Following the disappearance of the head of the local secret service station in Jamaica and his assistant, M send James Bond to investigate. Bond quickly teams up with the CIA’s Felix Leiter and with the help of the CIA man and his local hand, Quarrel, Bond follows up a series of leads.
His investigations point him towards Crab Key, home to the enigmatic Dr No, and he and Quarrel set sail at night to investigate. After arriving, Bond awakes to find a bikini-clad girl collecting shells on the beach.
It turns out that Honey Ryder also sailed overnight, but alerted by the sail on her dinghy, Dr No sends a motor patrol boat to deal with the trespassers. Disappearing into the mangrove swamp, the three come face to face with a march buggy armed with a flame-thrower dressed up to look like a dragon.
After seeing Quarrel being scorched to death, Bond and Honey are taken to Dr No’s base after surrendering, where the two are surprised to find they have been expected in what appears to be some kind of luxury clinic. After dinner with the Doctor, during which he reveals that he has been interfering with American missile tests on behalf of SPECTRE, Bond is taken to a cell.
Escaping though a ventilation shaft, Bond tracks Dr No down to his laboratory and kills him. While a chain of gigantic explosions begins to rock the complex all around, Bond rescues Honey, and they make their escape from the island in a boat.
Connery’s hard edge, flawless delivery of one liners, a simple plot and absence of gadgets all work in the film’s favour and with a freshness that has evaded the series since Goldfinger, Dr No remains one of the best Bond films.
What we say
Dr No is often overlooked, but it sets many of the elements in place for the later James Bond movies and Ursula Andress’ appearance on the beach is now an iconic screen moment. Although it features the James Bond Theme, one notable thing lacking is the “Bond sound”, first introduced by John Barry in From Russia With Love.
Locations
Original release
Premiere: 5th October 1962 at the London Pavilion
UK: 8th October 1962
US: 8th May 1963
Principal crew
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Director
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Terence Young
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| Screenplay |
Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood & Berkely Mather
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Producers
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Albert R Broccoli and Harry Saltzman
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Music
|
Monty Norman and John Barry (uncredited)
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Editor
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Peter Hunt
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Production designer
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Art director
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Syd Cain
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| Cinematography |
Ted Moore
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Cast
| Sean Connery | James Bond |
| Ursula Andress | Honeychile ‘Honey’ Ryder |
| Joseph Wiseman | Dr. Julius No |
| Jack Lord | Felix Leiter |
| Bernard Lee | M |
| Anthony Dawson | Professor R.J. Dent |
| Zena Marshall | Miss Taro |
| John Kitzmiller | Quarrel |
| Eunice Gayson | Sylvia Trench |
| Lois Maxwell | Miss Moneypenny |
| Peter Burton | Major Boothroyd |
| Yvonne Shima | Sister Lily |
| Michel Mok | Sister Rose |
| Marguerite LeWars | Photographer, Annabelle Chung |
| William Foster-Davis | Superintendent Duff |
| Dolores Keator | Mary Trueblood |
| Reggie Carter | Jones |
| Louis Blaazer | Pleydell-Smith |
| Colonel Burton | General Potter |
| Martine Beswick | Dancing Silhouette During Opening Credits (uncredited) |
| Anthony Chinn | Decontamination Technician (uncredited) |
| Eric Coverley | Three Blind Mice Assassin (uncredited) |
| Margaret Ellery | Stewardess (uncredited) |
| John Hatton | Radio Operator (uncredited) |
| Bettine Le Beau | Prof. Dent’s Secretary (uncredited) |
| Byron Lee | Singer at Puss Feller’s (uncredited) |
| Henry Lopez | Three Blind Mice Assassin (uncredited) |
| Stanley Morgan | Concierge in Casino (uncredited) |
| Tim Moxon | Prof. John Strangways (uncredited) |
| Malou Pantera | Hotel Receptionist (uncredited) |
| Lester Prendergast | Puss Feller (uncredited) |
| Milton Reid | Dr. No’s Guard (uncredited) |
| Robert Rietty | John Strangways (voice) (uncredited) |
| Maxwell Shaw | Communications Foreman (uncredited) |
| Bob Simmons | James Bond in Gunbarrel Sequence (uncredited) |
| Nikki Van der Zyl | Honeychile ‘Honey’ Ryder / various (voice) (uncredited) |
Drinks
- Vodka Martini in hotel room in Jamaica
- Scotch and soda at Queen’s Club
- Black & White Scotch at Puss Feller’s
- Schmirnoff Blue vodka in hotel room
- Vodka martini with Dr No
- A glass of red wine
Cars
Sunbeam Alpine series II roadster
Quotes
- “Bond… James Bond.”
- “That’s a Smith & Wesson, and you’ve had your six.”
- “Are you looking for shells too?”
“No, I’m just looking.” - “Tell me Miss Trench, do you play any other games?”
- “Sergeant, make sure he doesn’t get away.”
- “East, West, just points of the compass, each as stupid as the other.”
- “That’s a Dom Perignon ’55. It would be a pity to break it.”
“I prefer the ’53 myself.”
Buy Dr No DVD/Blu-Ray from Amazon
Poster Art
Buy a Dr No Poster or print.
Soundtrack
Read more about the Dr No Soundtrack or buy it online.
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