Dr. No (1962)

Plot Summary from IMDB

A resourceful British government agent seeks answers in a case involving the disappearance of a colleague and the disruption of the American space program.

Overall Feel

This isn't a bad movie, seems well put together and wasn't a slog like I had assumed it might be due to its age. It is almost the quintessential Jame's Bond experience, lacking only Q. I've never watched this one before, so it was fun to learn some of the things I noted below as I watched it. If you aren't a moderate James Bond fan, I wouldn't recommend the movie. It doesn't offer anything unique beyond the 60s film feel and cheesy sci-fi sets. There are other 60's spy movies that would most likely be more entertaining if you aren't a fan of the old school Bondisms.

Cast I’ll Track

Sean Connery is James Bond

Bernard Lee is “M”

Joseph Wiseman is Dr. No our Big Bad Guy (BBG)

Ursula Andress is Honey Rider the Prime Eye Candy (PEC).

Lois Maxwell is Miss Moneypenny

Peter Burton is Major Boothroyd, the “Q” before “Q” existed.

Fun Things to Note

• Bond wasn’t the originator of the “I’m Bond, James Bond” style introduction. His first seduction Sylvia Tench is.

• Bond preferred to carry a Beretta gun, and is forced by “M” to use the Walter PPK; which will become a Bond signature.

• “Q” didn’t exist until the third film, in this film Major Boothroyd is the armorer and provides Bond with his soon to be signature Walter PPK.

• SPECTRE is introduced in this movie, didn't realize it was this ingrained in Bond history.

Women In The Film

Bechdel Test: F

• Never do two women interact with each other.

Misogyny: On full display,

• Forceful kissing of a woman who is resisting (you see this often if you ever watch Mad Men)

• Just assuming he can have sex with a woman simply because she asked him to pick her up.

Patriarchy: On full display,

• No women in any job role that is not Secretary.

• Prime Eye Candy dives for conch and sea shells for a living, following in her fathers foot steps. This is not a 1960's traditional woman's job role, but it isn't a traditional role for a man either.

Persons of Color In The Film

Rating: C-

• There are competent PoCs, a good thing as they're in Jamaica. Three assassins are used in the very beginning using a hilariously out of place Three Blind Mice intro song.

• All PoC's though are just henchmen for the BBG, or an assistant for Bond.

• The PoC assisting Bond is given primarily violent, or fetch me stuff, requests. One request, just before he gets burned alive, is to get Bonds shoes. They didn't have to write that into the scene...but they did.

• There are no PoCs in any position of power or that have any agency beyond moments given to them by a white character.

Bond's Blood Body Count: 5

All of the deaths leading up to the first person Bond actually kills all occur due to their own actions; the first death associated with Bond is the driver who eats a cyanide pill, and then a group of assassins lose control of their vehicle and crash and burn. None directly killed by Bond.

Around the 58th minute Bond gets his first kill. He delivers a great line and shoots the man. The scene was a good one. Around the 70th minute he kills a lone guard. He racks up a majority of kills at the climax in the third act. He kills a worker to gain his outfit, kills another worker as he attempts to destroy the Dr. No's base, he kills Dr. No.

I won't bother to make a guesstimate of how many people he could have killed when the base blows up.

Bond's Naked Body Count: 3

STD Chance: 23%

He has one sexual encounter per Act, revisiting the 3rd Act woman, Honey Ryder, in the epilogue.

Bond picks up Eunice Gayson’s character Sylvia Trench in the early portions of this movie. This is the first character in the Bond franchise to use the “My name is Trench, Sylvia Trench” introduction. Which Bond then replies in what will become the signature introduction of ”I’m Bond, James Bond”. She is also Bond’s first lay and is a high class lady. She shows up unexpectedly in his room. So she kind of seduces him. STD chances are low for this vixen, but she picked Bond which may show a lack of character judgement, 0.8/10

Zena Marshall’s character Miss Taro falls to his “charm”. I use “charm” loosely here, as charm in many 1960’s movies is a man just taking what he wants from a woman he shows interest in; her opinion or wants are never inquired upon. Zena is a mole, and valuable resource of Dr. No. She may have been with a few select people, but not overly so. STD chances are low here but not non-existent. 1/10

Ursula Andress’ character Honey Ryder is the titular “Bond Girl”, punny word intentional. She’s introduced very late in the film around the one hour mark. She spends the majority of her screen time in a bathing suit. She seems to be a normal island lady who makes a simple living but was raped in her past, she reveals this to Bond in dialog. I'm giving her a relatively low chance of having an STD. 0.5/10

Star Ratings TL;DR

Overall: 5.6/10 Average compared to IMDB rating of 7.2

• Direction: 5.5/10

• Cinematography: 5.5/10

• Writing: 5.5/10

• Setting Enjoyment: 5.8/10

• Prime Eye Candy (PEC): 6/10

• PEC Competence: 2/10

• Villain Worthy of Venture Bros.: 7/10

• Hits the Formula: 8/10

• Quip Maestro: 5/10

  
  

Star Ratings Details

Direction: 5.5/10

This is a very straightforward film, I don't have the time or desire to compare this to other early sixties spy movies. The director didn't take any risks, The movie is just under 2 hours in length, but doesn't feel long. Maybe they required a sexual partner for each act in the movie. One thing that isn't well done, is any sense of tension or feeling of risk. Even when Bond isn't in control, it still feels like he is. Perhaps intentionally.

Cinematography: 5.5/10

Shot fairly straight forward. Well lit, nothing stands out good or bad. Overall a competent, but standard affair.

Writing: 5.5/10

You can tell they hewed close to the novel, this is me assuming the novel is competently written. I say this as there are no glaring plot holes, or any "beat you in the face" contrivances. Conversations exist to move the movie along. Connery did miss deliveries on some of the quips that Bond becomes well known for, but I'll give him a pass as this is his first go at the role.

Setting Enjoyment: 5.8/10

The main case is set in Jamaica, they don’t really do the beautiful island full justice. I do like idea of having the BBG holed up in a bauxite mine, but unfortunately this is the first movie and they really didn’t have much of a budget. There a few shots in the river and on the island of Dr. No where you do get a nice view of Jamaican scenery. The control room at where the climax plays out is full on cheesy 60's sci-fi and I love the aesthetic.

Prime Eye Candy: 6/10

Honey Ryder, a fantastic name for a "Bond girl", as it feels beautifully tongue in cheek is our PEC. She's got the calendar girl body of the 1960's, but overall she doesn't do a lot for me. But I recognize she's a babe from the time, so a slightly above average in comparison to other "Bond girls" will have to do.

Prime Eye Candy Competence: 2/10

She acts tough initially, rebuking Bond with a knife. But does nothing afterwords and is only a damsel in distress.

Villain Worthy of Venture Bros.: 7/10

Dr. No would fit well in the Guild of Calamitous Intent. I enjoyed him as a bad guy.

Hits the Formula: 8/10

• A game of skill and chance, introduced in the first act.

  • Baccarat is played by Bond in the opening act.

• Heavy flirting with Moneypenny.

  • Yes indeed does this occur, in flying fashion.

• New gadget introduction by Q.

  • This did not become part of the formula until the third film Goldfinger.

• Bond getting captured by the main BBG, where the BBG tells him his entire evil plot.

  • Dr. No does indeed capture Bond, and subsequently told him his plan, as well as an attempt to recruit Bond to SPECTRE.

• The BBG or their primary henchmen has some physical oddity that makes them unique.

  • Dr. No lost his hands to radiation damage, and has had them replaced by metal hands that almost resemble plate mail gauntlets.  

Quip Maestro: 5/10

He has quips but they aren't delivered quite as well as his future efforts. I may revisit this though as I shift through the other films.