Here's another example of an early James Bond film that, for many years, I thought was "super," but now it plays too slowly. In other words, if you are used to seeing today's movies, this film will drag in a lot of spots. It's hard to imagine a James Bond movie putting you to sleep but I almost guarantee you much of today's audiences would do that here. It also looks dated by now, some 45 years after being released. Some films age well; this one doesn't. Yet, for James Bond purists, this movie will always rank high and I can understand that.

That's because I, too, will always consider this the best of the non-hokey Bonds, a solid Cold War action-suspense film in which Robert Shaw ("Red Grant") makes for a chilling villain. Who will ever forget Rosa Klebb as the villain, "Lotte Lenya," the woman with the lethal footwear? Daniela Bianchi is beautiful as "Tatiana." Russian women had always been portrayed a fat, ugly and manly--looking until this female character came along. Now we see tons of Russian beauties, on film and in real life.

Overall, there aren't enough action scenes, which sounds strange since Bond movies often suffer from the opposite. Of the few in here, one is a ripoff from "North By Northwest," too - it's not even an original scene! Thankfully, Goldfinger, the next Bond film, turned things totally around with wonderful creativity and fun.

Still, if you like a good straightforward espionage story, this will do.