UK action
1962
color 111 min.
Director: Terence Young
CLV: out-of-print collectible
           1 disc, catalog # CC1292L
When President Kennedy
announced that Ian Fleming's novels were amongst his favorite bedside reading,
the international stage was set for the entrance of a new cinematic character.
His name was Bond -- James Bond. In 1962, Dr. No burst onto the screen
with an exciting, fast-moving style and a witty, urbane and deeply cynical hero
quite new to the movies. The impact was tremendous. A whole new genre of
sophisticated spy thrillers was born as Dr. No spawned imitations on both
the large and small screens (e.g., Matt Helm and The Man from
U.N.C.L.E.).At the center of the film was Bond, played by Sean Connery
with an immediate magnetic appeal. Born in Edinburgh in 1929, the son of a truck
driver, Connery worked as a bricklayer and a milkman before he landed a part in
the chorus of the British stage production of South Pacific, his first job in
show business. Prior to being cast as Agent 007, Connery played some starring
roles but suffered from continual miscasting. By the time he departed the Bond
series in 1971 (he returned in 1983 for Never Say Never Again), he had
become a household name and an actor of international renown.
Debonair and
sophisticated, capable of defeating any villain or bedding any beautiful girl,
Bond stepped out as a complete mythic hero. In this, the first film, Bond is more
like Fleming's original creation -- a suave, cold-blooded killer. Only later did
007 develop into the likable agent, tossing out characteristic one-liners.
From
the start it was clear that Dr. No was destined to be more than just a
one-time-only affair. And although the Bond formula had not fully developed (that
only emerged with Goldfinger, the third Bond film), many of the regular
elements were already in place. Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) simpered and
flirted after James; M (Bernard Lee) was already exasperated with his cool
subordinate; while Felix Leiter (Jack Lord), 007's CIA friend and counterpart,
made Bond's acquaintance. Major Boothroyd (Peter Burton), the predecessor to Q,
supplied guns but few gadgets, leaving Bond to rely less on technology and more
on his wits. When he is cornered in a stream, for instance, he cuts reeds in
order to breathe underwater. The later Bond would have a handy gadget waiting for
just such a situation.
One character who did not survive was Sylvia Trench
(Eunice Gayson). Originally intended as a regular girlfriend, constantly deserted
by Bond as he races off to yet another mission, Trench was dropped after From
Russia with Love. The most lasting device to be introduced in Dr. No,
however, is Maurice Binder's now world famous opening title sequence (the theme
written by Monty Norman), with its traveling white dots which transform into a
gunsight as Bond steps into view, turns toward the audience and shoots, causing a
blood-like red wash to drop slowly over the scene. Binder's hallmark designs,
featuring beautiful girls and a touch of eroticism, have graced the titles of
nearly all the Bond films since.
Dr. No, coolly played by Joseph
Wiseman, is the first of a series of ruthless villains, members of S.P.E.C.T.R.E.
in the early films, who are scheming to take over the world. In his own empire,
Dr. No's power is absolute, his subordinates prefer to "die rather than
talk." The scriptwriters experimented with many ideas to make the villain even
more menacing, including the bizarre notion of making Dr. No a monkey,
before giving him metal hands, his distinguishing mark in the movie. At first,
the producers concocted a rather unlikely casting choice -- the deeply British
Noel Coward, but finally producer Harry Saltzman chose Wiseman.
The creative
team behind the camera played an invaluable role in the success of the series.
Veteran screenwriter Richard Maibaum wrote or co-wrote every Bond entry up
through 1987's License to Kill, and proved as adept at the more
naturalistic earlier entries as he did with the later, fantastical,
gravity-defying titles such as Goldfinger and Moonraker. Ken Adam,
one of filmdom's most respected and influential production designers, was
responsible for creating the look of the Bond films (his futuristic sets adorned
numerous other films including Dr. Strangelove, and his period designs for
Barry Lyndon earned him an Academy Award). Spanning almost the entire
25-year history of the series were the immediately identifiable crescendo-laden
music scores of John Barry. Director Terence Young, editor Peter Hunt, and
cinematographer Ted Moore were other equally indispensable members of the Dr.
No creative team -- assembled by producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry
Saltzman -- that laid the groundwork for the wildly successful 16 film (thus far)
United Artists' series.
Several scenes in Dr. No are still regarded as
classics of the action-adventure genre. In one of them, Professor Dent, an ally
of Dr. No's, conceives a plan for killing Bond by turning a tarantula
loose upon him. The creature appears to crawl over Bond's torso. The scene was,
in fact, shot with a pane of glass between Connery and the lethal arachnid. In a
more erotic vein is the introduction of the first Bond girl, Honey Ryder (Ursula
Andress). As she emerges from the sea, wearing nothing but a skimpy white bikini
and a hunting knife, singing "Underneath the Mango Tree," she sets the standard
for every Bond girl to follow.
Dr. No's budget was a mere $900,000 (with
an extra $100,000 added later by United Artists to fund the spectacular finale).
Despite its modest budget, however, it has a lavish, expensive feel, largely due
to its Jamaican locations and Ken Adam's sets, that have come to be associated
with the Bond series. Dr. No recouped its money from a record-breaking
British release alone, ensuring that 007 would be back to entertain for many
films to come.
-- SALLY HIBBIN
Credits
Producers: Harry
Saltzman, Albert R. Broccoli
Director: Terence Young
Screenplay: Richard
Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, Berkeley Mather, from the novel by Ian
Fleming
Cinematography: Ted Moore
Production Designer: Ken Adam
Special
Effects: Frank George
Editor: Peter Hunt
Main Title Designer: Maurice
Binder
Music Composed by: Monty Norman
Orchestrated by: Burt
Rhodes
Conducted by: Eric Rodgers
James Bond Theme played by: John Barry &
Orchestra
Transfer
The Criterion Collection is proud to
present
Dr. No in its original wide-
screen format. (Because Dr. No's
British 1.75:1 ratio resembles traditional 1.85:1 ratio, therefore, the film
will appear only slightly letterboxed on some receivers.)
Visit Voyager's Goldfinger site.
Visit Voyager's From Russia With Love site.