Dr. No (1962)

A resourceful British government agent seeks answers in a case involving the disappearance of a colleague and the disruption of the American space program.

Director:

Terence Young

Writers:

Richard Maibaum (screenplay), Johanna Harwood (screenplay)

Stars:

Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Bernard Lee

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 nominations.

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 Margaret Le Wars) (as Marguerite Lewars: end credits)
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 Jamaica, 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:

official james bond series | murder | british secret service | terrorist plot | hand to hand combat | 

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Taglines:

The first screen adventure for agent 007 - Bond, James Bond. [35th Anniversary poster]

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

8 May 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

James Bond 007 jagt 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) (as Technicolor ©)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A script developed by producer Kevin McClory, screenwriter Jack Whittingham and novelist Ian Fleming, reportedly titled "James Bond, Secret Agent" was originally going to be the first James Bond movie, but Fleming caused legal problems before any production could begin by writing and publishing what he thought of as 'the book to the movie' without consulting the others. This novel was published in 1961, titled "Thunderball" by Fleming, and resulted in legal action by McClory. This legal action tied up rights to the script and story, and made McClory's participation problematic, so Dr. No (1962) wound up being chosen instead. The Thunderball (1965) plot was eventually used for the fourth Bond movie. Subsequent editions of the novel "Thunderball" carry a credit for McClory and Whittingham, and McClory eventually saw the original concept more or less produced under the title Never Say Never Again (1983).

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Goofs

When Bond finally reach Miss Taro's house and she opens the door for him, all the shutters on the door are at the same angle. As Bond steps in, one of the shutters has changed its position.

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Quotes

[Bond admires a huge aquarium. Dr. No enters]
Dr. No: One million dollars, Mr. Bond. You were wondering what it cost.
James Bond: As a matter of fact, I was.

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

Referenced in The Girl (2012)

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Soundtracks

James Bond Theme
Music by Monty Norman
Arrangement by John Barry

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!