1962 | Dir. Terence Young | 109 Minutes
Secret Agent James Bond travels to Jamaica when the British station chief on the island nation suddenly goes missing. Bond's investigation leads him to Crab Key where the mysterious Dr. No orchestrates a nefarious clandestine operation.
With Dr. No, the first James Bond film adapted by Eon Productions from Ian Fleming's fantastical spy novels, director Terrence Young lays out many, if not all, of the regular fixtures commonly associated with the prolific cinematic franchise. In this entertaining and problematic work of titillating escapism, the impossibly clever British hero straight-up murders the dastardly villain and his henchmen, romances every beautiful woman he encounters - friend or foe, casually demonstrates his presumed superiority over foreign powers (and people), and completes his mission for Queen and Country while carving a path of wanton destruction without any real consequences. As an action adventure picture that only briefly dabbles in espionage, Bond's spycraft is rudimentary and rather quaint, fully illustrated in the sequence in which the spy uses talcum powder and his own hair and saliva as his sole tools to detect hotel room intrusion. Yet it all works brilliantly thanks to the feature's excellent pacing and tongue-in-cheek tone.
The action featured in the early parts of Dr. No is somewhat standard but serviceable, consisting of a pair of fun car chases - one ending in a fiery explosion, tensionless but brisk combat and gunplay, and perhaps most notably a humorous encounter with a deadly tarantula. Things pick up significantly when Bond makes his way to Carb Key with his doomed temporary sidekick Quarrel in tow. What follows is an unlikely encounter with a buxom shell diver, a confrontation with a goofy-looking fire-breathing mechanical beast, and an imaginative journey through the evil mastermind's elaborate secret nuclear facility. Through it all, the secret agent remains effortlessly cool and slightly detached, traits that would quickly become insufferable for a lead character if not for the natural charisma of the man in the role.
Sean Connery immediately and completely embodies Agent 007, taking total ownership of the role, dashing, funny, and convincing as a man capable of swift and confident action, an instant icon. Despite the fact that her character carries virtually no agency, the gorgeous Ursula Andress is a sight to behold as Honey Rider. As the titular antagonist, Joseph Wiseman's isn't afforded a whole of screen time but he makes the most of it providing a methodical, balanced performance, making his mark as one of the more memorable Bond villains overall. In the thankless role of Quarrel, John Kitzmiller is a likable jolly tough guy, which makes the character's stereotypical superstition feel all the more out of place. Anthony Dawson cowers and scowls his way through the part of Dr. No's chief henchman Professor Dent, doing what he can with the mostly unmemorable role. Lois Maxwell begins her long tenure as M's mildly flirtatious secretary Miss Moneypenny as does Bernard Lee as the comically no-nonsense spymaster M. Hawaii Five-O star Jack Lord plays CIA Agent Felix Leiter, the first of many actors to portray Bond's canny American counterpart. Dr. No also features Eunice Gayson as Bond's socialite paramour Sylvia Trench, and Zena Marshall in regrettable yellow-face as Professor Dent's underling Miss Taro who Bond beds and discards with haste.
In spite of the questionable values and dubious politics that are inextricably tied to the film's place and time, Dr. No remains a jaunty fast-paced affair with an undeniably charming star at its center. 007 makes his cinematic debut delivering action, humor, and sex appeal.
THE BOND GIRL
For good reason, the moment Honey Rider emerges from the ocean has drawn comparisons to the mythological birth of Venus. Honey's arrival sets a markedly high standard of beauty for the role of Bond's love interest from the get-go, but despite a miniscule highly exploitative backstory provided in one brief scene, her characterization is noticeably paper-thin and her presence doesn't serve much purpose besides damsel in distress.
THE BOND VILLAIN
Dr. No is both a fascinating and highly troubling caricature. His heritage combines the West's post-war tension with Germany and anxiety surrounding China's growing influence as a global power. Dr. No's customary Bond villain physical deformity is one of the more interesting ones, having somehow lost just his hands to radiation exposure, replacing them with a set of metal ones that are apparently good for crushing objects but bad for holding on for dear life. Ultimately, despite his eloquent monologue, his plan to disrupt the American space program with a nuclear-powered radio beam seems rather dull all things considered.
FEATURED HENCHMAN
Unfortunately, Professor Dent the geologist is both incompetent and rather forgettable. The most memorable aspect of his character is how easily Bond tricks and murders him using just a few pillows and a blanket in a darkened room.
FLEMING FIDELITY
The film is mostly faithful to the 1958 novel of the same name, the sixth installment in Fleming's series. The novel is a direct continuation from the cliffhanger ending of 1957's From Russia, with Love, which this film disregards for practical storytelling reasons. The nuclear aspect of Dr. No's lair was invented for the film. Other notable differences include a centipede placed in Bond's bed instead of a tarantula, Dr. No being affiliated with the Russians and not SPECTRE, Dr. No having his hands cut off by the Chinese tong instead of losing them to radiation burns, Bond's fight a giant squid not present in the film, and Dr. No's demise buried alive in guano instead of falling into a radioactive pool.
FRAGMENTS
- Series regular voice over artist Nikki Van der Zyl dubbed the dialogue for Honey Ryder and Sylvia Trench
- Author Ian Fleming's first choice for the role of Dr. No was Christopher Lee, Fleming's cousin
