Bond turns 50: 'Dr. No' (1962)

Today, October 5, has been declared James Bond Day. A massive enterprise of books, comics, movies... even a one off TV special. The Bond film franchise (of which there are 23 "official", and 3 unofficial, entries) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and in commemoration there's been a big blu-ray box of all 22 theatrical films (the 23rd picture, Skyfall, is on its way to theaters in about a month). The big Bond craze has also inspired me to write retrospectives on all of the films for this blog. 

Without further ado, the first in a 22... er, 23 part series: "Bond 50: Dr. No"

Released in 1962, Dr. No was the first of many films produced by Albert R. "Cubby" Brocoli and Harry Saltzman under their EON Productions banner to feature the James Bond character created by real-life-badass (WWII war hero, a conflict during which he largely operated as an intelligence officer for the SIS) turned British novelist, Ian Fleming.

Sean Connery made his debut as the suave super-spy in this film loosely based on Fleming's original book, from a script by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood and Berkely Mather (himself a rather renowned author of espionage thrillers). Maibaum's first draft, written with friend Wolf Mankowitz,  not only diverted greatly from the novel, but was missing many of Bond-ian elements we know and love today (iconic lines "shaken, not stirred" and "Bond. James Bond", among the notable absentees). Those franchise staples came from Harwood, a script doctor, and Mather.

In protest of the changes, and fearing that the film would be awful and ruin his reputation in the movie business, Mankowitz, who felt betrayed by long-time friend Brocoli and Saltzman (whom he introduced to each other), had his name taken off the film. Mankowitz would later be one of the several writers to contribute to the script of the James Bond spoof Casino Royale, released in 1967, starring David Niven, Woody Allen and a ballooning Orson Welles as La Chiffre, among many others.

Dr. No's director was Terence Young, who would go on to direct both the immediate follow up, From Russia with Love, and the fourth Bond picture, Thunderball. Legend says that Young basically was Bond come to life: he was daring, dashing (and bedded many women on the set of his films), directing even his initial outing with style and flash.

Dr. No was fairly low budget, at least compared to the later entries in the franchise, and was produced for $1 million. The film was immensely successful upon release, earning nearly 60 times its initial cost in box office totals. The film is credited not only with launching the Bond franchise, but igniting the general "secret-agent" spy-movie cycle of 1960s cinema.

Dr. No may not be the best the franchise has to offer, but several elements click in a way rarely seen in freshman entries of massive franchises. The key elements are all here, and would later be refined into the Bond forumla over the course of the next few films. One of the things not in need of refinement was Connery, who has his take on Bond down pat from the moment he appears on screen, perfectly capturing the dangerously debonair, thuggishly terrifying persona shown in all his entries. Although not exactly the Bond of the books, Connery's creation was not something he polished and reworked over the course of several films. Before the end of his first scene in Dr. No, we understand exactly what kind of man Connery's Bond is. In many minds, Connery is Bond--and they accept no substitute.

The Mission

Bond is sent to Jamaica to investigate the murder of a British agent, and winds up uncovering a mad scientist's secret plan to disrupt an early space launch by the American government.

The Main Title

The Bond franchise is noted for its iconic title sequences, the first of which, in Dr. No, is quite different from what would follow, although the film's opening titles do establish key elements that would be later refined in subsequent films.

Created by animator Trevor Bond and Maurice Binder, No's titles are simple and colorful; flashing, strobing, colored circles of light dance across the screen, eventually giving way to a rotoscoped version of so-called "Three Blind Mice" assassins who appear in the scene directly after the credits.

The famous "gun-barrel" imagery makes its first appearance here, and is notable in franchise canon as one of the few times the effect is presented in black-and-white.

Unlike many other, future, Bond films, Dr. No doesn't have a distinct main title song, and instead mixes strange electronic (sci-fi theremin-like) noises, bleeding into the now iconic Monty Norman and John Barry theme, before finally transitioning into the "Kingston Calypso" (often incorrectly referred to as the "Three Blind Mice" song) by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires.

The Villains

Joseph Wiseman as Dr. No

The baddie, the prototypical Bond Villain, is, of course, the eponymous Dr. Julius No (played by Joseph Wiseman), a half-Chinese half-German super genius with metal hands covered in shiny rubber gloves. A brilliant nuclear scientist with an eye for the finer things (including his exquisitely decorated lair, production designed by the great Ken Adam), he is rather disinterested in the thuggish Bond and thus underestimates the super-spy--a mistake many will make in the wake of No's death, and over the course the following 20-ish films. Dr. No is a member of, and serves as an introduction to, the evil organisation called SPECTRE (SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion), a group not bound by borders but united by the goal of world domination.

SPECTRE and its operatives would prove to be Bond's biggest adversary in franchise history, behind most of the plots in the Connery films, as well as the force behind the evil plan in the lone George Lazenby Bond, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and even appearing into the Roger Moore era in the prologue of For Your Eyes Only.

One of the least menacing henchmen in the history of the franchise is Professor Dent (Anthony Dawson), a geologist who secretly works for Dr. No. He's a geologist, how menacing is that?

The Allies

Bernard Lee as M

The first Bond film introduces us to several of Bond closest allies, many of whom would appear (in some form) throughout almost every entry of the franchise. M (played by Bernard Lee), the boss often briefing and sometimes berating Bond before each adventure sets off properly, makes his debut. Lee would play M in 11 Bond pictures before his death in 1981.

Miss Moneypenny (played by Lois Maxwell), M's salacious secretary seemingly in love with Bond (and sometimes, in "hate" with him--I assume depending on the weird and awful things the character's did to each other in moments not seen, off screen). Maxwell would play Moneypenny for 23 years, making her last appearance as the character in the Roger Moore-era A View to A Kill.

Jack Lord, and his fabulous sunglasses, as Felix Lieter

Bond's good friend, a CIA-agent Felix Lieter (here played by Jack Lord) is his closest ally in the field in Dr. No, although, because the character did not appear in the source novel, and was added by EON Productions to have a known American face in the film, Lieter has little to do. His presence is almost entirely pointless, and any help he gives Bond is incidental. However, Lord, sporting Jackie-O sunglasses for some reason, is excellent in the role, displaying swagger and style: he makes his Lieter like an American Bond. Unfortunately, Lord demanded equal billing and salary to Connery for later appearances, and rather than take the chance of the character and actor overshadowing Bond, Cubby and Saltzman decided to not ask him back for another film. Ultimately, unlike stalwarts M and Moneypenny, who maintained their actors for years, Lieter has been played by no less than 7 actors over the span of the franchise's 50 years.

Bond's other ally is Quarrel (John Kitzmiller), a Cayman man with a fishing boat previously employed by the British agent whose murder Bond was sent to investigate. Quarrel has a history with Lieter, making him truth-worthy to Bond. Although the character would not appear in another Bond film, his son, Quarrel Jr., shows up in another adventure set in the Caribbean, Live and Let Die.

The Girls

The most famous of the Bond girls in Dr. No, and perhaps the franchise as a whole, is the perversely sweet-named shell-diver Honey Ryder (played by Ursula Andress). Her first appearance on screen, as she exits the water in a skimpy white bikini, showing much skin, is an iconic moment in movie history: it's almost-literally sex-on-the-beach. How Andress, a Swiss sex-symbol, was supposed to be Jamaican... I have no idea--and who cares, 'cause boobs. At the time of release, Andress' grasp of the English language was questionable at best, and her accent almost impenetrable, so she's dubbed in the final film by Nikki van der Zyl (her singing voice was dubbed by Diana Coupland).

Two minor Bond girls in Dr. No both precede Ryder's beach-babe debut. One, Miss Taro (Zena Marshall) is revealed to be a villainous aid to Dr. No. The other, Sylvia Trench (Eunice Gayson), appears across the baccarat table during Bond's introductory scene, and is the one he delivers his famous catchphrase, "Bond. James Bond," to for the first time. Trench is the rare Bond Girl to appear in more than one film: she is also seen in the begining of Bond's next adventure, From Russia With Love.

The Gadgets

The early films were pretty low-tech, and the low-budget Dr. No was the simplest of all. Bond's only real gadget is his new Walther PPK pistol, a replacement for his older model Baretta.

The Awesome

The introduction of James Bond is one of the those great, memorable, movie moments.

Also, The Dragon, a fire-breaking tank that guards Dr. No's base of operations is...

The doctor's Dragon

The Not So Awesome

Actually, the dragon is not so awesome. It's kind of hilariously stupid. Okay, so the Bond movies aren't always perfect.