# Dr. No (1962) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 10, 2018, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943 "2018-05-10T21:48:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/1 "2018-05-10T21:48:37Z")
I watched the very first Bond film for the very first time last night. Yes, I know I’m a few decades late. Funny thing is, I _thought_ I had seen it before. Then when it began, I realized nothing seemed familiar. I was fully expecting Dr. No to be a very stereotyped Chinese man with creepily long fingernails and was mildly confused when he was not. Turns out I was remembering the _Get Smart_ villain [Dr. Yes](http://reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.com/2015/05/get-smart-dr-yes-1967.html)! D’oh! Anyway, my weird selective memory aside, this was a really interesting viewing experience. The script was fairly tightly plotted and moved forward at a decent pace. Sean Connery’s performance as Bond is, of course, above reproach. In some ways, this felt like watching the pilot episode of a long-running TV series – the character as we know him was \*almost \*there, but was further refined in later installments. Given that he had no other performances to springboard from, as did every subsequent Bond, I think he did a remarkable job bringing 007 to life based only on the printed word. The thing is - and this is not necessarily a criticism of this film - movies looked _a lot_ different in 1963 than they do today. I think audiences then were more forgiving of things like unrealistic sets, mis-matched reaction shots, obvious blue-screen, or using the same shot three different times during a chase scene. It’s all in service of the story, so it all kind of works. It’s unfair to judge this against recent Bond films on its technical merits. Having said that, I’m honestly not sure how intentionally campy this was supposed to be. The reactor room set, in particular, seemed like the inspiration for the '60s TV Bat Cave, with its oversized control panels and giant block-letter signs describing every piece of equipment. Oh, and the bad guy was dispatched far too quickly and easily in the end, by modern standards, anyway. Overall, I enjoyed it. Good, cheesy fun. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/2 "2018-05-10T22:44:32Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > In some ways, this felt like watching the pilot episode of a long-running TV series – the character as we know him was \*almost \*there, but was further refined in later installments. Given that he had no other performances to springboard from, as did every subsequent Bond, I think he did a remarkable job bringing 007 to life based only on the printed word. From 1954, the first - and worst - James Bond, 007: > **["Climax!" Casino Royale (TV Episode 1954) ⭐ 5.6 | Drama](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0310853/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_30)** > > 52m | Unrated There were also a number of radio adaptations before _Dr. No_ was released. > **[James Bond Radio Dramas](https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/James_Bond_Radio_Dramas)** > > Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance made for radio broadcast. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story. Several of Ian Fleming's... ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/3 "2018-05-11T00:47:57Z")
One of my all-time favorite scenes in Bond films is 007 having his showdown with Professor Dent who’s a fink. Professor Dent points his gun at 007 and pulls the trigger on a dead cartridge: OO7:" _That’s a Smith & Wesson, and you’ve had your six."_ [shoots Dent twice]. It’s just the cold bloodedness of the way Bond kills Dent that I admire: he isn’t a 00 agent for nothing… ---
**Author:** ![Sveltington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@Sveltington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sveltington)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/4 "2018-05-11T01:08:16Z")
Joesph Wiseman always made an excellent bad guy. I’ve always liked the Connery Bond movies. Barry Nelson as Bond:eek: I need to see it just for the cringe factor. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/5 "2018-05-11T03:28:27Z")
> [@Sveltington](#): > > Barry Nelson as Bond:eek: I need to see it just for the cringe factor. Better than Bert Convy. Heard it from somewhere but still having a tough time finding that online, so… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/6 "2018-05-11T04:26:12Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > From 1954, the first - and worst - James Bond, 007: > > [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0310853/?ref\_=nm\_flmg\_act\_30](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0310853/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_30) [Now available online.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztsXWp0nj2c) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/7 "2018-05-11T04:35:53Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > From 1954, the first - and worst - James Bond, 007: > [@Sveltington](#): > > Barry Nelson as Bond:eek: I need to see it just for the cringe factor. I admit that Barry Nelson didn’t make a great Bond. But the show (which I have on DVD) isn’t that bad. I like it better than some of the Roger Moore films. As for _Dr. No_, this might be my favourite Bond film. It’s gritty, and doesn’t try to be too cute. It’s close to the book. No ‘gadgets’. > [@Wheelz](#): > > I’m honestly not sure how intentionally campy this was supposed to be. The reactor room set, in particular, seemed like the inspiration for the '60s TV Bat Cave, with its oversized control panels and giant block-letter signs describing every piece of equipment. A couple of things: First, it was 1962. By modern standards, cutting-edge equipment looks campy. _Star Trek_ was supposed to be a serious series. (Yes, it failed in Season 3.) But the sets were pretty bad. I mean viewscreens that were obviously posters. Spock using an E6B in one episode. Or look at any number of 1950s Science Fiction films. Even the sets on _good_ ones are pretty bad. Secondly, _Dr. No_ only had a million-dollar budget. Given the budgetary limitations and the 1950s/1960s style hardware, I thought the sets were remarkably good. > [@Wheelz](#): > > Overall, I enjoyed it. Good, cheesy fun. I wouldn’t call it cheesy at all. It was a solid film. It sounds as if it looks ‘cheesy’ just because of one of the sets, which was like any other futuristic set of the time. You want cheesy? _You Only Live Twice_ and _Diamonds are Forever_. And those are _before_ Roger Moore became The Smirk That Ate James Bond Whole. ---
**Author:** ![Sveltington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@Sveltington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sveltington)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/8 "2018-05-11T11:00:09Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Better than Bert Convy. Heard it from somewhere but still having a tough time finding that online, so… At least Bert Convy had a little of the the suave factor. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > [Now available online.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztsXWp0nj2c) Thank you ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/9 "2018-05-11T11:08:33Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Sean Connery’s performance as Bond is, of course, above reproach. Except for the singing. My idea of James Bond doesn’t croon, even to get a woman. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/10 "2018-05-11T11:23:31Z")
Well Ian Fleming was said to have imagined or based Bond’s looks off famous singer and musician Hoagy Carmichael, so don’t be so quick to dismiss Bond’s singing. I’m not being serious, I just always thought that was an interesting factoid. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/11 "2018-05-11T11:59:26Z")
One of the smartest things I’ve ever done is buy the complete James Bond on blu ray. Black Friday special on Amazon. I regularly return to Dr. No. I actually prefer the first part of the film before Bond meets Honey Ryder. The baccarat scene in the first part might well be my all time favorite. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/12 "2018-05-11T12:08:03Z")
The first Bond had a lot going for it, but what still annoys the hell out of me is his ludicrously easy escape from a prison cell that has ventilating shafts easily big enough to simply crawl into. WHAT were they thinking? And, yes, I know that in Fleming’s novel it was a clever way to get Bond into an apparent escape that would turn out to be a deliberate obstacle course. Viewed in that light, the “ventilator shaft” that starts heating up, and gets flooded with seawater actually makes some kind of sense. But in the film, it seems to be just an oversized ventilator duct (that floods with seawater, apparently, for no good reason), because no one is watching him, and when he cunningly breaks out at the end by kicking the screen out of the way, he’s able to overcome a guard and steal his identity-hiding radiation suit. it looks as if they started filming the book’s torture-obstacle course, but decided, partway through, that it was just too damned much trouble to explain, so they just have it as an unbelievably easy escape route. I did like the way Bond is incredibly cold in the film, much more than in any subsequent film. As Benson observe in _The James Bond Bedside Companion_, the first time he utters the now-famous line “Bond, James Bond” in the casino, he does so _with absolutely no warmth_. When he shoots Dent, he is stone cold. One other trivial thing that’s always bugged me – when Bond is examining Strangways’ house for clues, he sees a slip of paper marking a spot in a book and simply pulls it out. The paper turns out to be a receipt for the geologist who examined the rock samples (and found them radioactive), so it was a vital clue, but for al Bond knew the vital clue could have been what was on the page thus marked. Yet he casually “killed” the possibility of examining that clue. Heck, Scooby doo wouldn’t have overlooked something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/13 "2018-05-11T19:49:24Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Funny thing is, I _thought_ I had seen it before. Then when it began, I realized nothing seemed familiar. I was fully expecting Dr. No to be a very stereotyped Chinese man with creepily long fingernails and was mildly confused when he was not. Turns out I was remembering the _Get Smart_ villain [Dr. Yes](http://reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.com/2015/05/get-smart-dr-yes-1967.html)! D’oh! I thought that was The Craw. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/14 "2018-05-11T20:07:47Z")
> [@Johnny\_Q](#): > > I thought that was The Craw. Not ‘Craw’. _CRAW!_ ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/15 "2018-05-11T22:31:35Z")
Two of my favorite moments in that one: \<1\> The crazy-intense scene where he wakes up with the completely harmless tarantula crawling on him, and \<2\> when he’s just walking around the hotel room, and the soundtrack is absolutely _blaring_ the 007 Theme Music for no real reason. Of course, for giving technical screw ups a pass in old Bond films, [this scene](https://youtu.be/4AESnPfT2H4) is my favorite (watch the makeup mirror starting at ~0:26) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/16 "2018-05-11T22:43:20Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Two of my favorite moments in that one: \<1\> The crazy-intense scene where he wakes up with the completely harmless tarantula crawling on him, and \<2\> when he’s just walking around the hotel room, and the soundtrack is absolutely _blaring_ the 007 Theme Music for no real reason. > > Of course, for giving technical screw ups a pass in old Bond films, [this scene](https://youtu.be/4AESnPfT2H4) is my favorite (watch the makeup mirror starting at ~0:26) 🙂 About :14. And when the big guy gets hit with the chair, you can see the pad under his suit jacket. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2018, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/17 "2018-05-11T23:53:06Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Two of my favorite moments in that one: \<1\> The crazy-intense scene where he wakes up with the completely harmless tarantula crawling on him, and \<2\> when he’s just walking around the hotel room, and the soundtrack is absolutely _blaring_ the 007 Theme Music for no real reason. In re (1), there’s a close-up in which the spider is crawling on a part of Bond’s anatomy that’s obviously NOT an arm or leg. 😛 In re (2), the same thing happens in _ **From Russia with Love** _, when he arrives in Istanbul. There had to be \*some \*kind of background while he was checking the room for bugs (the electronic kind)! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/18 "2018-05-12T00:57:30Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The first Bond had a lot going for it, but what still annoys the hell out of me is his ludicrously easy escape from a prison cell that has ventilating shafts easily big enough to simply crawl into. WHAT were they thinking? > And, yes, I know that in Fleming’s novel it was a clever way to get Bond into an apparent escape that would turn out to be a deliberate obstacle course. Viewed in that light, the “ventilator shaft” that starts heating up, and gets flooded with seawater actually makes some kind of sense. But in the film, it seems to be just an oversized ventilator duct (that floods with seawater, apparently, for no good reason), because no one is watching him, and when he cunningly breaks out at the end by kicking the screen out of the way, he’s able to overcome a guard and steal his identity-hiding radiation suit. it looks as if they started filming the book’s torture-obstacle course, but decided, partway through, that it was just too damned much trouble to explain, so they just have it as an unbelievably easy escape route. After this movie, the One Inept Guard system became the global standard. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/19 "2018-05-12T01:31:29Z")
> [@pool](#): > > Well Ian Fleming was said to have imagined or based Bond’s looks off famous singer and musician Hoagy Carmichael, so don’t be so quick to dismiss Bond’s singing. [Hoagy Carmichael?](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hoagy-carmichael-sings-hoagy-carmichael-mw0000957046) Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying he’s ugly, but he’s hardly what you think of when you think of a dashing international spy. That would be [Moe Berg](https://www.fold3.com/page/3123897-morris-berg/photos). ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2018, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943/20 "2018-05-12T01:40:21Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > [Hoagy Carmichael?](https://www.allmusic.com/album/hoagy-carmichael-sings-hoagy-carmichael-mw0000957046) > > Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying he’s ugly, but he’s hardly what you think of when you think of a dashing international spy. That would be [Moe Berg](https://www.fold3.com/page/3123897-morris-berg/photos). [This](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c3/Hoagy_Carmichael_-_1947.jpg) comes a bit closer, I think. Or [this.](https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/hoagy-stardust-carmichael-celebrated-young-american-news-photo/517454052#hoagy-stardust-carmichael-celebrated-young-american-composer-of-who-picture-id517454052) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-no-1962/813943.md?page=2)