DR. NO (1962)

Director: Terence Young

Writers: Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, Berkley Mather adapting Ian Fleming’s novel

Producers: Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman

Cast: Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman, Bernard Lee, Jack Lord, Lois Maxwell, Anthony Dawson, Eunice Gayson, John Kitzmiller, Zena Marshall, Peter Burton, Marguerite LeWars, Louise Blaazer, Yvonne Shima, Michel Mok, William Foster-Davis, Dolores Keator, Reggie Carter, Colonel Burton, Timothy Moxon (uncredited), Milton Reid (uncredited)

When British Intelligence operative John Strangways (Timothy Moxon) goes missing in Jamaica, British Secret Service Agent James Bond (Sean Connery) is sent to investigate. Strangways was monitoring radio jamming transmissions detected during failed U.S. space program rocket launches from Cape Canaveral. Bond works in collaboration with CIA agent Felix Leiter (Jack Lord). Almost immediately upon Bond’s arrival in Jamaica, he is in mortal danger from various assassins.

The Flashback Fanatic movie review

Former British Intelligence officer and writer Ian Fleming is supposed to have selected the name for his world-famous spy hero from an author’s name on a book about birds. Fleming wanted a plain sounding name, and he thought “James Bond” was the most plain one he could have imagined. In retrospect, it is the perfect name that only seems anonymous until the feats of the character himself make that name notable. It is a solid and decisive sounding name that is unforgettable after reading just one of Ian Fleming’s stories.

James Bond's creator, author Ian Fleming

James Bond debuted in Fleming’s 1953 novel, Casino Royale. With the Cold War well underway in a world coming to grips with mankind’s newfound nuclear capabilities for push-button Armageddon, Fleming’s British espionage operative grappled with international security threats that had readers on edge. There are those who prefer to ignore bad news and others who are all too aware of civilization’s precarious balancing act. To comfort that latter segment of the public, James Bond entertained them with the hope that there are always some anonymous brains and brawn bound by duty to spoil the schemes of the West’s enemies. To put it more simply, being entertained by Bond’s adventures was making the best of a bad situation.

All that Ian Fleming intended with his Bond stories was to provide some exciting escapism informed by his background as an intelligence officer, his own sense of refinement, and perhaps a bit of wish fulfilment. That last consideration certainly figured into the appeal of the Secret Agent 007 character to the readers. Despite the pooh-poohing of many critics, Ian Fleming’s James Bond stories were very popular. When it became known that U.S. President John F. Kennedy was a fan, the sales continued to climb.

Actor Barry Nelson as Bond. Jimmy Bond.

If ever there was a property ripe for filmic adaptation, it was James Bond. Before producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman arranged for making a film that they hoped would be successful enough to launch a series, American television beat them to the punch. Just one year after its publication, Casino Royale was adapted for a 1954 episode of Climax!, the CBS Network anthology series. While it is the first on-camera adaptation of Bond, Barry Nelson’s Americanized role of card shark Jimmy Bond is barely remembered. The constraints of a live television broadcast made palatable for the U.S. audience certainly compromised the fidelity to the edgier aspects of Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel. It would not be until 1962’s Dr. No movie that Bondmania would begin.

This first James Bond film in the “official” Eon Productions series is quite faithful to Ian Fleming’s novel. That novel was the perfect template for this inaugural film. It has the mix of sex and violence in an exotic locale and plenty of bizarre and grandiose incidents that can’t go unnoticed to the moviegoing public. There is the jet-setting aspect found in so many films of the 1960s that took the audience to picturesque, foreign locations. The title villain is a cold-blooded and grotesque genius housed in a secret, high-tech lair with plenty of henchmen. Dr. No is an operative of a vast organization bent on world domination. The violence is ruthless on the part of both the villain and the heroic James Bond. The hero is a man of class and sophistication that helps himself to the carnal pleasures of the many women that he attracts. As the film series progressed, the scripts would stray ever further from the source material they were adapting, yet those offbeat elements remained vital to the ongoing series’ success.

Every bit as vital was casting just the right actor in the lead role of James Bond. As is often the case for establishing larger-than-life series characters, going with a relatively unknown actor can have fantastic results. That actor can make the part their own without having to defy an already defined public image. That was never proven on a grander scale than with Sean Connery’s first performance as James Bond. To the millions of Bond fans since, Connery seems like an obvious choice, yet there were misgivings at the time. Both author Ian Fleming and director Terence Young thought that the Scottish actor from a working-class background was lacking the refinement that they envisioned for James Bond. Once Young had Connery outfitted with those Saville Row-tailored suits and imparted him with some urbane manner, Connery’s rugged good looks and confidence perfectly complimented the Agent 007 image.

While Sean Connery’s James Bond perfectly embodies the appeal of the character and immediately became an icon of the 1960s, he also roused some critical backlash. As with Ian Fleming’s original novels, the hero was often vilified for his promiscuity and cold-blooded violence. No doubt, the critics feared that the stories legitimized such behavior, which they thought made him just a glamorized thug. However, that was precisely the edgy attitude that thrilled the audience. It lent a visceral, human element to the extravagant adventures.

Dr. No is the launching pad for what would become the action film genre. It began instilling the norm of ruthless violence for movie heroes. There were certainly precursors to such deadly tactics in the Mr. Moto and Tarzan films, but the Bond films elevated the violence with cool panache. You don’t have the cliché of a witty one-liner delivered by the hero just before or after dispatching a villain without it being established by Connery’s Bond in Dr. No. This was not just a strained gag in this film and those to follow, it was an indication of the calloused conditioning of an experienced spy with a license to kill. The filmmakers also had a more pragmatic reason for this humor. They knew they were pushing movie norms with the sex and violence and thought that a bit of wit would take the edge off the bed-hopping and brutality as far as the censors were concerned. Fortunately, their instincts were correct, and Dr. No was released with its edge intact.

One of my favorite things about this first James Bond film is that we are allowed time to settle into this remote character’s circumstances. We get no background about him; we only get to know him through his actions. But we have the time to get fully engaged in Bond’s mission through brief moments of lonely intimacy. Bond’s simple precautions of lightly sprinkling talcum powder on his attaché case latches and pasting one strand of his dark hair across the gap between his twin closet doors will inform him if his hotel room has been searched while he is away. These are stealthy security procedures that remind us of how careful a lone secret agent must be. Arriving back in his room, Bond unwinds with a drink and presses the cold glass to his forehead after a trying, hot Jamaican day. These little touches ground the idealized Bond character in a mortal reality that allows us to vicariously experience his adventures.

We are also introduced to the series’ supporting cast of M (Bernard Lee), his commander at the British Secret Service, and Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell), M’s secretary. In addition to assigning Bond to his missions, these two brought a bit of levity into the stories. M often criticizes Bond’s judgement and comes off almost like a school principal reprimanding an unruly student. He almost never fails to bristle at Bond’s sophisticated taste and independence. Miss Moneypenny and Bond always engage in unfulfilled flirtations, while trying to avoid the disapproval of the all-business M.

Aside from a more measured pace in Dr. No than later Bond films, what may strike the casual viewer is an absence of gadgets. That Secret Service gadget-master Q (Desmond Llewelyn) would not appear until the next film in the series. The only hardware Bond is dealt, at M’s insistence, is a Walther PPK pistol to replace Bond’s preferred Beretta.

Another recurrent character in the original Bond stories is CIA operative Felix Leiter. He is played in this first Bond film by Jack Lord. Here Leiter seems as capable and handsome as Bond himself. Lord brings a lot of presence to what seems like little more than a bit part as played by other actors in some later Bond films. Of course, Jack Lord would gain immortality as Steve McGarrett, the head of the law enforcement team in the original Hawaii Five-O television series (1968–80).

While Connery’s first scene introducing his James Bond ranks as one of the most significant events in cinematic history, Ursula Andress in a white bikini rising from the surf on a Jamaican island beach is a stunning sex symbol moment. That is one of the finest incarnations of that feminine fantasy image that would soon be termed the “Bond girl.” As the independent diver and seashell collector Honey Ryder, Andress combines carnal allure and naivety that makes her immediately likable. The Swiss actress had only been in a few small parts in a handful of films, but her Dr. No role brought her immediate international fame. Andress would go on to star in films of many genres with her unique beauty often being their most outstanding feature. It is rather ironic that the most famous Bond girl appearing in the first Bond feature film would later play Vesper Lynd in the Bond spoof Casino Royale (1967). The character of Vesper Lynd was Bond’s love interest in the very first Bond novel.

Ursula Andress, as Honey Ryder, is often celebrated as the first Bond Girl, but it is Eunice Gayson’s Sylvia Trench that is the first woman we see score with Bond after losing to him at the casino. Sylvia Trench is also the only one of Bond’s lovers to appear in more than one film until Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) in Spectre (2015) and No Time to Die (2021). Perhaps the most noteworthy contribution the Sylvia Trench character made to the series is that she inspired Bond’s introduction, which has become one of the most famous film quotes of all time: “Bond. James Bond.”

Bond creator Ian Fleming’s inspiration for the title villain in the original Dr. No novel was Dr. Fu Manchu, the criminal protagonist of the popular series of novels by English author Sax Rohmer. No Bond film is complete without an ambitious, amoral mastermind. Joseph Wiseman’s Dr. Julius No sets the standard for Bondian supervillains. This calm, cold-blooded genius is a high-ranking operative of the international criminal organization SPECTRE. Wiseman’s performance is almost robotic, which compliments the accessories of his prosthetic, metal hands. Dr. No moves very deliberately, his face resists emotional expression, and he speaks in a controlled monotone that still manages to convey some suppressed rage and pride. His hospitality establishes another Bond film tradition of formality and good manners extended by the villain to his foe. Sometimes this is done as a token of respect and always as a display of supreme confidence.

Beginning in this very first James Bond film, music is an important stylistic element. That fantastic “James Bond Theme” serves as the opening credits musical accompaniment and would certainly become one of the most recognized tunes in the world. Monty Norman was credited as the theme’s composer, though it was arranged by future Bond film music maestro John Barry. There has been ongoing contention over the years about whether it was Norman or Barry that composed that famous theme music. Nevertheless, John Barry would go on to create many more terrific movie soundtracks, including eleven more for the Bond series.

Production designer Ken Adam’s ingenuity made the most of Dr. No’s modest million-dollar budget to create some distinctive sets that make the film seem positively plush. Adam’s sets in further Bond films would continue to create a grand, bizarre, and exotic atmosphere for Bond’s larger-than-life adventures.

With the success of Dr. No, Sean Connery became a superstar, the popularity of James Bond exploded, and Bondmania led to a wave of Bond-related merchandise. Such success meant that the spy film became a dominant genre in the 1960s. Secret agents proliferated on both the silver screen and television. Other notable series characters such as Matt Helm, Derek Flint, Harry Palmer, and Napoleon Solo were all imitating, spoofing, or countering the spy hero standard set by the James Bond films.

Dr. No is more than just the cinematic debut of Ian Fleming’s world-famous spy. Not only is it the beginning of one of the longest running and most lucrative film series in the world, but it is also enormously influential. The modern action film genre was truly spawned with Dr. No. Many descendants of that noble film lineage have become brash and brainless bastards. They engage in childish excess to gain attention. As a result, such films become more generic and ludicrous the more hyperactive they become. Unfortunately, some of the later Bond films have run the risk of inheriting some of those defective strains trying to remain relevant, rather than continuing to be the innovators. Dr. No can still show them all how to kick ass with style.