The second James Bond film based on a novel by Ian Fleming, starring Sean Connery and Daniela Bianchi, premiered in London on this date in 1963. From Russia with Love was a critical and commercial success; earning more than $78 million in box office receipts, far more than its $2 million budget, and more than its predecessor Dr. No, thereby becoming a blockbuster in 1960s cinema. As President John F. Kennedy had named Fleming's novel From Russia with Love among his 10 favorite books of all time in Life magazine, producers Broccoli and Saltzman chose this as the follow-up to Bond's cinematic debut in Dr. No.
From Russia with Love was the last film President Kennedy saw at the White House on 20 November 1963 before going to Dallas.
The film also started some traditions that were used in all the later Bond movies: a pre-title sequence, the Blofeld character, a secret-weapon gadget for Bond, a helicopter sequence, a postscript action sequence after the main climax, a theme song with lyrics, and the line "James Bond will return/be back" in the credits.
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