Dr. No (film)
"Dr. No" is a British spy film released in 1962, marking the beginning of the iconic James Bond film series. Starring Sean Connery as the titular character, the film follows British agent 007 as he investigates the murder of a fellow agent in Jamaica. The plot centers around Dr. No, a villainous scientist with plans to disrupt NASA's rocket launches using nuclear power, while Bond navigates various threats to his life, including encounters with a beautiful ally, Honey Ryder. With a budget of approximately $1 million, "Dr. No" achieved significant commercial success, grossing nearly $60 million.
The film is notable for its vibrant Technicolor visuals and on-location shooting in Jamaica, which enhanced its appeal. It set the stage for many conventions of the Bond series, including the introduction of the famous Bond theme by Monty Norman and the archetype of the "Bond girl." "Dr. No" was also released during a politically charged era, reflecting themes associated with the Cold War and the decline of British colonialism. The film received critical acclaim and won a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer (Female) for Ursula Andress. Its legacy continues to influence the spy genre and popular culture.
Dr. No (film)
- Release Date: 1962
- Director(s): Terence Young
- Writer(s): Johanna Harwood; Richard Maibaum; Berkely Mather
- Principal Actors and Roles: Sean Connery (James Bond); Ursula Andress (Honey Ryder); Anthony Dawson (Professor R. J. Dent); John Kitzmiller (Quarrel); Jack Lord (Felix Leiter); Lois Maxwell (Miss Moneypenny); Joseph Wiseman (Dr. No)
- Book / Story Film Based On: Dr. No by Ian Fleming
Dr. No is a Technicolor British spy film that was the first in a series of James Bond films, introducing what would become an empire of James Bond films. Nearly two-dozen official James Bond films were produced after Dr. No.
Dr. No, like the other Bond films, features 007 British agent James Bond as the main character and hero. It became immensely popular in the United States and Great Britain. The 105-minute film grossed nearly $60 million with a budget of about $1 million.
Plot
After one of his fellow agents, John Strangways, is murdered, James Bond is sent to Jamaica to investigate. Strangways had been investigating a mad Chinese scientist named Dr. No, the owner of a bauxite mine in Jamaica. Once Bond arrives on the island, his life is in jeopardy. Several attempts are made to kill him.
Bond sees a picture of Strangways with a local man named Quarrel, who is actually working for a CIA agent named Felix Leiter. Bond meets Quarrel, who tells Bond about Dr. No and how he would take Strangways to Crab Key, a private island owned by Dr. No, to gather information and mineral samples. Bond tries to find out about the mineral samples from Professor Dent but is suspicious when Dent tells him that the samples are not harmful.
After Bond leaves Dent, Dent goes to Crab Key to meet with Dr. No, who holds him responsible for Bond finding the samples Strangways had gathered. He orders Dent to put a large tarantula in Bond’s bed. That night, Bond faces the tarantula but is able to kill it before it bites him.
Bond receives a Geiger counter from headquarters in London and the device immediately shows the samples are radioactive. He is suspicious of Ms. Taro, the Strangways’ secretary, and asks her to show him around the island. On his way to her home, he is almost driven off the road by a hearse. Ms. Taro receives him with surprise, thinking that the plan to kill him had been successful. Bond calls the police and has her arrested. Bond returns to her home, where he faces Dent and kills him.
Bond leaves for Crab Key Island with Quarrel. At the island, Bond meets Honey Ryder who joins them on their investigation. Ryder is a beautiful woman who, clad in a white bikini, emerges from the water with seashells and a knife. After dodging machine-gun fire from a motorboat, the three encounter Dr. No’s fire-breathing "dragon," which both Quarrel and Ryder had heard rumors about. It kills Quarrel, and Bond and Ryder are taken captive. They are showered and checked for any radioactive contamination and then drugged to induce sleep.
That night, Bond and Ryder are sent to meet Dr. No, who tries to convince Bond to join his global crime team, SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion). He explains to Bond how he plans to use his bauxite mine to blow up NASA rockets. Bond dismisses Dr. No’s invitation, saying that he does not want to be part of Dr. No’s crime organization. Dr. No orders the guards to torture him and throw him in a cell. Bond escapes, and he and Dr. No wrestle in the control room where Dr. No is planning to sabotage a US rocket launch using nuclear power. He falls to his death, plunging into radioactive water. When Dr. No is no longer a threat, Bond rescues Ryder and they barely escape from the bauxite mine before it explodes.
Significance
Dr. No was precedent setting in that it was the first James Bond film, yet it distinguished itself in other ways. The film established agent 007 as a popular character in American and British culture. The film’s imagery, color design, and shooting on location in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, made the film attractive and its set designs and fast-paced action captivated audiences. Subsequent Bond films followed suit. The opening sequence of James Bond appearing and firing toward the audience, causing a gush of red to cover the screen was replicated in many Bond films that followed. Monty Norman wrote the James Bond theme song, which became famous and iconic after the release of Dr. No. Sylvia Trench, played by Eunice Gayson, became the first "Bond girl." She appeared in the second Bond film, too. Subsequent Bond films continued to have Bond girls but never used the same one. Yet, unlike other Bond films, there are few gadgets used in the film. Bond uses guns. He uses a Geiger counter. He faces a fire breathing "dragon" which is actually a tank. Compared to later Bond films, which used hi-tech weapons and other gadgets, these devices were simple and minimalistic.
Dr. No was released at a pivotal time in United States and world history, and many elements in the film resonated with audiences of the early 1960s. The Cold War was at full throttle (and fears of a nuclear war were real) and the United States and the Soviet Union were locked in the space race. With regard to joining Dr. No and SPECTRE in a life of crime using nuclear technology, Bond ultimately denounces "world domination."
Some critics have pointed out the symbolism in the film, pointing to the end of British colonialism in Jamaica and the setting of Dr. No. Jamaica became independent from Great Britain about two months prior to the premiere of Dr. No. In the opening sequence, to the tune "Three Blind Mice," three native Jamaicans murder Strangways and his secretary, both of whom were white. In the end, Bond goes to Jamaica to free the former British colonial outpost from evil (embodied by the half-Chinese half-German Dr. No) and a nuclear threat to the NASA space program.
Awards and nominations
Won
- Golden Globe (1962) Most Promising Newcomer (Female): Ursula Andress
Bibliography
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Cawthorne, Nigel. A Brief Guide to James Bond. London: Constable, 2012. Print.
DeMichael, Tom. James Bond FAQ. Milwaukee: Applause, 2013. Print.
Power, Marcus and Andrew Crampton, eds. Cinema and Popular Geo-Politics. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Savoye, Daniel Ferraras. The Signs of James Bond: Semiotic Explorations in the World of 007. Jefferson: McFarland, 2013. Print.
Weiner, Robert G., B. Lynn Whitfield, and Jack Becker, eds. James Bond in World and Popular Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars, 2011. Print.
Yeffeth, Glenn, and Leah Wilson, eds. James Bond in the 21st Century: Why We Still Need 007. Dallas: BenBella, 2013. Electronic.