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 | felix leiter character | west indian | 007 | 

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Taglines:

007 The double "O" means he has a license to kill when he chooses...where he chooses...whom he chooses!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

MGM [United States]

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

Marguerite LeWars (Annabel) was working as a flight attendant for BWIA (British West Indian Airways) when Terence Young approached her with the age-old line "Would you like to be in movies?" Lewars' brother-in-law Reggie Carter played Jones the chauffeur, the first villain encountered by James Bond in the film franchise.

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Goofs

When the hearse with the Three Blind Mice speeds away at the beginning of the film, two (Klieg?) lights are visible in the reflection on the window, as well as the outline of a crew member.

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Quotes

Photographer: You'll be sorry! You'll all be sorry, you rats!

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are a montage composed of flashing lights, dancing people and finally the three blind men walking around.

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Alternate Versions

Alternate versions of some scenes were filmed for European markets, including a somewhat more revealing scene involving the character Miss Taro.

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Connections

Referenced in Goldfinger (1964)

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Soundtracks

Under the Mango Tree
(uncredited)
Composed by Monty Norman
Sung by Nikki Van der Zyl and Sean Connery
CBS Unart Catalog Inc. (BMI)

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!