Typewriters of James Bond 007 – From Russia With Love

Typewriters of James Bond 007 – From Russia With Love Back to the Bond series re-watch with the director’s commentary, looking for typewriters and identifying them for posterity. (:First shot of a typewriter is almost 20 minutes into the film, as will become the norm, in Moneypenny’s office. That sure looks like a green SCM Coronet Automatic to me. That would have been brand-new in 1963, not like the crusty old Royal in the previous film, so MI6 has upgraded! We catch a glimpse of what looks like a 1930’s Royal KHM Standard at Bond’s hotel in Istanbul later. It’s behind a telephone in the background of the shot with a lot of camera movement panning past it, difficult to get a clear shot. How about the Lektor? Could we consider *that* a typewriter? We see it a few times when it’s first taken from the Russian Embassy, when the case is open on the radio desk, then we see it more clearly in one of the final scenes in Bond’s hotel room in Venice. It’s some sort of blue-painted machine, and it does have a keyboard and maybe a paper roll printer built in like a calculator, but it’s not really looking like a typewriter. Might even be a made-up prop. Sure looks like it’s carried in a typewriter case, but it has twenty-four symbols and sixteen code keys on its keyboard, according to the film description, so not really a typewriter in any real sense of the word.So there ya have it, Two typewriter sighting in From Russia With Love, a 1963 Smith-Corona Coronet Automatic and (probably) a 1930’s Royal KHM Standard. Again, it’s Moneypenny’s office that gives us most of the typewriter love, and the pattern of upgrades for her typewriter every film begins to be established.
And the Series Continues:
Typewriters of James Bond 007: Dr. No

Updated: April 8, 2024 — 10:30 am

8 Comments

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  1. I am grateful to movie directors that have put some effort into requesting credible props. That one falls into that category.

    In certain shows, it bothers me that they show typewriters in use with the paper bail rollers all pushed to the end on one side.

  2. I’m enjoying this series on typewriters in Bond movies. I can’t identify the typewriters in “Leatherheads” about early football or in “42” on the life of baseball great Jackie Robinson, but I recall there are some neat scenes featuring period-correct typewriters. Well, I’d like to just add that I’ve managed to read every one of your blogs back to 2010, and finally reached this one today. It took awhile, but when my wife encouraged me to use her old iPad, the going got easier. Lots of stuff was baffling (video games, computer programming), but the blogs were consistently interesting and very creative. Let me just express thanks. And thanks, too, for your contributions to the typewriter community. Best wishes.

    1. Hey, you made it all the way! Glad you enjoyed them. It is quite gratifying to know that someone went through the whole novel :D

  3. Looking forward to the next installment of this series, Ted!

  4. I would like to become a typewriter hunter if possible. I have data about my Olympia SM9 that I’d like to upload/record. My username on the database will be PastorJeremy87. Thanks.

    1. Welcome, Typewriter Hunter! (:

  5. I would like to become a secret agent if possible. I’ll even supply my own typewriter.

    1. You’re already a Typewriter Hunter (:

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