Dr. No

Terence Young, UK 1962, 110 minutes

The first in the Bond series and the first of a whole new genre - the action-adventure. All the hallmarks are there: the title sequence complete with gunbarrel and silhouettes dancing (to "Underneath the Mango Tree" and "Three Blind Mice"), the droll one-liners, the car chases, the defeat of the baddie (in this case, the robotic nuclear scientist Dr. No played by Joseph Wiseman) in his own (underground) lair and the saving of the world (or at least the US space rocket programme) and the teasingly named Bond girl - Honey Rider (Ursula Andress).

Rider's entrance - rising like a goddess from the water - is one of the most memorable scenes in the film, and yet Honey's character is not the (total) bimbo that later films had. Dr. No differs from later films in other respects too - it sticks largely to Ian Fleming's book and there is a distinct absence of gadgets with Bond having to rely on his wits alone. Bond kills in cold blood, the only time in the series that he does this.

Connery was not the first choice for the role. It's known that Ian Fleming had doubts that the ex-coffin polisher from Edinburgh would be suitable and Terence Young thought that Connery was too rough to identify with the snobbish elements of Bond's character, and made Connery sleep in a Savile Row suit. Whether that helped Connery to be the best-loved of all the Bonds, is questionable, but Young should be credited with the development of Bond's character and the creation of an exciting, dynamic film.

Shot mostly on location in Jamaica for just over $1.1 million, few were confident of its success, with even Harry Salzman, remarking "all we have to lose is $1 million". It was estimated recently that half the world has seen a Bond movie - if you are in the other half, don't miss this chance.

"Hard-hitting, fearless, imperturbable, girl-loving, entertaining piece of tongue-in-cheek action hokum." - Variety

Review by Scott Keir
Taken from EUFS Programme 1996-97