Lotte Lenya is perfectly cast as the curmudgeon SPECTRE Number 3 Rosa Klebb in From Russia With Love. Lenya strips Klebb of any conventional glamour, with a low, monotone voice and an almost teacher-like authoritativeness that gives disciplinarian nun vibes. Her complete lack of sex appeal is not a limitation but a deliberate asset, reinforcing Klebb’s authority as Tatiana Romanova’s superior and establishing her credibility as one of Blofeld’s most trusted lieutenants.
Lenya highlights every scene she appears, including her brass knuckle gut punch toughness check for Red Grant as well as during Romanova’s interrogation. In particular, the interrogation is punctuated by the sharp crack of her riding crop against Romanova’s chair and Klebb’s cold, bureaucratic threat of execution should she fail.
Her poison-tipped, spiked shoes are a perfect distillation of her unimposing yet deadly character, and although she’s physically unintimidating, Klebb never appears weak.
