Dr. No (1962)

Director:

Terence Young

Writers:

Richard Maibaum (screenplay) &
Johanna Harwood (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 May 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

NOW meet the most extraordinary gentleman spy in all fiction!...JAMES BOND, Agent 007!

Plot:

James Bond's investigation of a missing colleague in Jamaica leads him to the island of the mysterious Dr. No and a scheme to end the US space program.

Plot Keywords:

James Bond | Island | CIA | Scientist | Jamaica

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 2 wins

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Nov. 26

8:00 AM

SYFY

Cast

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	...	Annabelle Chung - Photographer (also as Marguerite Le Wars) (as Marguerite Lewars)
William Foster-Davis	...	Superintendent

Also Known As:

Doctor No (UK) (alternative spelling)
Ian Fleming's Dr. No (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Norway:12 (re-rating) (1979) | Singapore:PG | West Germany:16 (nf) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Canada:PG (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-15 (re-rating) | Ireland:PG | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (certificate #20322) | USA:GP (re-rating) (1971) | USA:PG (re-rating) (1994) | UK:A (original rating) (cut)

Filming Locations:

2171 Magenta Drive, Jamaica

Company:

Eon Productions

Trivia:

Sean Connery is morbidly afraid of spiders. The shot of the spider in his bed was originally done with a sheet of glass between him and the spider, but when this didn't look realistic enough, the scene was re-shot with stuntman Bob Simmons. Simmons reported that the tarantula crawling over Bond was the scariest stunt he had ever performed. According to Steven Jay Rubin's 1981 book "The James Bond Films", this tarantula was named Rosie.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Bond is sliding down the pipe, a gush of water sweeps over him. However, later, when he emerges from the pipe, he is in a hallway with no trace of the water.

Quotes:

[first lines]
John Strangways: That's it. Hundred honors and ninety below.
Professor R. J. Dent: Nicely done, Strangways. I have to give it to you.
John Strangways: I must leave you for a few minutes. Order a round on my chit, will you Professor.
Professor R. J. Dent: Right.
Gen. Potter: Damn it all! Must you break off at this time every evening?
John Strangways: Sorry, General. My managing director is a creature of habit. There's a call booked through to me every day about this time.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Have I Got News for You: (#19.1)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Jump Up

Had It Not Succeeded We Might Be Goldfingerless

"Dr. No" is not my favorite James Bond film. But I'm glad it succeeded, because it led to subsequent 007 films that were really very entertaining, especially "Goldfinger". Everything about "Dr. No": the story, the music, the special effects, the dialogue, even the acting is so ... tentative. The film lacks the self-confident flair and cinematic flamboyance that characterize later 007 films from the 1960s. That is not a criticism, given that "Dr. No" was the first Bond film, and was low-budget. No one knew how the film would be received.

Through the years Sean Connery is the only actor who has done justice to the James Bond character, in my opinion. Although his acting in "Dr. No" is probative at best, he still manages to convey an aura of intelligent charisma. And that charisma would become less restrained in later films.

The visuals in "Dr. No" are very dated. What seemed futuristic in 1962 seems stodgy now. All that engineering design, those clunky computers, and that modernistic interior decor, all included to wow viewers then, seem, half a century later, quaint, obsolete, even archaic. The film's story, about an evil genius out to scuttle the U.S. missile program and dominate the world, likewise seems dated. I must admit, however, that Joseph Wiseman, as the villain, is well cast, with his passive face and those eyes that seldom blink.

That the James Bond character and his adventures have survived all these years demonstrates the enduring appeal of cinematic heroes who, like superman, embody all that is good and strong, in their successful efforts to conquer evil. I just wish that contemporary 007 films had the cinematic credibility of those 1960's Bond films: "You Only Live Twice", "From Russia With Love", "Thunderball", and of course "Goldfinger", all of which owe their existence to the success of "Dr. No".