Mission Summary

When a British intelligence officer is missing in Jamaica, James Bond (Sean Connery) is sent to Kingston look for him. He immediately realizes more is going on that a missing British officer, and begins to investigate his unfriendly reception by the locals. All signs point to Dr. No (Joseph Weisman), a mysterious scientist who owns a private island known as Crab Key. With the help of Felix Leiter (Jack Lord), Bond discovers that Dr. No's goals are greater than murder, but the toppling of American rockets.

Analysis

Rank: 8

Despite what some people think, "Goldfinger" wasn't the first Bond film, but a modest first attempt known as "Dr. No." On the whole, the film does a good job for the first time out, with a methodical plot a good ensemble cast to support the relatively unknown actor playing Bond. The action is a little dull at times, but I prefer more suspense as opposed to the overblown action sequences in recent years. Although it introducing viewers to several key recurring characters and storylines, the lack of elaborate gadgets and one-liners might be a let-down to some.

"Dr. No" was selected as the first Fleming novel to be created into a movie for a reason: the plot is simple and straightforward. Although it lacks the global implications of later films, the writers do a good job of revealing Dr. No very late in the film, and building up his reputation based on the fear of his henchmen. Although there aren't any major twists, Bond is never really sure who is his friend or enemy.

Probably the biggest drawback for me is the lack of action in this film. As I said, I hate extended action sequences and attempts to make up for a weak plot and characters with ridiculous body counts. Bond only has a few instances where violence was needed to achieve his objectives, and it drags down the pace of the movie at times (especially since the locations never change). The car chase up the road to Miss Taro's house looks bad by today's standards and you never get the feeling Bond is in danger. The best scene is when one of Dr. No's henchmen places a tarantula in Bond's bed and you see him agonizingly wait for it to crawl off his body.

This film also introduces fans to Bond's celebrated firearm: the Walther PPK. It is revealed that Bond swore by a Beretta for 10 years before it misfired his previous mission and "M" (Bernard Lee in a terrific first performance of Bond' boss) orders him to use the Walther. The MI6 armorer Major Boothroyd (Peter Burton) makes his debut as well, going over the details of the gun with Bond. This is only the second film in the series ("Live and Let Die" is the other) that does not feature Desmond Llewelyn playing the equipment officer (later known as "Q") until his death in 1999.

Everyone knows Sean Connery as the most famous person ever to play Bond, but he wasn't the first choice for the part. The producers initially wanted Cary Grant, but then the studio insisted they get a British actor. Roger Moore was actually Ian Fleming's choice, but he was unavailable and seen as too young. Connery needed some coaching to pull off the sophistication of Bond, and he had still didn't seem comfortable in the role. Overshadowing Connery is Ursula Andress playing Honey Ryder. Her famous first scene coming out of the water is probably the by far the most memorable part of the film. Despite being the title character, Dr. No hardly has any screen time, although he is played with chilling calmness by Wiseman. He also introduces the criminal organization SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, Extortion) for the first time, which becomes Bond's nemesis over the next few films.

For the first time out, this is a good interpretation of In Fleming's secret agent. The story is tight but could have used more action to keep up a decent pace. The characters are interesting, but at times it seems new characters are introduced only to leave immediately. Despite being near the middle of my countdown, "Dr. No" is still probably the best place to start if you are new to the Bond series.