From Russia with Love (1963)

My next installment of the James Bond marathon includes the second official film, From Russia with Love (1963).

By the way, I just found out yesterday that Amazon Prime just released all the pre- Daniel Craig Bond films in high def for free streaming.  If you have an Amazon Prime account, you can watch all the classic films along with me!

SYNOPSIS:
The international terrorist organization, SPECTRE, plans to get their hands on a decoding device known as the Lektor.  Their plot requires tricking a young Russian girl, Tatiana "Tanja" Romanova (Daniela Bianchi) into seducing James Bond (Sean Connery) into helping her "defect" to England with the Lektor; upon which SPECTRE plans to steal once it's out of Russian hands.  Tanja takes orders from Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya), a brutish lady whom Tanja doesn't realize has been relieved of her duties in Russia and is now working for SPECTRE.  Stalking in the background is Donovan "Red" Grant (Robert Shaw), a large blonde assassin for SPECTRE who is specially trained to kill James Bond and steal the Lektor.  Will Bond be able to rescue the girl and escort her and the Lektor safely to England...?

REVIEW:
This is the continuation of the (then-new) James Bond franchise, picking up shortly where the previous film left off.  We catch up to Bond "reviewing an old case" as he's having a fun picnic with Sylvia Trench (Eunice Gayson), the first girl Bond met with in the previous film.  He's called in to work immediately, where he's told of this very obvious trap that's been presented to him - a beautiful young girl wants to defect with a decoder, but only if James Bond himself comes to escort her.  MI6 is very intent on getting their hands on a decoder, so they send Bond to Istanbul to investigate and determine if there's a chance he could bring it home, despite the obvious set-up.

"Reviewing an old case"

We are introduced to Q (Desmond Llewelyn), a.k.a. the Quartermaster, head of Q-Branch.  A Quartermaster is one who provides rations and/or other provisions for a military, and Q is just that man, giving Bond his first gadgets.  He's given a briefcase with a tear gas can inside.  Open the case the wrong way and you get a face full of tear gas.  Also hidden in the lining of the briefcase is a knife, extra rounds for his gun, and 50 gold coins in case he needs something to barter with.  Side note: Desmond Llewelyn would continue to fulfill his role as Q in the Bond franchise for many decades, until his untimely death in a car crash in 1999.

Q meeting up with James Bond for the first time

This film is the first time the leader of SPECTRE is seen; although we never see his face.  We only see the white persian cat he lovingly strokes in his lap, which has become a supervillain trademark thanks to these early Bond films.  We also see the iconic SPECTRE logo on his ring, a black octopus.  He's referred to as Number 1 (a.k.a. Ernst Stavro Blofeld) and he's very displeased with James Bond killing Dr. No, one of his top agents.  Kronsteen (Vladek Sheybal), a.k.a. Number 5, presents a plot to steal a Lektor from the Russians, and Rosa Klebb, a.k.a. Number 3, offers to involve James Bond in their plot, giving them another chance to kill him.  She recruits Tanja, pretending to continue her role as an officer of SMERSH, a Russian anti-spy organization, and then recruits Red to kill both of them once the Lektor is secure.

The mysterious Ernst Stavro Blofeld, leader of SPECTRE (The man, not the cat)

Blofeld is uncredited in this film.  It was their intent to keep his identity a complete secret, so even his actor's name is unmentioned.  In the place of the actor's name in the credits, there is only a question mark.  It will be several films before we're finally able to put a face to the name.  But when we do, his revealed face ends up being the inspiration for Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers films.  Rosa Klebb is also a huge inspiration for Frau Farbissina, Dr. Evil's right-hand henchwoman.

SMERSH was an actual Russian organization in the mid-40s.  It's name was a portmanteau: Смерть шпионам (SMERt' SHpionam, a.k.a. "Death to Spies").  Coined by Joseph Stalin, it was intended to be a counter-intelligence agency, protecting the Red Army from infiltration and internal conflict.  Ian Fleming included a fictional version of SMERSH as his international terrorist organization in his novels, up until he wrote Thunderball, where the new acronym SPECTRE took over as their new name.  It was a better name for an organization with no political ties to any one nation; no longer feeding off their real-life Russian roots any longer.  But Thunderball also brought conflict with that new name, a story I will tell when I get to that film in a couple days.

This film was based on Ian Fleming's 5th novel: "From Russia, with Love."  It was surprisingly loyal to the original story, only changing up a few details here and there.  This would also be the last film that Ian Fleming would ever see, as he passed away a year later, just before the third film released.  From Russia with Love (1963) had its own self-titled theme song, which sets the mood just right.  You can watch/listen to it here:

RECOMMENDATION:
This was an excellent follow-up to Dr. No (1962).  Bond is assigned to escort a defector with a Lektor, and he ends up fighting for his life in the process.  The story keeps you engaged, but not overwhelmed with action.  Like its predecessor, it has quieter moments where you can breathe a bit and process the story so far.  Plus, they filmed on location in Istanbul, so you got to see some of the beautiful sights.  That's one of the best parts of James Bond films; seeing the beautiful locations around the world where he travels.  If you want some action and intrigue, as well as more insider info to the mysterious SPECTRE organization, this is the film for you!