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From Russia with Love Trailer

Brief Synopsis:

• An extraordinary letter arrives at MI6 from a Russian cipher clerk in Istanbul. She claims to have fallen in love with a photo of James Bond in the office files. She wants to defect and bring a top-secret decoder, the Lektor, with her, on condition that Bond himself escorts her back to England. It 's obvious that this is a trap, but M feels the prize of a Lektor is worth the risk. When 007 sees a photo of the cipher clerk, he also thinks the mission is worth it. Neither suspects the lengths to which SPECTRE would go to eliminate Bond and discredit the British Intelligence.

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
• The LEKTOR
• MI6 Beeper
• Armalite AR-7 rifle - Not technically a gadget, however it has a gadget-like appearance because the rifle breaks down into two pieces and the barrel is stored in the stock.

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.
  

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 Donovan "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 razor 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.
(to be continued...)


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