Dr. No (film)
Dr. No is a 1962 spy film. It is the first film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Sean Connery as British Secret Service agent James Bond. Based on the 1958 novel Dr. No by Ian Fleming, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkeley Mather. The film was directed by Terence Young, and produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli, a partnership that would continue until 1975.
In the film, Bond is sent to Jamaica to investigate the death of a British agent. The trail leads him to the island home of reclusive Dr. Julius No. Bond uncovers Dr. No's plot to disrupt American rocket tests, and scuttles his operation.
Dr. No's success, as
the first major film adaptation of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, led to a series
of films that continues to this day. Dr. No also launched a successful genre of
"secret agent" films that flourished in the 1960s. It does not show
Bond earning his double-0 status which grants him a licence to kill; instead it
presents Bond as a seasoned veteran. Many of the iconic aspects of a typical James
Bond film were established in Dr. No, beginning with what is known as the gun
barrel sequence, an introduction to the character through the view of a gun barrel,
and a highly stylized main title sequence, both created by Maurice Binder. In
his work on film, production designer Ken Adam established a unique and expansive
visual style that is the hallmark of the Bond film series.
The film is set in the London, UK, Kingston, Jamaica and Crab Key, a fictional island off Jamaica. Some of the scenes were shot on location in Jamaica, primarily the exterior scenes in Crab Key and Kingston. Most interior shots of Dr No's base, the ventilation duct and the interior of the British Secret Service headquarters were shot at Pinewood Studios, London, England. The majority of shooting for later Bond films also took place at Pinewood.
Spoiler
Plot Summary
Double-0 agent James Bond is sent by his boss "M", armed with a standard-SIS-issue Walther PPK pistol to Jamaica to investigate their disappearance, and determine whether or not it is related to the disrupted American rocket launchings at Cape Canaveral.
Through Pleydell-Smith, the Governor of Jamaica, and General Potter, who regularly played cards with Strangways, Bond learns that Strangways had hired a man named Quarrel to guide him while fishing. Bond visits Quarrel, who initially is uncooperative because he is unsure of Bond's true allegiance. After Bond overcomes an attack by Quarrel and his friends, Felix Leiter of the CIA vouches for Bond being from the British Secret Service.
Doctor Julius No (Joseph Wiseman)When investigating Strangways' home, Bond
finds a receipt from a local metallurgist named Professor Dent who helped Strangways
by identifying rock samples from a nearby island called Crab Key. Dent claims
the rocks are ordinary pyrites, but Bond quickly identifies the rocks to be radioactive.
Dent is actually a henchman of Dr. Julius No, the resident of Crab Key, ordered
to kill Bond. Following an unsuccessful attempt by releasing a tarantula in Bond's
bungalow, Dent bribes the Governor's secretary, Miss Taro, to lure him into her
home. However, an already suspicious Bond foils Dent's plan and kills him after
learning that Strangways had been murdered.
Bond and Quarrel set sail to Crab Key where they meet Honey Ryder, a seashell collector. Soon after, they are chased by several armed men and forced to flee into the deep forest of the island. Being pursued till dusk, Quarrel is burned alive by Dr. No's "dragon tank", while Bond and Honey are captured. Once inside the lair, they are imprisoned in a luxury guest suite and requested to await dinner with Dr. No. During the meal it is revealed that Dr. No lost his hands in an unspecified manner and uses two powerful prosthetic replacements. Additionally, No informs Bond that he is a member of SPECTRE, and has come to Crab Key for disrupting American rocket launches at the nearby Cape Canaveral.
When the meeting concludes, Bond is briefly tortured by No's henchmen and imprisoned until he can be further interrogated. Before No meets him however, he escapes from his prison cell and overloads the nuclear reactor that powers No's complex. After a hand-to-hand fight on a descending platform in the heart of the reactor, Bond manages to push No into the lift that collapses into the reactor's cooling vat. Bond then escapes with Honey in a boat, which runs out of fuel, and is soon picked up by his allies. They throw a rope, but he unties it while being towed away and passionately kisses Honey.
Sean
Connery as James Bond: an MI6 agent.
Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder Spoken
voice by Nikki van der Zyl); Singing voice by Diana Coupland: An independent woman
who regularly trespasses onto the island of Crab Key looking for seashells.
Joseph
Wiseman as Dr. Julius No: A reclusive member of SPECTRE, he is using the island
of Crab Key and his brilliance in the field of atomic energy to get revenge on
the Western world by disrupting American rocket launches at the nearby Cape Canaveral.
Honey Rider (Ursula Andress) and James Bond (Sean Connery) on Crab Key,
Dr. No's island.Jack Lord as Felix Leiter: A CIA operative sent to liaise with
James Bond while he is in Kingston. This is Bond and Leiter's first time meeting
one another. Leiter returns for many of Bond's future adventures and in the 2006
reboot of the film series, Leiter and Bond are seen meeting one another again
for the first time.
Bernard Lee as M: The strict head of British Secret Service.
He sends Bond to Kingston to investigate the disappearances of John Strangways
and his secretary. This was the first of eleven appearances by Lee in the role
throughout the official EON Productions series.
Anthony Dawson as Professor
R. J. Dent: A metallurgist in Kingston, he is a henchman of Dr. No's who is sent
to kill Bond before he can learn more of Strangway's disappearance.
Zena Marshall
as Miss Taro: The secretary to Mr. Pleydell-Smith at Government House in Kingston.
John Kitzmiller as Quarrel: A local islander who was employed by John Strangways
to secretly go to Crab Key to collect rock samples. Quarrel later helps Bond trespass
onto Crab Key as well.
Eunice Gayson as Sylvia Trench: Trench first meets
Bond from across a Chemin de Fer table at the London club Le Cercle. Later she
becomes his girlfriend, reappearing in From Russia with Love; the only cinematic
Bond girl appearing more than once.
Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny: The secretary
to M. This is Maxwell's first of fourteen appearances in the role.
Peter Burton
as Major Boothroyd (Q)[2]: The head of Q-Branch, Boothroyd is brought in by M
to replace Bond's Beretta with a Walther PPK. (See also List of James Bond gadgets)
Timothy Moxon as John Strangways (voiced by Robert Rietty): Strangways is
the head of the Kingston station for the British Secret Service. He is murdered
by Dr. No's henchmen, prompting SIS to send Bond.
Marguerite LeWars as Annibel
Chung (Dr No's photographer "Freelance"): One of Dr. No's operatives
who trails Bond.
Because Ian Fleming's series of James Bond novels was not widely popular in 1961, producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman originally sought to have a popular film actor portray James Bond. Cary Grant was initially chosen for the role, but was not selected due to his commitment of only one feature film;[3] it is also said that Grant refused the part because, age 58 at the time, he felt he was too old for it. Other actors purported to have been considered for the role include Patrick McGoohan (on the strength of his portrayal of spy John Drake in the TV series Danger Man; it is frequently reported in histories of his later TV series The Prisoner that he turned the role down on moral grounds), James Mason, and David Niven (who would later play an unofficial version of the character in the 1967 satire Casino Royale).
Sean Connery
as James Bond is introduced to the world with his trademark statement, "Bond,
James Bond."There are several apocryphal stories as to whom Ian Fleming personally
wanted. Some sources, specifically Albert R. Broccoli from his autobiography When
The Snow Melts, claim that he favoured Roger Moore, having seen him as Simon Templar
on the television series The Saint. However, the details of this issue are disputed
by the fact that the series did not begin airing in the United Kingdom until October
4, 1962, only one day before the premiere of Dr. No. It was known that Fleming
wanted Noel Coward for the role of the evil Dr. Julius No and David Niven for
the role of Bond. Moore was not linked publicly to the role of 007 until 1967
in which Harry Saltzman claimed he would make a good Bond, but also displayed
misgivings due to his popularity as Simon Templar. Moore was selected later as
Bond in 1973 for Live and Let Die.
Ultimately, the producers turned to
Sean Connery, a relatively unknown actor at the time, to play agent 007 for five
films. It is often reported that Connery won the role through a contest set up
to 'find James Bond'. While this is untrue, the contest itself did exist, and
six finalists were chosen and screentested by Broccoli, Saltzman, and Fleming.
The winner of the contest was a 28-year-old model named Peter Anthony, who, according
to Broccoli, had a Gregory Peck quality, but proved unable to cope with the role.
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