Dr. No (1962)

James Bond's investigation of a missing colleague in Jamaica leads him to the island of the mysterious Dr. No and a scheme to end the US space program.

Director:

Terence Young

Writers:

Richard Maibaum (screenplay), Johanna Harwood (screenplay),

Stars:

Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Connery	...	James Bond
Ursula Andress	...	Honey Ryder
Joseph Wiseman	...	Dr. No
Jack Lord	...	Felix Leiter
Bernard Lee	...	M.
Anthony Dawson	...	Professor Dent
Zena Marshall	...	Miss Taro
John Kitzmiller	...	Quarrel (as John Kitzmuller)
Eunice Gayson	...	Sylvia
Lois Maxwell	...	Miss Moneypenny
Peter Burton	...	Major Boothroyd
Yvonne Shima	...	Sister Lily
Michel Mok	...	Sister Rose
Marguerite LeWars	...	Photographer (as Marguerite Le Wars, Margaret Lewars)
William Foster-Davis	...	Superintendent (as Wm. Foster-Davis)

Storyline

James Bond (007) is Britain's top agent and is on an exciting mission, to solve the mysterious murder of a fellow agent. The task sends him to Jamacia, where he joins forces with Quarrel and a loyal CIA agent, Felix Leiter. While dodging tarantulas, "fire breathing dragons" and a trio of assassins, known as the three blind mice. Bond meets up with the beautiful Honey Ryder and goes face to face with the evil Dr. No.

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Plot Keywords:

island | jamaica | cia | cia agent | scientist | 

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Taglines:

His name is Bond; James Bond.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English French

Release Date:

8 May 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

El satánico Dr. No

Filming Locations:

2171 Magenta Drive, Jamaica

Box Office

Budget:

$1,100,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$16,067,035 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When James Bond sings "Under The Mango Tree" in this movie, it is the only ever time that James Bond has sung in a Bond movie.

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Goofs

During the rocket countdown, the commentary from Cape Canaveral says that this is the launch of the MA-7 (Mercury-Atlas 7) mission. This was Scott Carpenter's flight as part of Project Mercury. Just a little later the rocket is reported as being at its full weight of 240, yet the launch weight of the Atlas rocket was only just over 100 tons.

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Quotes

[first lines]
John Strangways: That's it. Hundred honors and ninety below.
Professor R. J. Dent: Nicely done, Strangways. I have to give it to you.
John Strangways: I must leave you for a few minutes. Order a round on my chit, will you Professor.
Professor R. J. Dent: Right.
Gen. Potter: Damn it all! Must you break off at this time every evening?
John Strangways: Sorry, General. My managing director is a creature of habit. There's a call booked through to me every day about this time.

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Crazy Credits

In the closing credits, John Kitzmiller's name is misspelled "John Kitzmuller".

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Connections

Featured in 20 to 1: Movie Heroes & Villains (2007)

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Soundtracks

"The Island Speaks"
(uncredited)
Written by Monty Norman
Performed by Monty Norman

User Reviews

Twenty installments later and what's better?

Commenting on DR NO is a little like being asked to review 'Genesis" or "The Gospel According to Matthew." It IS what it is! Connery WAS Bond from the instant he appeared on screen and remember Ian Fleming, his creator was still alive at this stage. (Fleming in fact saw the first three Bonds but died before the release of THUNDERBALL)

DR NO set the standards, albeit with a limited budget, for the entire series. Action, pretty girls, one-liners and impossibly cashed-up enemies. My own father was a confirmed Bond addict (having worked in army intelligence during WW2) and had been greatly looking forward to the release of this film. Cruelly, he died just a couple of weeks before its premiere in London in 1962. I made up for it however by seeing it four days running. At the time, just about as exciting as films got, it was an enormous box office smash and vindicated the studio's decision to sign Connery. Fleming in fact had wanted Roger Moore for the role, who was then riding high with THE SAINT worldwide and was unavailable for filming. Connery, who's only claim to fame at the time was as a part time male model and bit-part actor, his biggest role having been as a truckie in HELL DRIVERS three years earlier.

Of course DR NO is dated now - its 40 years old! and deserves to be looked at from that standpoint The action sequences were raw in parts, pretty good in others. Sure the car chase scenes in Jamaica with the laughable back-projections are a cackfest now but none of this matters. The sets were imaginative, the fights good stuff, Ursula Andress enough for any young man's wet dream and Wiseman as DR No himself probably the best villain of them all, despite his very limited screentime. Very imaginative sets for the time and pyrotechnics to please.

When it came to my home-town I took several days off college and watched it with fellow students. This was way better than Latin and calculus!