From Russia With Love

“Only the Second James Bond thriller Film can be more exciting than than the first” 

So said the tagline of the release trailer for From Russia With Love.  If you have not seen the film I recommend you skip it, along with the all the trailers of the early Bond films.  They express great enthusiasm but show all of the movies’ set pieces without cutting in from other scenes so, even more than today’s spoiler filled trailers, you are watching a highlight of the film.  The trailer for From Russia With Love is especially offensive as its opening shots reveals how Bond gets out of his most precarious predicament in the film.

Nonetheless, I utterly agree with the trailer’s tagline.  Dr No, the first film in the series, is a more low key (and budget) introductory adventure that establishes the Bond, M, and Moneypenny characters and has a memorable villain and, leading lady, but is dated with obvious backscreen projection during a car chase and a melodramatic score by Monty Norman.  Only the Bond theme, which is used liberally (and was probably mostly written by John Barry) works musically.  I would recommend Dr No to Bond fans but not to anyone else.  From Russia With Love is my favorite Ian Fleming novel of the series and the movie retains its structure and major set pieces while enhancing the plot, and discarding many, if not all, of the novel’s more distasteful elements. 

Spoilers abound below as always:

The plot involves setting an elaborate trap for Bond and the British secret service.  While the book is a pure Cold War thriller with the noble British being attacked by the villainous Russian organization SMERSH which concocts a plan to kill and humiliate Bond (Bond is targeted due to his successful thwarting of previous SMERSH operations against the West) the film makes the villains the apolitical SPECTRE.  SPECTRE’s goal is out to profit by getting Bond to steal a Russian decoding device called a Lektor and then selling it back to the Russians, as well as avenge the death of Dr No who was a SPECTRE operative.  The main villains of the book (Klebb, Kronsteen and Grant) are also now SPECTRE operatives.  SPECTRE blackmails a Russian cyber operative named, Tatiana Romanova, to lure James Bond to Istanbul using the Lektor as bait.

Terence Young, who also directed Dr No, is perfectly suited to this material.  Young’s deliberate pacing sets the playing field and gradually reminds the audience that Bond is being manipulated by constantly ensuing Grant is both watching and protecting Bond until he gets the Lektor out of Eastern Europe.  The film also takes the time to firmly establish the relationship between Bond and Tania as well as the friendship between Bond and Kerim.  There is plenty dialogue in those scenes that have little to do with the plot but reveal a lot of character, much of it lifted from the book. The best sequence in the film is the Orient Express, which is divided into three acts. The first act, with Bond and Kerim’s game with the Russians, trying to keep them from informing headquarters about the theft until they are out of Eastern Europe is fun to watch as is the flirtation between Bond and Tania.  The second act is after Kerim is killed and Bond becomes far more suspicious to the threat.  The third is when Grant finally makes his move.  The structure of the story, in which the audience, but not Bond, knows how deadly Grant is but not the mechanics of his plan make this a delight to watch. 

Connery gives his best performance as Bond.  He is relaxed in most of the film’s early sections, never looking foolish even when being manipulated by SPECTRE in parts because he acts so confident. Connery is charming and playful in the romantic scenes on the train and has genuine chemistry and interplay with Pedro Armendariz’ Kerim Bey.  Bond adjusts well on the fly throughout the sequence on the train and is scared but never panics when Grant has the drop on him and is appropriately ruthless in the third section of the film when he and Tania are escaping Eastern Europe.  Some audiences prefer his stylish cool in Goldfinger but I think Young understood the nuances of the character much better than Guy Hamilton (director of Goldfinger).

Daniela Bianchi has an elegant naivete as Tatiana Romanova.  Although her voice is dubbed she plays the woman caught in between what she thinks is a duty to her country and a situation she feels is out of control.  I do think Tania deserved a scene in which she learns how SPECTRE has manipulated her.  I am also curious what became of her afterwards.  I would suppose she arrived in Britain and was set up there.  Bond’s relationship with Tania is the most developed of the Connery era and the most successful.

Lotte Lenya’s harsh voice and look bring the horrid Klebb to life.  Robert Shaw played a few cold villains in his time but his Grant, an assassin who patiently waits for his moment to strike benefits both from a lot of screen time.  The Mexican born Armendariz does not seem very Turkish but infuses Bey with a lot of charm.  Sadly Armendariz learned that he was ill with cancer during filming and took his own life once he was done with his portion of the film.

Going through the film here are a few of my observations:

The film has the first pre-title sequence.  The dots from the gunbarrel fade to go to black instead of opening up in a circle on the first scene, which started with Thunderball.  The nighttime garden setting is elegant yet spooky.  The scene sets the motif for the film (Bond is being hunted by SPECTRE) and quickly establishes how dangerous Grant is, the garrote in his watch and gives Connery (in pale makeup) a chance to play a different character a la Mission Impossible.  The double is much more nervous than Bond which is a hint that this might be a trick.  John Barry’s atmospheric score is much more fitting than Monty Norman’s in the previous film. Every time I think about this scene I find myself humming the score to it.

Robert Brownjohn’s titles for both of the Bond films he worked on (From Russia With Love and Goldfinger) use a single female body with the titles around it.  I prefer this film’s in which the woman appears to be doing a kind of belly dance which is thematic due to the Turkish setting of the film.  Barry’s instrumental arrangement of the From Russia With Love theme is far more memorable than the actual song.

Terence Young wisely keeps the memorable scene from the book in which Kronsteen is playing chess.   Although it could have easily been dropped from the film and Kronsteen could have just entered in the scene on the yacht with Blofeld and Klebb, it establishes he lengths SPECTRE will go to for this plan by having a chess expert concoct it.  It also serves a visual metaphor since SPECTRE uses Bond as a pawn for the two acts.

On the yacht it is the first time we see the SPECTRE Octopus ring which is used periodically in the series and is a clue in Spectre.  Blofeld is introduced with an even toned but foreboding Eastern European voice (by Eric Pohlman) and only showing his hands and the top of his head (played by Anthony Dawson who was Professor Dent in Dr No), which leaves the audience to imagine what he really looks like.  

The reveal of M in Moneypenny’s office after Bond throws the hat is a twist that creates an awkward moment between boss and underling.  

Kerim’s office seems to be inside the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul.  Bond and Kerim’s son chivalrously wait for Kerim’s mistress to walk out the door while she seems to have just had sex with Kerim.  Kerim’s cheerful good mood supports this.  

The use of the original Bond theme as Bond checks into the hotel and discovers his room is bugged by what he thinks are the Russians gives a cool edge to what would otherwise be a slow scene.

When the bomb explodes in Bey’s office the excess of smoke is more effective than a big flame would have been. 

Torture is referenced throughout the film but never seen on screen.

The gypsy camp sequence has some interesting moments. The girl fight is toned down from the novel but still looks like male wish fulfillment with two women savagely attacking each other to win a man.  Bond looks appropriately disturbed (after appearing quite relaxed moments earlier when the belly dancer was performing).  When the Bulgarians attack Bond immediately is on the move.  He weaves through the battle helping the gypsies out but remaining a lone solider never fighting alongside them, similar to in the climax of Thunderball.  At the end of the sequence Connery has an understated reaction in being “adopted” by Vavra. 

Bond’s line to Kerim, “How could a friend be in debt?” is one of the warmest things he has said to anyone in the films and speaks to a true friendship in Kerim.  Often Bond’s interactions with his contacts are fully focused on business so this is nice and it leads us to feel more for Kerim after he is killed. 

During the seduction scene Bond does not check the room when he comes in or ever turn off the bath, not that I blame him for the latter.  The soft kissing was probably required by the censor of the time but seems almost sexier than if they were kissing more passionately.  Bond, while clearly enjoying Tatiana, also keeps his mind on the mission throughout the scene.

Istanbul is used as more than a collection of pretty sites.  Although the film makes gives the audience of some famous landmarks like the Hague Sophia (interestingly called by Bond as the San Sophia), the Basilica Cisterns, the Bosphorus, and the gypsy camps, all are woven into the plot without drawing undue attention to themselves.  Also as the city sits in an area of the world where the east meets the west the interactions between the Russians and the West are more open.

In the scene in the consulate Connery plays Bond as bemused as the chaos goes down.  However as Bond is well known to the Russians I wonder if he should not have worn some kind of disguise.  The lifting of the Lektor is the rare mission where nearly everything goes to plan. 

Kerim gets a beautiful exit line from the film.  As Armendariz died soon afterwards it is fitting.

The moment in which Bond slaps Tania is very distasteful. He immediately seems to regret it as he tries a softer approach but it is a wonder Tania agrees to have anything to do with him afterwards.  Her subsequent silence speaks volumes to the damage it does to the relationship.  I suppose it is a sign of those times that here hero can get away with slapping an innocent woman but it does make for a blemish on this otherwise near perfect film.

It is chilling when Grant appears behind Bond on the train in Belgrade to Barry’s music cues in the 

separate windows.

When Grant is in disguise Bond does not trust him right away.  Grant (as Nash)’s higher voice helps Bond not see him as a threat.  He is a little too talkative which also lowers Bond’s defenses and calls him Oh Oh Seven instead of Double-0 Seven.  When Grant reveals his true self to Bond (though never his actual name) his voice drops a couple of octaves.  Robert Shaw looks a little like Daniel Craig.

When Grant has Bond at his mercy his enjoys the moment too much while Bond asks questions to both figure out the mystery and to buy himself time to think of a way out.  When Bond asks about the lunatic asylum he is angered about the idea of Tania being humiliated with the film of them in bed.

Bond deliberately acts a little too eager to open the case which baits Grant into opening it.  The fight that follows is often called the best in the series.  The tight compartment, blue light, lack of music, grunts, and minimal staging of two well trained big men scrambling in a fight for their lives.  The film has clearly established how deadly Grant is which adds to the threat and it is the right use of a Q gadget that allows Bond to prevail.  Without it we see that though Bond can get his licks in Grant would otherwise be the winner.  Afterwards Bond, all sweaty, gets a nice quip in as he takes his money back from Grant’s body.  In the end the entire train sequence in similar to the book’s but Bond’s ingenuity with the case is a marked improvement over his using a book to protect his heart.

In the final act of the film Bond improvises his way out of Eastern Europe with two sequences, involving a helicopter and a boat, that were not in the book.  The helicopter chase is a little too reminiscent of the crop duster scene in North by Northwest but Bond’s defeat of the helicopter is more fitting. 

The first Bond boat chase sequence is brief but entertaining as Morzeny’s fruitless attempts to coordinate everything via a megaphone.  After Bond blows up the tanks will he and Tania now have enough fuel to get to Venice?  The use of the Monty Norman Dr No music is unwelcome to me.  I never liked that theme.

Bond’s final showdown with Klebb is similar to the book though Bond sees the threat from her shoes instantly.  Tania’s presence is an improvement as she knows Klebb is bad but has to find the courage to assist.  Does she decide to shoot Klebb only at the end of the struggle?  Not likely as she would not have attacked her in the first place.  But there should have been a scene in which Bond explained to Tania what he had learned from Grant.

In summation From Russia With Love is an extraordinary thriller that has less of the flash of later entries but exceptional character work.  I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys spy thrillers.

*****