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 1 win & 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 Trench
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 C.I.A. 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:

british secret service | official james bond series | 007 | murder | terrorist plot | 

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Taglines:

JAMES BOND, Agent 007! [Australian theatrical daybill movie poster]

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English French

Release Date:

7 October 1962 (UK)

Also Known As:

Dr. No

Filming Locations:

2171 Magenta Drive, Jamaica

Box Office

Budget:

$1,100,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$16,067,035

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$59,600,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor) (as Technicolor ©)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A script developed by Producer Kevin McClory, Screenwriter Jack Whittingham, and author 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" 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

The scene at Ms. Taro's apartment happens in the dead of night, yet daylight can be seen coming in through the shutters.

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Quotes

Honey Ryder: Have you any idea what they'll do with us?
James Bond: No idea. No door handles or windows, either.
Honey Ryder: It's a prison, then.
James Bond: Mink-lined with first-class service.

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Crazy Credits

The boat carrying Bond and Honey is between "The End".

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Alternate Versions

During the Dent execution, most TV prints omit Bond's second gunshot into Dent's back. Some foreign prints omit the scene entirely.

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Connections

Referenced in Endeavour: Pilot (2012)

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Soundtracks

Kingston Calypso
Music by Monty Norman
Lyrics by Monty Norman
Performed by Byron Lee

User Reviews

A good introduction to James Bond

Dr. No begins the entire James Bond film saga, and yet barely fits any of the pre-conceived ideas of what a Bond Film is. What it does do is introduce the public to the basic tenets of who James Bond is and what he does and it does this very well.

We meet Bond playing his card game of choice (Chemin de Feur, a form of Bacarat) and as suave and confident as he will ever be. It is also in this first movie (though the book was much later in the Bond series) that Bond is assigned the Walther PPK from Q Branch by orders of M.

Bond is asked to investigate some problems in the Caribbean by the US (someone is messing with radar transmissions of US rockets in Florida) after a British agent in the area is killed. The investigations hint at a mysterious Dr. No (played brilliantly by Richard Wiseman) who owns a small island off the coast of Jamaica.

What is so great about this movie is that, though a Bond movie, it lacks many of the silly contrivances of the "Bond Formula" which would be introduced piecemeal through later films. Bond is a detective... an agent... not some super-human hero who can pull down evil empires with a button on his magic watch. He's cool, calculating, and even cold-blooded when he guns down a potential assassin who he has already disarmed (though, the scene inferred here has 2 filmed versions- one in which the assailant reacquires his gun- albeit it, with an empty chamber...) The interplay between Bond and Moneypenny are here from the get-go, as is the irascibility of M towards Bond (which Dame Judi Dench has brought back brilliantly in the Brosnan-Craig Bonds).

What's missing are the famous pre-titles sequences, although Maurice Binder's famous titles get a subtler beginning here (before they became the nude extravaganzas in later years). The requisite big-budget chase scenes are not here (though a car chase is offered), nor are the multi-continent gorgeous locales here... everything occurs in or near Jamaica.

The most famous element of Bond movies (outside of Bond) are the famous "Bond Girls." Eunice Gayson as Sylvia Trench comes first, then, the iconic and legendary scene- Ursula Andress (as Honey Rider). SPECTRE, the infamous crime organization, is also mentioned in this movie.

Again, this movie is not unlike many detective/spy movies of its era- it is the name "Bond" that makes it stand out. The fame that the Bond series later achieved was not here- the movie is solid and enjoyable but not "Casablanca" quality good. It is a 9/10 for Bond films because it is done well, fairly faithful to the book, and did not hide behind gadgets and gimmicks as later Bonds do. Bond here is an agent, who must be detective, lawman, and killer all rolled into one- and it does it well.

All in all, a fine movie, made on a shoe-string budget that accomplishes what it was meant to do- ably and properly introduce James Bond to an international audience.