From Russia with Love – 1963 | 110 mins | Action, Thriller | Colour

Plot Synopsis

Kronsteen (Vladek Sheybal), master plotter for SPECTRE, has devised a scheme to steal a new decoder, the Lektor, from the Russians, and embarrass the British Secret Service, along the way gaining revenge for SPECTRE for the death of Dr No. Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya), former head of operations for SMERSH, and now a SPECTRE agent is placed in control by the mysterious No. 1. Klebb assesses Donovan Grant (Robert Shaw), a psychopath training on SPECTRE Island, and recruits a Russian cypher clerk, Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi), from the Istanbul Consulate.

In London, the trap is sprung. Tatiana will defect to the British with the Lektor, only if James Bond (Sean Connery), with whose picture she has fallen in love, will collect her. Bond plays along, and works with Kerim Bey (Pedro Armendáriz), head of Station T in Turkey. SPECTRE heats up the Cold War in Istanbul by killing and attacking the Russians and the British, through their respective agents, the Bulgars and the Gypsies. Bond gets caught up in this, and helps Kerim kill Krilencu (Fred Haggerty), a murderous Bulgar.

Tatiana comes to Bond’s room, where unbeknown to them, they are photographed making love. He gets enough information out of her for London to agree that the Lektor sounds genuine, so he engineers her escape from the Consulate with the machine, and they race on board the Orient Express. However, Grant, who has been following Bond since his arrival, on one occasion saving his life, is also on board. Kerim Bey is killed, and Bond decides to stay on the train, rather than go across country. He gets a message to London asking for help to smuggle the Lektor across the border, and is met at Zagreb by Captain Nash – or rather, by Grant, who has quickly disposed of the British agent, and taken his place.

Bond is suspicious of Nash when he sees him doctor Tatiana’s drink, but is surprised when Nash reveals that he is from the opposition. Tatiana is to be killed, alongside Bond, and a letter threatening to blackmail 007 will be found with a reel of film of the lovemaking. Bond manages to appeal to Grant’s greed, and uses a booby trap in the briefcase to turn the tables. After a vicious fight, Bond garrottes Grant, collects Tatiana and hijacks Grant’s escape route.

SPECTRE realise what’s happened, and send a helicopter and later a flotilla of boats after Bond as he and Tatiana travel by sea to Venice. Bond disposes of them, and reaches Venice, where Rosa Klebb appears, masquerading as a cleaning woman. Tatiana distracts her, and then shoots her as she attacks Bond. Tatiana returns Bond’s ring, as he looks at the reel of film he’s taken from Grant, and throws it in the water.