001. The story

One of the greatest Bond films ever made – and arguably one of the greatest spy films ever made – 1963’s From Russia with Love follows Britain’s favourite secret agent to Turkey to assist a Russian defector. Little does he know that SPECTRE are on his tail, wanting revenge for the death of Dr. No.

002. The villains

The film heralds a plethora of villains including the bladed shoe-wearing Rosa Klebb, the third in command of shadowy organisation SPECTRE, played to terrifying perfection by Lotte Lenya. Assisting Klebb in her effort to kill 007 is the embodiment of the master race, relentless assassin Red Grant, leading to a brutal fight aboard a sleeper train.

The film also introduces Bond’s cat-stroking arch nemesis, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, simply credited as ‘?’.

003. The girls

As well as the ever beautiful and doting Miss Moneypenny, we’re introduced to Tatiana Romanova, a stunning Soviet Embassy clerk caught up as a pawn of SPECTRE, who wish to use her to lure Bond and steal a secret coding device.

Played by Italian actress Daniela Bianchi and voiced by Barbara Jefford, Tatiana is as gorgeous as a Bond girl should be, though unfortunately falls in to the trap of helpless heroine until the very end.

004. Memorable moments

For its time, From Russia with Love featured some impressive and daring storytelling styles. The film’s opening, which features ‘Bond’ and Red Grant in a tenuous game of cat and mouse, ending with ‘Bond’ being strangled to death, only to reveal that he is an unlucky henchman in a mask as part of a training exercise, must have been genuinely shocking to first time viewers.

Another scene that stands out has to be one of the first uses of a Q-Branch gadget, the attaché case. All hope seems lost, Grant has Bond at gunpoint about to be executed. He asks for a cigarette, offering to pay with the money in his case. Grant opens the booby trapped case and is immediately hit with a cloud of tear gas. A time before laser watches and invisible cars, this gadget was simple yet effective.

005. Trivia

» The budget was a reported $2,000,000, double that of Dr. No.

» Bond and Tatiana’s scene in the hotel suite has since been regularly used as the audition scene for potential Bond actors and Bond girls.

» The famous train compartment fight between Bond and Red Grant took three weeks to film, with the majority of it performed by the actors themselves, rather than stunt men.

» The Maiden’s tower in Istanbul, used as Renard’s lair in 1999’s The World is Not Enough, can be spotted in the distance behind Bond in the ferry journey.

» From Russia with Love is the favourite Bond film of both Sean Connery and Miss Moneypenny actress Lois Maxwell.

006. Best quotes

» Tatiana: I think my mouth is too big.
James Bond: I think it’s a very lovely mouth. It’s just the right size – for me anyway!

» Kerim Bey: Ah, the old game: give a wolf a taste and then leave him hungry. My friend, she’s got you dangling.

» Red Grant: My orders are to kill you and deliver the Lektor. How I do it is my business. It’ll be slow and painful.

» Tatiana: Horrible, horrible woman.
James Bond: Yes, she had her kicks.

» James Bond: There’s a saying in England: Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

» Blofeld: Twelve seconds. One of these days we must invent a faster-working venom.

007. The verdict

Despite its dated subject matter, From Russia with Love serves as a testament to a time where films relied more on their story and characters, presenting a true representation of the man Ian Fleming originally created.

What do you think of From Russia with Love? Let us know below…