From Russia with Love/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Ali Karim Bey (Pedro Armendáriz)

A former circus strongman he is MI6' head of Station T in Instanubul. He is a wise, good natured man whom Bond immediately takes a liking to.

Donald "Red" Grant (Robert Shaw)

Along with Oddjob and Jaws, the iconic Bond Villain henchman. Grant is a tall, burly, blonde SPECTRE agent (SMERSH in the books). Grant is a merciless killer and surprisingly is the man that comes closest to killing James Bond in the entire series. Grant's backstory in the movie and book are completely different but both effectively amount to This is a horrible person you don't want to mess with.

  • Alone with the Psycho: Again, one of the only times Bond is totally gotten the drop on by an enemy.
  • Ax Crazy: Machine Gun crazy for Red Grant.
  • Blondes Are Evil
  • The Brute
  • Dirty Communists: In the book version, Red Grant is hired by SMERSH because they need someone who loves killing.
  • Dumb Blonde: Subverted. While the book Red Grant doesn't seem like the sharpest tool in the shed, he's actually able to do things that other Bond villain henchmen are completely incapable of (like use stealth or hold down a cover)
  • The Dragon: Red Grant is Rosa Klebb's or Blofeld's in the movie, and General G's in the book.
  • Fountain of Expies: Red has been imitated with Hans, Necros, Mister Stamper, and other Aryan-looking villains. It's arguable that Rocky IV's Ivan Drago is also meant to evoke Red Grant.
  • Greed: His Achilles' Heel in the film.
  • Iconic Characters
  • Karmic Death: Red Grant is killed going for some gold coins.
  • Made of Iron: Red Grant doesn't flinch when hit by a pair of brass knuckles.
    • This is a slight exaggeration from the book, where he doubles over slightly and stands upright again from a blow that the narration notes would have left any normal man cringing on the floor.
  • Name's the Same: Red Grant's first name in the film is Donald, and thus he is a namesake of another British traitor, although the real one was a Nazi rather than a Communist.
  • Psycho for Hire: Red Grant is a serial killer (stemming from advanced case of manic-depressive disorder) in the original book, and a homicidal paranoiac in the movie.
  • The Quiet One: Bordering on The Voiceless. He does not speak for most of the movie, and when he finally does, it's to imitate someone he has just murdered.
  • Red Right Hand: Red Grant is asexual. More literally, his reddish skin tone is noted in the novel as marring what are otherwise extremely handsome physical features, giving a clue to his nature.
  • Serial Killer: Book version.

Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya)

Kronsteen (Vladek Sheybal)

Morzeny (Walter Gotell)

The one in charge of training the SPECTRE mooks. He will also step in for ground operations when needed.

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