Dr. No

Dr. No
Directed by	Terence Young
Produced by	Harry Saltzman Albert R. Broccoli
Screenplay by	Richard Maibaum Johanna Harwood Berkely Mather
Starring	Sean Connery Ursula Andress Joseph Wiseman Jack Lord
Music by	Monty Norman
Cinematography	Ted Moore
Editing by	Peter R. Hunt
Distributed by	United Artists
Release	5 October 1962
Running time	109 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$1.1 million
Gross revenue	$59.5 million
Followed by	From Russia with Love

Dr. No is a 1962 British spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli, a partnership that would continue until 1975.

In the film, James Bond is sent to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of a fellow British agent. The trail leads him to the underground base of Dr. No, who is plotting to disrupt an early American manned space launch with a radio beam weapon. Although the first of the Bond books to be made into a film, Dr. No was not the first of Fleming's novels, Casino Royale being the debut for the character; however, the film makes a few references to threads from earlier books.

Dr. No was produced on a low budget and was a financial success. While critical reaction was mixed upon release, over time the film has gained a reputation as one of the series' best instalments. The film was the first of a successful series of 23 Bond films. Dr. No also launched a genre of "secret agent" films that flourished in the 1960s. The film also spawned a spin-off comic book and soundtrack album as part of its promotion and marketing.

Many of the iconic aspects of a typical James Bond film were established in Dr. No: the film begins with an introduction to the character through the view of a gun barrel and a highly stylised main title sequence, both created by Maurice Binder. Production designer Ken Adam established an elaborate visual style that is one of the hallmarks of the Bond film series.

Plot

Strangways, the British Intelligence (SIS) Station Chief in Jamaica, is ambushed and killed, and his body taken by a trio of assassins known as the "Three Blind Mice". In response, British agent James Bond—also known as 007—is summoned to the office of his superior, M. Bond is briefed to investigate Strangways' disappearance and to determine whether it is related to his cooperation with the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on a case involving the disruption of rocket launches from Cape Canaveral by radio jamming.

Upon his arrival at Kingston Airport, a female photographer tries to take Bond's picture and he is shadowed from the airport by two men. He is picked up by a chauffeur, whom Bond determines to be an enemy agent. Bond instructs him to leave the main road and, after a brief fight, Bond starts to interrogate the driver, who then kills himself with a cyanide-laced cigarette.

During his investigation in Strangways' house Bond sees a photograph of a boatman with Strangways. Bond locates the boatman, named Quarrel, but finds him to be uncooperative. Bond also recognises Quarrel to have been the driver of the car that followed him from the airport. Bond follows Quarrel and manages to overpower both him and a friend when the fight is interrupted by the second man who followed Bond from the airport: he reveals himself to be CIA agent Felix Leiter and explains that not only are the two agents on the same mission but also that Quarrel is helping Leiter. The CIA has traced the mysterious radio jamming of American rockets to the vicinity of Jamaica, but aerial photography cannot determine the exact location of its origin. Quarrel reveals that he has been guiding Strangways around the nearby islands to collect mineral samples. He also talks about the reclusive Dr. No, who owns the island of Crab Key, on which there is a bauxite mine: the island and mine are rigorously protected against trespassers by an armed security force and radar.

During a search of Strangways' house, Bond finds a receipt, signed by Professor R. J. Dent, concerning rock samples. Bond meets with Dent who says he assayed the samples for Strangways and determined them to be ordinary rocks. This visit makes Dent wary and he takes a boat to Crab Key where Dr. No expresses displeasure at Dent's visiting Crab Key in daylight and his failure to kill Bond, ordering him to try again, this time with a tarantula. Bond survives and after a final attempt on his life, sets a trap for Dent, whom he captures, interrogates and then kills.

Having detected radioactive traces in Quarrel's boat, where Strangways' mineral samples had been, Bond convinces a reluctant Quarrel to take him to Crab Key. There Bond meets the beautiful Honey Ryder, dressed only in a white bikini, who is collecting shells. At first she is suspicious of Bond but soon decides to help him, leading them all inland to an open swamp. After nightfall they are attacked by the legendary "dragon" of Crab Key which turns out to be a flame-throwing armoured tractor. In the resulting gun battle, Quarrel is incinerated by the flame-thrower whilst Bond and Ryder are taken prisoner. Bond and Ryder are decontaminated and taken to quarters before being drugged.

Upon waking they are escorted to dine with Dr. No. He reveals that he is a member of SPECTRE (SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion) and plans to disrupt the Project Mercury space launch from Cape Canaveral with his atomic-powered radio beam. After dinner Ryder is taken away and Bond is beaten by the guards.

Bond is imprisoned in a holding cell but manages to escape through a vent. Disguised as a worker, Bond finds his way to the control centre, a multi-level room full of high-tech instrumentation with an atomic reactor set into the floor, overseen by Dr. No from a command console. Bond overloads the nuclear reactor just as the American rocket is about to take off. Hand-to-hand combat ensues between Bond and Dr. No; the scientist is pushed into the reactor's cooling vat, in which he boils to death. Bond finds Ryder and the two escape in a boat just as the entire lair explodes.

Cast

James Bond
(Sean Connery)

M
(Bernard Lee)

Miss Moneypenny
(Lois Maxwell)

Q
(Peter Burton)

Felix Leiter
(Jack Lord)

Dr. Julius No
(Joseph Wiseman)

Honey Ryder
(Ursula Andress & Monica van der Zyl (voice))

Quarrel
(John Kitzmiller)

Prof. Dent
(Anthony Dawson)

Miss Taro
(Zena Marshall)

Sylvia Trench
(Eunice Gayson)

John Strangways
(Timothy Moxon & Robert Rietty (voice))

Annabel Chung
(Marguerite LeWars)

Pleyedell Smith
(Louis Blaazer)

The Three Blind Mice
(Eric Coverly, Charles Edghill, Henry Lopez)

Mary Trueblood
(Dolores Keator)

Sister Lily
(Yvonne Shima)

Sister Rose
(Michel Mok)

Superintendent Duff
(William Foster-Davis)

Jones
(Reginald Carter)

Puss-Feller
(Lester Pendergast)

General Potter
(Colonel Burton)

André
(Alan Gold)

Johnny
(Willie Payne)

• Sean Connery as James Bond: A British MI6 agent, codename 007.
• Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder (spoken voice by Nikki van der Zyl and singing voice by Diana Coupland): A local shell diver, making a living by selling Jamaican seashells to dealers in Miami.
• Joseph Wiseman as Dr. No: Main antagonist and a reclusive member of SPECTRE.
• Jack Lord as Felix Leiter: A CIA operative sent to liaise with James Bond while he is in Kingston.
• Bernard Lee as M: The head of the British Secret Service.
• Anthony Dawson as Professor R.J. Dent: A geologist with a practice in Kingston, who also secretly works for Doctor No.
• John Kitzmiller as Quarrel: A Cayman Islander who was employed by John Strangways to secretly go to Crab Key to collect rock samples; he also worked with Felix Leiter before Bond's arrival.
• Zena Marshall as Miss Taro: The secretary to Mr. Pleydell-Smith at Government House in Kingston. She is actually a double agent working for Dr. No.
• Eunice Gayson as Sylvia Trench (spoken voice by Nikki van der Zyl): Trench first meets Bond during a game of Baccarat at the London club Le Cercle.
• Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny: The secretary to M.
• Peter Burton as Major Boothroyd: The head of Q-Branch, Boothroyd is brought in by M to replace Bond's Beretta M 1934 with a Walther PPK. This was Burton's only appearance as Q.
• Timothy Moxon (uncredited) as Strangways (voiced by Robert Rietty): Strangways is the head of the Kingston station for the British Secret Service, murdered by Dr. No's henchmen, the 'Three Blind Mice'.
• Reginald Carter as Mr. Jones: A henchman of Dr. No who was sent to pick up 007 at the Palisadoes Airport.
• Yvonne Shima as Sister Lily: A Prison Warden working at Dr. No's lair.
• Michel Mok as Sister Rose: Also working at Dr. No's lair.
• Marguerite LeWars as photographer in bar: one of Dr. No's operatives who trails Bond.
• Dolores Keator as Mary: Strangways P.A. also murdered by the 'Three Blind Mice'

Images

External links

• Dr. No at the Internet Movie Database