Aluminium Christmas Trees: The calypso band with multiple Asian members at the hotel is sometimes met with confusion from modern audiences who don't think that it's authentic that such a band would exist in pre-independence Jamaica. The band in question, Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, is a real group who contributed to the film's soundtrack; Bryon Lee is 3/4ths Chinese, and Chinese Jamaicans in general make up a substantial ethnic minority in the country.
The decontamination scene in the movie where Bond and Honey Ryder have their clothes removed and destroyed and are given a hot shower and scrubbed down with a brush after they were unwittingly exposed to dangerous levels of radiation is the object of ridicule by many Bond fans, who find the scene ridiculous and unrealistic...except, that's exactly how you decontaminate someone in that situation, as radioactive isotopes stick to your clothes before burrowing their way into your flesh and causing internal damage to your body, and being stripped, showered and brushed as quickly as possible is actually the most straightforward way of preventing that.
The protagonist was an unknown, and the book series did not have much recognition. Therefore, United Artists gave the film a miniscule budget, and for the US release it premiered in the Midwest prior to the big cities, since UA feared it wouldn't find much of an audience. It had a decent run, leading to the even more revered sequel From Russia with Love, and finally a third movie, Goldfinger, a smash hit that made Bond a cultural landmark.
Ian Fleming hated the casting of Sean Connery as Bond, calling him "an overgrown stuntman" and believing he was too unrefined to portray his cultured MI6 operative.note His suggestions for the role were David Niven or his cousin Christopher Lee; the former starred in the Bond spoof Casino Royale (1967) and the latter played the villain of The Man with the Golden Gun who's specifically set up as an Evil Counterpart to Bond. Later, he was so impressed that he gave a Scottish heritage to Bond in the novels.
Audience-Coloring Adaptation: While a lot of pop-culture stereotypes about Bond and Spy Fiction in general have their roots in later movies, at least two can be traced straight to this one.
At least three-quarters of Tuxedo and Martini parodies will feature some guy with "Doctor" or "Professor" in front of his name as the Big Bad. Thing is, Dr. No is close to being the only bona-fide Mad Scientist to headline a Bond story; most other Bond villains are oversized gangsters (including, arguably, Blofeld) who at best finance a Doomsday Device that's actually built by some nameless techs.
The music from this film helped popularize the reggae/ska music scene in Great Britain. The film's location manager Chris Blackwell, seen dancing in the scene at the club, is the founder of reggae powerhouse Island Records.
The bikini scene where Ursula Andress emerges from the water was ranked at #1 on Channel 4's "100 Greatest Sexy Moments".
Ensemble Dark Horse: Honey Ryder, for being the first main Bond Girl in the film franchise, her iconic scene emerging from the sea, and for being Ursula Andress in a bikini for most of the second half of the film.
Quarrel was seen as a very progressive black character at the time the film came out, as he is a competent and loyal informant for the CIA who accompanies Bond in Storming the Castle. He still has loads of fans today, but modern viewers have been known to be put off by his being more fearful than Bond and the scene where Bond tells him to carry his shoes.
The use of yellowface for every major Chinese character is cringeworthy today. However, Dr No and his associates are portrayed not as crude stereotypes, but as dangerous and competent villains who are worthy opponents for Bond.
Fan Nickname: Ursula Andress as "Ursula Undress" due to her famous bikini scene. She was actually cast after Albert R. Broccoli saw her a photograph of her taken by her then-husband John Derek wearing a wet t-shirt.
Fashion-Victim Villain: The radiation suit Dr. No wears in the reactor scene. Almost literal since he dies wearing it.
Franchise Original Sin: A recurring complaint in the franchise is when Bond Girls are useless in the plot and need to be saved frequently by Bond. These people seem to forget that Honey Ryder, the Bond Girl from this first movie Dr. No, already had this problem. If you look closely, you will find that she adds nothing to the plot and does not help Bond at any time, having to be rescued by him at the climax. Honey could have been taken from the movie and the events would have happened the same way. The difference is that the character is still friendly and charismatic, something other Bond Girls would not be in the future. Also, this problem could easily be forgiven for being just the first movie in the franchise.
Fridge Brilliance: Why does Bond shoot Professor Dent instead of interrogating him? He's encountered two of Dr. No's associates and got nothing out of them. Jones took cyanide and the photographer said nothing even when her arm was nearly broken. Third time, Bond wises up and just kills Dent rather than waste time on him.
James Bond insists that there is no such thing as dragons. Bond himself would also face off against a group of non-fire-breathing Komodo Dragons in Skyfall.
When Bond is in Dr. No's lair, he notices the Portrait Of The Duke Of Wellington by Francisco de Goya which had been stolen in 1961, a year before the movie was released. Its appearance implies that Dr. No had either stolen it or purchased it from the actual thief. The portrait was recovered in 1965.
The famous line "You've had your six" after Sean Connery finished his tenure in the EON Bond series with Diamonds Are Forever.
Inferred Holocaust: Yeah, uh, Bond? You kinda just caused a mini-Chernobyl in the middle of the Caribbean.
Magnificent Bastard: Dr. Julius No is one of SPECTRE's top operatives and a man of charm and charisma who rules Crab Key, Jamaica with his two metal fists. Seeking to disrupt a rocket launch from America, No outplays everyone sent to the area until Bond's arrival, and even for much of the film Bond is entirely within No's power, only surviving thanks to outwitting No's assassins. When encountered by Bond, No reveals how he completely outwitted the Tongs after crawling up from nothing in Hong Kong as the son of a German missionary and a Chinese woman. Joining SPECTRE, No seeks to help overthrow the orders of the eastern and western blocs alike, and remains one of the most dynamic and striking villains Bond ever faces.
The clear plastic suit Dr. No wears at the end of the film looked hilarious long before Austin Powers parodied it.
Monty Norman's jazzy, bouncy score can seem somewhat out of place after hearing John Barry's work in the later Bond entries, often coming across more like something you'd expect to hear in a Pink Panther film. It's especially pronounced in the spider scene, where it tries a little too hard to sell the danger of the situation, and the climatic fight between Bond and Dr. No.
Honey's utterly ridiculous argument as to why dragons could be real.
The gun barrel opening is noticeably rough around the edges compared to the ones used in later entries, featuring a man who is very obviously not Sean Connerynote (It's actually his stunt double, Bob Simmons) slowly and awkwardly walking into view, before suddenly doing a little bunny hop and then shooting at the camera. The effect ends up being less akin to Bond smoothly taking out a would-be assassin, and more like someone shouting "boo!" and causing him to shoot at them in a panic.
Narm Charm: The car driving the Three Blind Mice explodes for no reason while it's rolling down a shallow hill. Really entertaining.
Bond getting assistance from the colonial governor of Jamaica made the film outdated even at the time of its release. Jamaica gained independence from the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962, four months after filming wrapped, but two months before the film premiered!
Bond does a double take upon seeing the painting of the Duke of Wellington in Dr. No's lair. That was a real painting that was stolen from London's National Gallery in 1961 and was a major crime story in Britain. It was recovered in 1965.
The use of Yellowface for every major Chinese character would never be allowed today for very obvious reasons.
Bond ordering Quarrel to pick up his shoes didn't age well either.
The movie was very violent for 1962, with much of the comedy, including jokes after the kills, to alleviate and make it less objectionable. Only a few parts, like Bond's execution of Dent can still be seen as ruthless, given the very next Bond movie has a train fight more brutal than all of the Dr. No brawls.
The originally risque sexual content, with Bond's casual sex (that is never on screen) and Honey's Sexy Surfacing Shot, is very quaint nowadays, and were easily outdone by later movies in the franchise without anyone even thinking about them as graphic or inappropriate.
Vindicated by History: Received mixed reviews from critics upon its original premiere, but is now considered one of the best spy films ever made and one of the best Bond films.
Franchise Original Sin: The book actually sets up a lot of Bond elements for both the movie series as well as later instalments of the series. This include an Elaborate Underground Base, No, Mister Bond, I Expect You To Dine, and the villain being Wicked Cultured. In fact, in the original novel, these elements were meant to mark Doctor No as utterly insane. Bond is constantly put off by how weird it all is.
Vindicated by History: This was the first of the novels to receive heavy criticism, mainly for lacking the realism of the previous books and having fantastical elements instead. Nowadays, it's one of the most popular and beloved novels in the series, thanks to sharing a lot of elements with the movies.
in general make up a substantial ethnic minority in the country.