...the next two installments improved the formula--but certainly Dr. No must be ranked among the best.
Tools:
Recommend review to a friend »
Sometimes, the first of anything turns out to be the best. Now, I'm not suggesting that "Dr. No," the initial entry in the Bond series, is the best of all--in fact, I believe the next two installments improved the formula--but certainly "Dr. No" must be ranked among the best. What's really nice is that MGM's new "Special 007 Edition" justifies its re-release status by offering ample bonus materials to supplement this seminal, trend-setting adventure film.
The first thing producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman needed was a script. The most obvious choice would have been author Ian Fleming's first novel, "Casino Royale," but it had already been produced for television in 1954 with Barry Nelson as Bond and Peter Lorre as the villain; and, besides, Broccoli and Saltzman didn't have the rights to it. What they had was "Dr. No," which worked out well because it was set in Jamaica where Fleming lived, and he could help supervise the production. It was, indeed, an ideal choice of script and location. The exotic locale not only contributes heavily to the story's atmosphere, it was close enough that Fleming, a former journalist and member of British Naval Intelligence, could keep an eye on things.
The right director was also necessary to carry the first show to fruition. Broccoli and Saltzman found their man in Terence Young, an experienced filmmaker with exactly the kind of sophistication they were looking for. He did so well, he was asked back to do two more Bond films, "From Russia With Love" and "Thunderball," before he bowed out. According to the accompanying documentary on Young, the director infused the character of James Bond with much of his own worldly taste and predilections, shaping the Bond character in the choice of clothes to wear, food and wines to order, and gun to carry. It is even said that if Bond opened a bottle of Dom Perignon in a Young film, you could bet it was the real thing. So Young gets credit for most of the series' style that would continue, more or less, through the next four decades.
Of course, some of that early style has changed in more recent Bond efforts, chases and explosions, for example, replacing tension and suspense. "Dr. No" has exactly one car chase and one major explosion, yet it's by far one of the most action-packed entries in the Bond lineup. Young was big on realism, no matter how absurd the situation. One minor caveat: For Bond's first appearance behind the wheel, Young puts him in a little, four-cylinder Sunbeam Alpine. I mean no disrespect to Alpine fanciers, but the car is hardly in the upper echelon of exotic sports cars. We would have to wait a while to see him in Bentleys, Aston Martins, Lotuses, and BMWs.
Next, the producers needed a star. Their first choice was Cary Grant, but his price was too high. In addition, they knew that even if they could get Grant, he wouldn't sign on for more than one picture, and they needed someone who would continue on with the series. Fleming's top pick was Roger Moore, but he was tied up at the time with television work. They considered Michael Redgrave and Patrick McGoohan for the part, and then somebody looked at Sean Connery in the 1959 Disney fantasy, "Darby O'Gill and the Little People." Connery seemed perfect: early thirties, tall, cool, elegant, and ruggedly handsome. Of course, they couldn't have made a better choice, and most Bond fans recognize Connery as unsurpassed in the part. It's interesting to compare Connery in this early feature to his performances in the role several years later. He is noticeably less polished here, and the twinkle in his eye had not yet fully developed.
"Dr. No" is fairly serious compared to later Bond releases, to the point where in several instances Bond is actually seen to sweat! And there is one controversial segment where 007 shoots and kills an unarmed man with not the slightest remorse. The cold-bloodedness of the scene served as moviegoers' introduction to the meaning of the double-0 number. The films got progressively more tongue-in-cheek after that, reaching their apex of silliness with the middle Moore issues. Attribute the start of all this to Young and Connery, though. When they noticed that viewers liked Bond's zinging deadpan one-liners, they started throwing more of them, puns and double entendres, into each film, and the rest is history.
Then there was the supporting cast to consider. Fleming wanted his pal, writer and performer Noel Coward, to play the part of the villainous Chinese-German heavy, Dr. No, the guy who desires nothing less than to topple the U.S. missile program. Coward resolutely refused, however, particularly when he learned he'd have to wear metal hands for the role. By good fortune, the part went to Joseph Wiseman, who set the standard for every Bond super-villain to come. Was there ever a more cold, calculating, ruthless, menacing bad guy than Wiseman in this film? He makes more recent Bond villains seem like mere henchmen. And the filmmakers had to have a supremely beautiful and sexy actress to play the first of many Bond heroines. Who can forget Ursula Andress's first appearance as Honey Ryder, wading through the surf like Venus rising from the sea. Again, a standard was set that was only equaled by Diana Rigg in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service."
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]4345[/release]