Here’s the one that started it all. Although the sixth novel in the series by Ian Fleming, Dr. No is James Bond’s debut on the silver screen and turned Sean Connery into an international star. This film serves as a template as so many of the signature elements found within have been repeated throughout the series, from the opening gun barrel sequence to Bond ending up with the girl in the film’s conclusion. The major element missing is Q the gadget man.
British agent John Strangways is on assignment in Jamaica to discover what is disturbing tests done at Cape Canaveral, the United States base in Florida. After his death, Bond is sent by M (Bernard Lee, who played the role in eleven films) to investigate. Once there, Bond quickly makes the acquaintance of friends, like CIA agent Felix Leiter (Jack Lord), and enemies. The clues lead Bond to a nearby island and its main resident, Dr. No. Once on the island, Bond crosses paths with seashell collector Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress whose voice was dubbed by Nikki van der Zyl). They both get captured and at dinner Dr. No, in typical villain fashion, reveals his plans and announces he is a member of the international terrorist organization known as SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion). Naturally, Bond saves the day.
While Bond fans may enjoy Dr. No’s historic significance and there are a number of good scenes, the film doesn’t hold up in modern times. Its old age is apparent from the almost sluggish pacing, the filmmaking techniques, and the attitudes. Long stretches go by with characters talking. There’s not a lot of action and what there is isn’t very impressive. The sequence in Miss Moneypenny’s office is poor. The lighting casts shadows every which way from the multiple lights, and the set looks hastily thrown together like a high school production. Bond walks around like he’s in an Axe bodywash commercial as nearly every woman falls under his spell just from looking at him. It’s such a pathetic male fantasy it’s hard to take seriously. The worst decision is white actors playing main characters who are Chinese. Dr. No is Eurasian but they should have gotten someone who looked the part because the actor’s eye make-up is terrible. The choice for Miss Taro is even more ridiculous as they use eyeliner to augment the shape of her eye. It’s not like actress Zena Marshall was a major star so surely a Chinese actress could have played the part.
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