Film A great start to a legendary series
Looking back sixty years and calling this film, the one which started one of Western cinema’s most celebrated franchises, bad is silly. What Broccoli and Saltzman accomplished with minimal studio backing and a shoestring budget was nothing short of astounding, and Sean Connery comes out swinging with a strong first turn as James Bond. The Jamaica setting suffuses this first film, in a series later stereotyped as being perhaps a little too steeped in European luxury, with earthy, Caribbean exoticism, and it’s a fitting place to start, given Ian Fleming’s love of the island, where he retreated each summer to pen the original novels.
Dr. No owes much to Alfred Hitchcock, to the extent that North By Northwest and Torn Curtain are essential viewing for any serious Bond fan looking deeper into the first five films in the series. Bond here is written more as a detective. His assignment, to investigate the death of a fellow agent leading to the uncovering of a plot of interfere with American rocketry for nefarious purposes is a classic Cold War thriller plot. The interaction at the MI 6 office lacks most of the characteristic charm of later outings and amounts to little more than Bond getting a new gun.
Where the movie shines is in the direction – Bond as portrayed is suave and cultured, an extension of director Terence Howard’s own personality and sensibilities, and a departure from the neurotic arch-reactionary Bulldog Drummond knock-off which Fleming wrote. Ursula Andress, likewise, is iconic in her first scene as Honey Ryder – though every scene where she actually acts after that electric introduction leaves something to be desired, and the ADR overdubbing of her voice by another actress is very obvious. Jack Lord portrays the first, and still the best Felix Leiter – in a movie where Bond is the king of cool, it’s only natural that his American brother—in-arms have that Kennedy-esque polish to him.
Overall, a great start, but very much the Bond series at an embryonic stage, unrecognizable to those accustomed to the style of the later films.
Film Humble Beginnings
What's most striking about Dr. No is its relative simplicity compared to its successors. There's no pre-credits sequence or title song, the story takes place almost entirely in Jamaica, the villain is understated, his plan and henchmen are rather mundane, and Bond comes across more like a detective than a super-spy.
Despite this, the beginnings of what the franchise would become known for are there. Sean Connery establishes himself as the King of Cool from the very first shot of him, Joseph Wiseman does a good job of portraying Dr. No's restrained megalomania, and Ursula Andress sets the bar for beautiful women in the series. Jack Lord and John Kitzmiller are enjoyable sidekicks in different ways. Lord plays Felix Leiter as the quintessential cigar-chomping tough guy, while Kitzmiller breathes a lovely energy into Quarrel.
The setting is absolutely gorgeous. Location shooting is easily one of director Terrence Young’s greatest strengths, as all his Bond films bring out the beauty in their locales. Dr. No’s hideout, while not Ken Adams’ greatest set in the series, is nevertheless impressive for its era and a clear foretelling of the size and scope that will come.
And that’s true of the film as a whole. It’s not the best by any stretch, but it is a solid film that clearly shows potential for the series to capitalize on in the future.
Film An Odd First Step, but a Necessary One
The first official cinematic adventure of James Bond, Dr. No, may seem a bit odd to modern audiences more accustomed to the film series' usual formulas and the advances it's made since its debut. Early-Installment Weirdness is prevalent here, but keeping an open mind will show exactly how well this debut has aged.
Connery avails himself well in his debut as the great secret agent, being suave and gentlemanly, but with a ruggedly masculine edge — a departure from his literary counterpart, but a welcome one (even Fleming himself thought so). The movie also sets up the strengths its successors would demonstrate later on: the cinematography and set designs are gorgeous, and the music is neatly eclectic (a mix of traditional brassy jazz and a fun reggae/ska vibe that meshes well with the tropical setting). Honey Rider is dynamic and sympathetic, setting the standard for Bond Gals in the future, and the titular villain does similarly for Bond’s enemies: suave, sophisticated, and domineering with an interesting plan and backstory — although his death scene was fairly anticlimactic.
Unfortunately, the film’s chief flaw is the slow pacing. The movie spends a bulk of its runtime establishing the setting and chain of events Bond is investigating, and we don’t even meet the main villain or learn about his plot until the last half-hour or so. Being a product of the 1960s, the film also has some icky racial implications that come off as cringeworthy by today’s standards, like Quarrel’s superstitious demeanor and unceremonious death, and the Asian Dr. No being played by a white actor in makeup.
In all, Dr. No gets a 7/10.. It definitely shows its age in spots, but there's a reason it kickstarted a global sensation that's still beloved 60 years later.