Video: 'From Russia with Love' trailer

(Thursday, October 10, 1963, 8:20 p.m. British Summer Time) — From Russia with Love, the second in the James Bond spy film series produced by Eon Productions, as well as Sean Connery’s second role as MI6 agent 007, premiered tonight at the Odeon Leicester Square in London.

Directed by Terence Young, produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and written by Richard Maibaum and Johanna Harwood, the film was based on Ian Fleming’s 1957 novel From Russia, with Love.

The film also starred Pedro Armendáriz, Lotte Lenya, Robert Shaw, Bernard Lee and Daniela Bianchi.

In the film, Bond is sent to assist in the defection of Soviet consulate clerk Tatiana Romanova in Turkey, where SPECTRE plans to avenge Bond’s killing of Dr. No.

Video: 'From Russia with Love (1963) - Movie' (10 clips)

Following the success of 1962’s Dr. No, United Artists greenlit a sequel and doubled the budget available for the producers. In addition to filming on location in Turkey, the action scenes were shot at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, and in Scotland.

Production ran over budget and schedule, and was rushed to finish by its scheduled October 1963 release date.

From Russia with Love was a critical and commercial success. It would take in more than $78 million in worldwide box-office receipts, far more than its $2 million budget and more than its predecessor Dr. No, thereby becoming a blockbuster in 1960s cinema.

The film is considered one of the best entries in the series. In 2004, Total Film magazine named it the ninth-greatest British film of all time; it was the only Bond film to appear on the list.

It was also the first film in the series to win a BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography.