Dr. No
Dr. No (1962) is the first James Bond film, and the first to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather. The film was directed by Terence Young, and produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli, a partnership that would continue until 1975.
In the film, James Bond is sent to Jamaica on an investigation into the death of a fellow British agent. The murder trail leads him to the underground base of Dr. Julius No, who is plotting to disrupt an early American space launch with a radio beam weapon.
Dr. No's success, as the first major film adaptation of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, led to a series of films that continues to this day. Dr. No also launched a successful genre of "secret agent" films that flourished in the 1960s. It does not show Bond earning his double-0 status which grants him a licence to kill; instead it presents Bond as a seasoned veteran. Many of the iconic aspects of a typical James Bond film were established in Dr. No, beginning with what is known as the gun barrel sequence, an introduction to the character through the view of a gun barrel, and a highly stylized main title sequence, both created by Maurice Binder. In his work on film, production designer Ken Adam established a unique and expansive visual style that is the hallmark of the Bond film series.
cast
- Sean Connery as James Bond: MI6 agent 007.
- Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder (1) Spoken voice by Nikki van der Zyl; (2) Singing voice by Diana Coupland: An independent woman who regularly trespasses onto the island of Crab Key looking for seashells.
- Joseph Wiseman as Dr. Julius No: A reclusive member of SPECTRE, he is using the island of Crab Key and his brilliance in the field of atomic energy to get revenge on the Western world by disrupting American rocket launches at the nearby Cape Canaveral.
- Jack Lord as Felix Leiter: A CIA operative sent to liaise with James Bond while he is in Kingston. This is Bond and Leiter's first time meeting one another. Leiter returns for many of Bond's future adventures and in the 2006 reboot of the film series, Leiter and Bond are seen meeting one another again for the first time.
- Bernard Lee as M: The strict head of British Secret Service. He sends Bond to Kingston to investigate the disappearances of John Strangways and his secretary. This was the first of eleven appearances by Lee in the role throughout the official EON Productions series.
- Anthony Dawson as Professor R. J. Dent: A metallurgist in Kingston, he is a henchman of Dr. No's who is sent to kill Bond before he can learn more of Strangway's disappearance.
- Zena Marshall as Miss Taro: The secretary to Mr. Pleydell-Smith at Government House in Kingston secretly working for Dr. No.
- John Kitzmiller as Quarrel: A local islander who was employed by John Strangways to secretly go to Crab Key to collect rock samples. Quarrel later helps Bond trespass onto Crab Key as well.
- Eunice Gayson as Sylvia Trench: Trench first meets Bond from across a Chemin de Fer table at the London club Le Cercle. Later she becomes his girlfriend, reappearing in From Russia with Love; like Maud Adams, only one of a few Bond girls appearing in multiple 007 films.
- Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny: The secretary to M. This is Maxwell's first of fourteen appearances in the role.
- Peter Burton as Major Boothroyd (Q):[1] The head of Q-Branch, Boothroyd is brought in by M to replace Bond's Beretta with a Walther PPK. (See also List of James Bond gadgets)
- Timothy Moxon as John Strangways (voiced by Robert Rietty): Strangways is the head of the Kingston station for the British Secret Service. He is murdered by Dr. No's henchmen, prompting SIS to send Bond.
- Marguerite LeWars as Dr. No's photographer "Freelance": One of Dr. No's operatives who trails Bond.
