Second Bond film walks the perfect line between seriousness and frivolity, avoiding the silliness that marred many of the later films. It well captures the cat and mouse aspect of the spy game, and is deservedly regarded as one of the best, if not the best, of the Bond films. This time, Connery as 007 is sent to Istanbul to collect a decoder from a defecting (and beautiful) Russian agent. However, it's all a setup by SPECTRE, which leads to a brutal fight on the Orient Express and a fiery escape by boat. Connery is in peak form, and Bianchi is one of the most appealing Bond women to appear on screen, especially notweworthing considering she was dubbed! Much credit should also go to Armendariz for bringing such a cheerful character to life when he was dying of cancer. A little less of the gypsy camp would have been nice, though.

Preceded by Dr. No (1962), and followed by Goldfinger (1964).

Note on screencaps: The 25 actors with credited roles are shown first, followed by everyone else in order of appearance, whether known or unknown. Obviously there were more gypsies and Bulgurs on screen, but I do believe I have captured a screenshot of everyone with a line of dialogue or significant onscreen moment.