From Russia
With Love
60th Anniversary
1963–2023

To accompany the UK release an iconic quad-crown poster designed by Eric Pulford and illustrated by Renato Fratini went through several iterations before its final rendition of Sean Connery as James Bond 007, surrounded by provocative images of women and a small vignette emphasising the exotic nature of the film, was approved. The main image of Sean Connery with a sardonic smile and holding a pistol across his chest became THE iconic image of the character that has appeared in some form or other on Bond posters ever since. However, the use of an air pistol instead of 007’s signature Walther PPK came about purely by accident. Celebrated photojournalist David Hurn (1934- ) was hired by Publicist Tom Carlile to take a series of publicity photographs of Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, and the other actresses in the film for use during the promotion of From Russia With Love. Unfortunately, Carlile forgot to bring the Walther PPK to the session, and Hurn being a keen amateur marksman offered his own Walther LP53 .177 air pistol for the photoshoot. Assured that the incongruous weapon could be airbrushed or altered by retouching in any posters that were based on the publicity stills, the photoshoot went ahead with the air pistol, which resulted in probably the most iconic series of stills ever taken for the James Bond film series. Unfortunately, nobody briefed the UK poster designers and the long-barrelled weapon featured as the centrepiece of the British advertising campaign, although some early concept designs do show the Walther PPK. Hurn’s Walther air pistol was originally sold in auction at CHRISTIE'S in 2001 for £14,100; and again for a world record $437,000 (£277,250) in 2010, and most recently in 2013 in the USA for $300,000. Unlike Dr. No (1962), which featured more of less the same advertising campaign on posters on both sides of the Atlantic, for the second James Bond film, alternate retouched versions of David Hurn’s stills were used by United Artists graphic designer David Chasman throughout the American campaign.

The final stages of post-production began on September 16, 1963 – where the sound, editing and music dubbing were finalised. The completed film was then sent to the Technicolor labs who delivered 75 release prints on October 7th – just one day before the press screening held at the ODEON Leicester Square. The final cut of the film had been trimmed slightly by the British Board of Film Censors in order to achieve its ‘A’ certificate. Although the Board was beginning to relax its views on sex and violence in British cinema, From Russia With Love clearly went beyond the bounds of a mainstream commercial film intended for a general audience at that time. Board Secretary John Trevelyan (1903-1986) ordered several cuts to From Russia With Love to tone down the sexual content of the film; a handful of suggestive lines between Bond and Tania were cut, in addition to several shots of the gypsy belly dancer Leila Guirat, and the subsequent fight between Martine Beswick and Aliza Gur. Treveleyan also ordered the removal of a shot of Tania walking naked towards Bond’s bed just before their first meeting (actually a double wearing a flesh colour body-stocking). This shot was the only one restored to the film when reclassified by the BBFC for home video release  in 1984. The Board also suggested shortening and darkening the sequence where Bond and Tania are secretly filmed in the bridal suite of their Istanbul hotel. One more harmful trim was Grant’s line, “What a performance!” when he comments on the secretly shot reel of film as he taunts Bond on board the Orient Express. At the end of the film in the print submitted to the censor, Bond repeats the line as he looks at the film reel before tossing it into the Venetian canal. The censor’s edit here results in a clumsy jump cut which has been present in all versions of the film since 1963. The trims were noted in a memo sent to United Artists executive Robert Blumofe in January 1964 by the US censor Geoffrey Shurlock. The export prints of From Russia With Love were then conformed to the UK original release. The cut material is presumed lost. Unlike BBFC trims made to later films in the series, these cuts have never been restored. Ironically, Robert Blumofe was one of the UA executives who originally vetoed Sean Connery’s casting as James Bond in 1961!

From Russia With Love then opened at the ODEON Leicester Square in London on Thursday October 10, 1963 – with the first public screening at 12.40pm. The final performance of the day beginning at 8.20pm was designated as a ‘Gala Screening’ with many cast and crew members present, including director Terence Young and co-producers Harry Saltzman & Albert R. Broccoli. Sean Connery attended with his parents and wife, actress Diane Cilento. Co-stars Robert Shaw [with his wife, actress Mary Ure] and Daniela Bianchi were also invited to the Gala Screening and after party. James Bond author Ian Fleming also attended the screening and afterwards hosted his own private party for friends at his London home in Victoria Square. A week later Ian Fleming wrote to his friend Amherst Villiers in the USA telling him, “… the first night of ‘From Russia With Love’ was a majestic success and the queues formed all day round and round Leicester Square where it is showing at the Odeon.“ It was just the boost Fleming needed, as in another six weeks he would find himself under a different spotlight in the High Court in London, as Kevin McClory’s THUNDERBALL plagiarism case finally came to trial. Embarrassed and defeated, Ian Fleming eventually settled the case out of court with McClory winning the screen rights to the 1961 James Bond novel.

From Russia With Love opened in larger towns and cities across the UK on Sunday, October 13, 1963 and proved incredibly popular, with many cinemas holding the film over for a second or third week. Due to its enormous success From Russia With Love was also shown for three weeks at the 2,400-seat ODEON Marble Arch from Thursday October 17, 1963, and became the first film ever to play simultaneously in four West End cinemas. It is no surprise that From Russia With Love subsequently became the highest-grossing British film of all time on its initial release, and broke the house record at the ODEON Leicester Square, taking £14,528 in its first week. The success of From Russia With Love prompted a re-release of Dr. No (1962) in many cinemas across the UK toward the end of 1963. Director of photography on both films Ted Moore went on to win the award for Best Cinematography (Colour) for his work on From Russia With Love at the 1964 BAFTA ceremony.

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From Russia With Love FACT FILE