Well, what can be said? The first Bond film. Dr. No is one of my favourites. IIRC, the budget was small; about $1 million. A hearse is destroyed in a firey fashion, and there was one good explosion. The model must have cost a bit. But many of the sets were fairly generic, which undoubtedly saved some money. Dr. No’s interrogation room is a minimalist’s delight. Just a big open room with a circular skylight with a grating on it.
The plot is that there is an evil scientist (Dr. No, played by Joeseph Wiseman) who is “toppling” rockets – throwing off their gyros with a powerful radio signal and causing them to crash off-course. Bond (Sean Connery) gets involved when British agent CDR Strangways (Tim Moxon) and his secratary disappear. Bond discovers that rock samples taken from Crab Key (No’s hideout) are radioactive and he becomes convinced that No is behind the disappearance.
Bond is a good fighter who relies on his wits to see him through. His weapons are his brains and the Walther PPK that replaced his trusty Beretta. The low budget made for a very straightforward story. I love that old-school colour. The vintage clothing and vehicles were cool too. What it must have been like to live in that time! No internet, no computer-controlled cars… but a time when “futuristic” things-to-come were in vogue.
One “nugget” that most people will not catch (nor did I, until hearing the commentary) is Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington in Dr. No’s lair. Topical at the time, it’s a reference to the recently stolen artwork.
There were a couple of things that bothered me. For one, the “superstition” of the “dragon” on Dr. No’s island. Quarrel (John Kitzmiller) is working with the CIA. I found it hard to believe that even if he grew up in a world that believed in such things, that he would believe in that. And Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) has been around the world. Sure, she was self-taught after the death of her father; but her father must have taught her about the difference between reality and superstition. Even after they see the “dragon tracks”, which were obviously made by a vehicle, they thought the dragon was real. I think it would have been better if they had caught on sooner.
Other things that bothered me were: Puss Feller (Lester Prendergast) got his name from felling an octopus, not because he wrestled alligators; and Honey’s statement that the mosquitos were after salt. Minor points, but they were noticed.
The scene where Bond is awakened by a dangerous tarantula (most aren’t, but they’re photogenic) is interesting. I had heard that Sean Connery is terrified of spiders. When the spider is crawling on his arm, you don’t see his face. It’s a crew member who doubled for him. But there is a shot where you see the spider and Bond’s face at the same time. Look closely and you’ll see that there is a pane of glass between Sean Conenry and the spider. Incidentally, the spider would only crawl one direction – and it wasn’t the direction they needed for the shot! The filmmakers had to rotate the “room” 90º and tilt the camera so that the spider would crawl the right way in relation to the actor.
You know I like British sports cars. How 'bout that Sunbeam Alpine, eh?
So there you have it. Beautiful locations, classic 1962 titles, a sports car, an Evil Villain, pretty women, dangerous men, pretty and dangerous women… it’s all there.
One of the best.
