A Study of Adaptation - From Russia With Love

I've already mentioned during my original marathon that From Russia With Love is one of my favourite films in the franchise. The fifth novel, published in 1957, became the second film, released in 1963. Rumour has it that the film was made following a statement by President Kennedy that the novel was one of his favourites.

In the novel, Bond has been marked for death by SMERSH, the Soviet counterintelligence service. who also seek to discredit him and his organisation by implicating him in a sex scandal. Their plan is to send file clerk Corporal Tatiana Romanova to Istanbul, claiming that she seeks to defect after falling in love with a file photo of Bond. As an added incentive, she offers to bring with her a sought-after decoding machine known as the Spektor.

The first third of the book actually follows the conspirators: Colonel Tov Kronsteen, a chess grand master and chief planner; Colonel Rosa Klebb, the Head of Operations who overseas the mission; and Donovan Grant, a psychopathic murderer serving as the SMERSH executioner.

The film retains the general story, but this time the scheme is being devised by the criminal organisation, SPECTRE, in a bid to play the British and the Russians off against each other. Kronsteen and Klebb work for SPECTRE, but Klebb is still believed to be an officer in SMERSH, and uses this role when enlisting Romanova for the mission.

The film also utilises more action. Bond and Kerim Bey, the MI6 station chief in Istanbul, carry out a bombing of the Soviet consulate to steal the decoder. In the novel, Romanova simply removes the decoder and meets them on board the Orient Express.

In a similar regard, Bond and Romanova jump off the Orient Express after Zagreb, and get accosted by SPECTRE agents while en route to Venice. In the novel, they leave the train at Dijon. This change makes sense, as Bond states in the film that he is reluctant to take the decoder past the checkpoints.

There are also some examples of sanitisation in the film, regarding Klebb's sexuality and Kerim Bey's background. When Klebb recruits Romanova in the novel, she actually tries to seduce her, which prompts Romanova to make a quick exit. That doesn't happen in the film, but it does show Klebb making a pass at Romanova. Meanwhile, Kerim Bey's relationship with his mistress and how they met is not explored in the film. Reading the novel, I know why. I'm not going to mention it here, but let's just say that it detracts from Kerim Bay's status as a dependable and appealing ally.

However, one of the major changes is the ending:

• In the film, Klebb makes a last ditch effort to kill Bond and grab the decoder at his hotel in Venice, but she is killed by Romanova after a scuffle.
• In comparison, the novel ends on much more of a downer. Bond goes to apprehend Klebb in Paris, and hands her over to his old friend Mathis. However, Klebb manages to kick him with a poison-tipped shoe spike. The novel ends with Bond collapsing while struggling to breathe.

Fair enough, cinematic audiences want a happy ending. But there was also a reality subtext to the ending of the book. Fleming had received a fan letter from a gunsmith named Geoffrey Boothroyd, who criticised Fleming's use of a low-calibre Beretta as Bond's firearm of choice. Fleming included in the ending that the silencer on Bond's gun gets caught in his jacket, which results in him getting kicked. On top of that, Fleming was contemplating making this the last novel.

However, the film couldn't use this, as there was a growing market for Bond on the big screen. Furthermore, Bond was already using his trademark Walther PPK at this point. This is what Boothroyd recommended, and came into play when James Bond returned in Dr No.