Dr. No (1962)

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Yes, Yes, Maybe, Yes

Director Terence Young

Stars Sean Connery, Joseph Wiseman, Jack Lord & Ursula Andress

Things You Might Like

• “Bond, James Bond”
• The original Bond relies on his wits not gadgets
• Connery’s Bond will shoot someone in the back
• Mould-making villain with robotic hands
• Bond’s car visible at all times

Things You Might Not Like

• Casual racism of the era sits uncomfortably
• No gadgets
• No invisible car

Conclusion
The film that launched the greatest franchise of all time still stands amongst the best produced. Connery’s James Bond is a licensed killer, dangerous opponent and legendary ladies man undiluted by parody or imitation, the original is still the best.

4 out of 5 Cold Bullets

Luke McGrath will return in From Russia with Love

***

Returning to the place where it all started, Bond has never looked so fresh. Taking Ian Fleming’s ruthless and patriotic spy straight from page to screen, director Terence Young distils the qualities that had made the character a literary success. Working with a screenplay that differs sensibly from the novel (Bond fighting a giant squid would have proved difficult to stage without laughs), Young produces a tight detective story that exudes the cool of the 1960′s.

It is important (and often difficult) to remember that Bond is sent to Jamaica to investigate a disappearance. He is not there to launch rockets or destroy submarines, he may need to kill to uncover the truth but he does so with a silencer. Young handles this quest well, showing the reasons that Bond is considered Britain’s best operative. The story is tight and there is genuine mystery in discovering who is helping the eponymous doctor.

Sleeping and shooting his way through the clues, Sean Connery fills a daunting role with sheer confidence and detached professionalism. Whether it is a double agent he needs to seduce or a henchman he must eliminate, we have no fear that he is capable. Not that this Bond is unflappable, his terror at the discovery of a poisonous spider in his bed is palpable. When the six or seventh strike with a shoe is delivered, we learn a little about the man inside the agent.

The same can be said of Bond’s relationship with the supporting cast. Central Intelligence Agency agent Felix Leiter is at first suspicious then a close ally, Bond relying on him to the bring the marines if he fails. Local fisherman Quarrel is an essential friend in navigating towards Dr. No’s forbidden island. Sadly, the film betrays some of the attitudes of the time; Bond orders Quarrel about in a manner that goes just beyond his usual authoritative tone. Yet his attempt to bury his friend (thwarted by radiation suit wearing goons) is another moment we see the human side of our leading man.

Dr. No himself is a forceful, yet reserved villain. He produces a terror that causes henchman to commit suicide rather than talk, and a slick assessment of Bond as a stupid Policeman. Setting the template for countless others, Joseph Wiseman gives what could have been a thin character a depth of charm and danger. His sparring with Bond, verbal and physical, seems weighted in his favour yet we always suspect that his disability is subject to the limits of technology at the time.

It is easy to see why Bond has endured for so long by following the superb template set out in Dr. No; both Bond and villain make sense and play the parts straight, while Terence Young directs a slick script and makes full use of both Ursula Andress and Jamaica. Though Bond is not quite firing on all 007 cylinders, he is a controlled yet human centrepiece of character study. Connery, by virtue of talent and confidence, ensures he is the original Bond by far more than just date order.

Buy Dr. No from Amazon or pre-order the James Bond blu-ray collection from Amazon