The James Bond Bedside Companion (57 page)

On location in Istanbul for the gypsy girlfight in
From Russia With Love
. (UPI Photo.)

Sean Connery with co-star Daniela Bianchi in Istanbul for the filming
of
From Russia With
Love. (Wide World Photo.)

The remainder of the film was shot near Pinewood Studios in England. For instance, the SPECTRE training camp was set up on the studio lawn.
From Russia With Love
was released in England in October of 1963, and was released six months later in the United States.

From Russia With Love
begins with a pre-credits sequence which, from this point on, would become a continuing device in the series. It was reportedly Harry Saltzman who came up with this idea, which other filmmakers began to copy. TV action series began using pre-credits sequences as well. Many times the Bond pre-credits scenes have nothing to do with the main body of the films; but in
From Russia With Love,
the sequence is not only related, but serves as a foreshadowing of things to come.

Saltzman's idea was to have the film, which involved a plot to assassinate James Bond, begin with the actual assassination—only it wouldn't really be Bond! The scene shows Red Grant, the SPECTRE assassin, stalking James Bond through a moonlit garden (Young supposedly based the scene on one in Alain Resnais'
Last Year at Marienbad)
and eventually strangling the British agent with a garroting wire. But a SPECTRE official walks up to the dead body and removes a mask, revealing the agent to be someone else entirely. The scene is effective, and immediately creates a mysterious atmosphere that pervades the entire film. From this point on, the dangerous presence of Red Grant is emphasized by the memory of this scene.

Another important decision the producers made affecting the film and the ones that followed was the creation of James Bond gadgetry. Q Branch, the Armoury of the Secret Service, comes into its own in
From Russia With
Love
and provides James Bond with a black attaché case containing all sorts of weaponry and devices. The early films' use of gadgetry, for the most part, was clever and amusing; but beginning with
Thunderball,
these contraptions began to dominate the screen and reduce the characters and the stories to simple manipulators of machinery.

The attaché case was actually based on Fleming's original idea. In the novel, the case contained a secret compartment and a flat throwing knife hidden in the lining. The film adds a sniperscope (with infra-red lens), ammunition, hidden gold sovereigns, and a tear gas cartridge which can be triggered only by using a trick method of opening the case. All of these devices come into play at crucial times during the film, and unlike the use of such implements in other Bond films, 007 must here rely on his wits and quick thinking to activate them.

SCREENPLAY

F
rom Russia With Love
is one of Richard Maibaum's most successful Bond screenplays mainly because of
his faithful adaptation (with the help of Johanna Harwood) of the Fleming novel.

The most obvious difference in the story is the inclusion of SPECTRE. Continuing where he left off in Dr. No, Maibaum took Fleming's lead and changed the villain's organization from SMERSH (the Russians) to SPECTRE. In the novel, SMERSH is conducting a personal vendetta against James Bond. In the film, SPECTRE is playing both ends against the middle, as they pit the Russians against the British. SPECTRE's plot is to steal the Lektor coding machine (changed from Fleming's Spektor coding machine for obvious reasons) from the Russians and hand it over to James Bond through the actions of an innocent Russian girl. Their next step is to murder Bond in an embarrassing fashion and repossess the Lektor for resale to the Russians. The addition of SPECTRE complicates the plot somewhat, but not enough to do any real damage to the action of the story. The Russian girl, Tatiana Romanova, is still ordered by Rosa Klebb (who in the film retains her status in SMERSH but is secretly a member of SPECTRE) to seduce Bond and allow him to take the Lektor machine from the Russian Consulate in Istanbul. Red Grant; now a SPECTRE assassin rather than an employee of SMERSH, still stalks Bond throughout the story until the final confrontation aboard the Orient Express.

Other changes include a shortening of the assassination planning which took up a lengthy section of the novel. Maibaum's script capsulizes the plotting into a few scenes that total about fifteen minutes of screen time. There is also an additional well-written scene between Bond and Tania aboard the Orient Express in which Bond confronts the girl with Kerim's death. This scene took place off-screen in the novel; its inclusion in the film adds a moment of authentic dramatic conflict between the two characters (a kind of scene that rarely occurs in a James Bond film).

Finally, the producers told Maibaum to add two outdoor chase sequences toward the end of the film, perhaps feeling that the film would be claustrophobic up to this point. Although unnecessary, these scenes are exciting and do open up the film visually. Fans of the novel will also find that the ending is different. In the book, Rosa Klebb kicks Bond with the poison-tipped shoe, leaving him to crash "headlong to the wine-red floor." The film version couldn't end this way, so Rosa Klebb receives her just reward in the final scene. It is a nice touch having Tania, rather than Bond, shoot the woman.

Otherwise, almost everything else in the novel remains intact in the film. The gypsy camp battle, the assassination of Krilencu (although the actress' face on the billboard was changed from Marilyn Monroe to Anita Ekberg), and the Orient Express sequences all translate wonderfully to the screen.

DIRECTION

T
erence Young is back at the helm for his second James Bond film. Much of the same stylistic qualities which made
Dr. No
a success are present in the new film: a fast tempo, hard-edged action scenes ending with moments of humor, and lively editing. But there is also a more sophisticated feeling in
From Russia With Love
. More attention has been paid to the story-telling (due largely to the fine script by Maibaum and the excellent ensemble acting by the cast), and the transitions between set-pieces are smoother. Moreover, Young has made the film as realistic as possible.
Dr. No
had its flights into fantasy, but
From Russia With Love
is for the most part believable throughout. The events in Fleming's story were not that far removed from things that could actually happen in the world of espionage, and Young managed to keep the action credible.

The film appears a little sloppy when compared to later Bond films. Young blames this on the "frantic shooting schedule" associated with the Bond films. The director told an interesting story to
Bondage
magazine about Pedro Armendariz's best scene as Kerim Bey having to be cut because it featured a character who had been killed in an earlier scene. There was to have been a scene before Bond's rendezvous with Tania on the ferry in which Bond is followed by the Bulgar with the glasses. Bond's taxi stops by a curb, and the Bulgar's car pulls up bumper-to-bumper behind it. Another car pulls up behind the Bulgar's car, blocking it between the two cars. When the Bulgar steps out to chew out the driver of the third car, he finds none other than Kerim Bey at the wheel. Another car pulls up beside Bond's taxi—he immediately enters it and is driven away, leaving the Bulgar pinned against the curb. Kerim, flicking a long ash from his cigar, says to the Bulgar, "My friend, that is life." When the rough cut of the film was screened, someone's son pointed out that the Bulgar was the same man killed earlier in the St Sophia mosque, and the scene had to be eliminated.

ACTORS AND CHARACTERS

S
ean Connery delivers another fine performance in
From Russia With Love.
He seems more relaxed and confident than he did in
Dr. No,
although one misses the hard edges that were present only in that first film. But Connery, at this point, was growing into the role; he adds more sophistication to the way Bond carries himself. The character also shows a side that never appeared in any of the Fleming novels. This is during the new scene aboard the Orient Express, in which he confronts Tania with Kerim's death. James Bond actually slaps Tania, and spits out his questions with spite. One can hardly blame him, since his best friend has just died and he now believes that the girl, whom he has trusted all this time, has been lying to him. When Tania tearfully claims that she loves him, Bond mutters, "I'm sure you do," and walks into the next compartment Connery plays the scene beautifully, and one can sense the harsh anger that emerges from within when he's crossed.

Daniela Bianchi makes an impressive film debut in
From Russia With Love
as Tatiana Romanova. Even though her role is boosted considerably by the fine script, Bianchi is convincing in presenting the essential qualities of her character—innocence, intelligence, and romantic idealism. Yet Tania is also a dedicated citizen of the Soviet Union, and when she is ordered by Rosa Klebb to accept the unusual assignment on behalf of the State, she doesn't hesitate. Bianchi, an extremely beautiful actress, exhibits all of these desires and internal conflicts between heart and mind; it is a shame she hasn't been seen in too many other films. One scene that stands out particularly is when she is trying on the new nightgowns Bond has bought for her. Through her playful attitude, one realizes that she is no longer pretending her love for him. She has warmed to her role of romantic spy and is playing it with conviction.

Bond's friend and ally in Turkey, Kerim Bey, is played by the late Pedro Armendariz, a fine character actor. The role is well-cast, and Armendariz manages to flood the screen with the warmth and good nature of the character. It is Kerim who is the Obligatory Sacrificial Lamb of this picture, and it is truly a blow when he is murdered. Most of Fleming's descriptions of the man apply, although not enough time is spent on the character's interesting background.

The film contains two strong performances by its main villains: the late Robert Shaw as the killer, Red
Grant; and Lotte Lenya as the evil Rosa Klebb. Shaw,
noted at the time of the film mainly for his stage work, underwent a body-building course which transformed him into the muscular SPECTRE assassin. It was wise on the scriptwriter's part to keep the Grant character silent until Bond finally meets him as Captain Nash aboard the Orient Express. Up to this point, Grant appears several times in the film, watching and waiting for the appropriate time for the killing. This helps build suspense, and when Grant finally speaks to Bond, the effect is even more frightening. Shaw delivers a cold, menacing, brilliant performance.

The late Lotte Lenya, widow of the composer Kurt Weill and once a member of Bertolt Brecht's famous ensemble in Germany (she created the role of Jenny in
The Threepenny Opera),
might have seemed too glamorous for the role of an ugly, evil Russian murderess. But casting Lenya was a brilliant ploy on the producers' part. She delivers perfectly the "toad-like" qualities of the character, as well as the "perverse" aspects. The character's Lesbianism is even vaguely hinted at in the film. During the briefing with Tania, Lenya circles the girl like a cat ready to pounce on its prey. At one point, Klebb lays her hand momentarily on Tania's knee, causing a quick shock of negative electricity between the two characters. The audience feels the shock as well, which is a tribute to Lenya's acting ability.