards- Best Song in a Motion Picture (nominated)
• 1965: Laurel Awards- Best Action Drama (2nd place)
• 2004: Satellite Awards- Best Classic DVD Release (nominated)
  

Running Time:

• 1 hour, 59 minutes

Gadgets:

• Q Branch Briefcase
• MI6 Beeper
• Armalite AR-7 rifle - Not technically a gadget, however the rifle breaks down into two pieces and the barrel is stored in the stock.
• Grant's Garrotte wire watch
  

Issued Sidearm:

• Walther PPK

Director:

• Terence Young

Screenplay:

• Richard Maibaum
• Johanna Harwood

Starring:

• Sean Connery as James Bond

Villain:

• Lotte Lenya as Rosa Klebb

Henchmen:

• Robert Shaw as Red Grant
• Vladek Sheybal as Kronsteen
• Walter Gotell as Morzeny

Bond Girls:

• Daniela Bianchi as Tatiana Romanova
• Eunice Gayson as Sylvia Trench

Supporting Cast:

• Bernard Lee as M
• Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny
• Pedro Armendariz as Ali Kerim Bey
• Desmond Llewelyn as Q

Filming Locations:

• SPECTRE Island, London, Istanbul, Belgrade, Trieste, Venice

Best Quote

• Tanya: "Horrible woman."
  Bond: "Yes. She's had her kicks."
  

Around The World With 007

• From Russia With Love was filmed on location in Turkey, with second unit work shot in Venice. The helicopter chase sequence was actually shot in the hills of northern Scotland, whilst interiors and the sequences at the SPECTRE island were re-created at Pinewood Studios in England. The SPECTRE mansion is in fact the Pinewood Studios administrative office and looks virtually identical today.

Mistakess:

• The SPECTRE training camp is silent until Rosa Klebb arrives. That's kinda silly seeing as how the camp was supposed to be an active training facility.
  

Distinguishing Features:

• First appearance of SPECTRE's mastermind Blofeld and his iconic Persian cat.
• Blofeld is played by two actors. Anthony Dawson's hands are seen matched with Eric Pohlmann's voice. Neither actor is credited, which is surprising given the significance of Blofeld in the Bond canon. This happens in From Russia With Love, and Thunderball.
• Sean Connery has named this as his favorite Bond film.
• Daniel Craig has named this as his favorite Bond film.
• Timothy Dalton has named this as one of his top 3 favorite Bond movies.
  

Bond Statistics:

• Women in Bed: 4
• Martinis: 0
• Kills: 17
• "Bond, James Bond": 0
  

Title References:

• Bond writes on a photo "From Russia with love".

Detailed Synopsis:

Night. Two black-garbed men are playing a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in a sculptured garden festooned with Greco-Roman statues. The tuxedoed man is revealed to be James Bond who uncharacteristically glances around nervously. Out of sight, a discreet several paces behind is Donald "Red" Grant, a stocky Russian assassin, who parallels Bond's movements through the garden. The quiet night is shattered when Grant mistakenly snaps a twig and Bond fires wildly towards the sound. The agent turns a corner, and Grant quietly pulls a garrotte wire from the fob of his watch, then waits for his opportunity. The agent pulls closer and Grant quickly loops the wire around the agent's neck, strangling him in seconds. The night is shattered by powerful lights illuminating the scene. Several men approach Grant and his fallen victim. "A minute 52 seconds, that's excellent," says Morzeny, who reaches down and peels a mask off the fallen man, revealing him not to be James Bond, but another man entirely. He and Grant, walk back to chateau, the training exercise over....

In the final game of the Venice International Grandmasters Tournament, the Czech player Kronsteen has just put the Canadian MacAdam in check. Kronsteen recieves a message on the napkin underneath an unrequested glass of water. It requests his presence at a meeting and is finalised by a seal with an octopus figure. Kronsteen slowly tears the message up as MacAdam makes his tentative move, then Kronsteen moves his queen one square --Queen to King's 4--and MacAdam concedes defeat. Without further ado, Kronsteen exits the Tournament.

Aboard his luxury yacht, Ernst Stavro Blofeld is explaining to Rosa Klebb the strategy of the japanese fighting fish in his tank. With three in the tank, one will hang back as the other two fight, awaiting its chance to kill the weakened victor. Kronsteen enters and explains his "foolproof" plan to steal a Lektor decoding machine from the Russians. He also talks about SPECTRE getting a chance at revenge for Dr. No's death by smugly predicting that MI6 will send James Bond on this mission.

Cut to the Russian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey where a girl and a few friends come out after work. The girl goes along a back alleyway and knocks on the door of a run-down apartment. The door opens to reveal Klebb dressed in military garb. The girl introduces herself as Tatiana Romanova, corporal of state security. Klebb explains the role Tatiana will play in the plan. She also makes a crude pass at Tatiana by touching her knee then running her finger across Tatiana's neck, hair, and face.

Cut to a scenic lake presumably somewhere in London where 007 is doing some punting with a few friends. He and Sylvia Trench from Dr. No are concealed behind a bush having a romantic picnic when Bond's beeper goes off. HE goes to his beautiful Bentley and calls M's office reaching Miss Moneypenny. After the call, Bond and Sylvia raise the roof of the Bentley and...well...you get the idea.

Cut to Miss Moneypenny's office where Bond tosses his hat onto the coat rack and proceeds into M's office. M tells him about his latest mission and Q comes in with a modified briefcase that has a folding sniper's rifle inside with ammo on the bottom of the case. Inisde a hidden compartment are 50 gold sovreigns. Inside another hidden compartment is a flat throwing knife. Bond doesn't think he'll need it but M convinces him to take it anyway.

Cut to Istanbul where Bond rides in a luxurious Rolls-Royce to Station T where he meets up with Ali Kerim Bey, Head of Station T. Kerim offers his opinion on the lektor matter. Bond later checks into his hotel and after the porter leaves, he checks the room for bugs and discovers the phone is tapped. He then calls the receptionist and asks for a different room stating "The bed's too small". He then gets moved to the bridal suite.

Cut to the lounge at Station T where Kerim relaxes with his girlfriend when an explosion suddenly occurs. It is later revealed to be a limpet mine timed to get Kerim at his desk but he was sitting on a settee at the time. He and Bond go down a secret passageway and take out a spyglass conncted to a boardroom in the Russian Consulate where some Russians are discussing a matter (there is no speaker so we can't hear what the Russians are saying).




Trivia:

• This was Pedro Armendariz's last film. Director John Ford asked Terence Young if he might find a part for the veteran actor, and Young was only too happy to comply. In the course of fliming it was discovered he had inoperable stomach cancer and, rather than re-cast, Young re-arranged shooting to complete all of Armendariz's scenes first. After his part of the filming was over he checked into a medical clinc and, rather than endure a painful death, shot himself with a gun that had been smuggled in. Connery couldn't film for a week because he became emotionally involved. Afterward, Young went back and did some necessary re-shoots of some scenes and to cover those shots where Armendariz would have been in the background, the director was made up to resemble the Kerim Bey character and stood in for their absent friend. That is why in some publicity stills from the gypsy camp scene, you'll see a different man next to Connery in the background. It's actually Terence Young! (see below)
• Pedro Armendariz, Jr. appeared as the President of Isthmus in "Licence to Kill."
• "From Russia With Love" is also Sean Connery's favorite Bond film and video game.
  

Preceded by:

• Dr. No

James Bond will return in:

• Goldfinger