Dr. No (1962)

Dr. No
Directed by Terence Young
Written by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkeley Mather from the novel by Ian Fleming
1962/UK/Jamaica
Eon Productions
First viewing/My DVD collection

[box] [James Bond’s first scene, winning a game of chemin-de-fer] James Bond: I admire your courage, Miss…?

Sylvia Trench: Trench. Sylvia Trench. I admire your luck, Mr…?

James Bond: Bond. James Bond.[/box]

A ton of fun right out of the starting gate!

James Bond (Sean Connery) is a “00” agent for the British M16 with a license to kill.  He’s also quite a lady killer when he isn’t dodging the henchmen of Dr. No, the leader of SPECTRE.  Dr. No has plans to disrupt a U.S. space launch and he will kill as many of his foes as necessary to accomplish his mission.  Bond’s mission is to coordinate with the CIA’s Felix Leiter (Jack Lord) to stop him.

Dr. No’s headquarters are located in mysterious Crab Island off the coast of Jamaica. After successfully defeating many assassination attempts, Bond makes it to the island where he meets Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) collecting shells on the shore.  The two are easily captured by Dr. No.  Fortunately, like all Bond villains, when it comes to Mr. Bond himself, No would rather talk awhile before getting rid of his adversary.  With Bernard Lee as M, Anthony Dawson as a bad guy, and numerous beautiful women

This low-budget effort started the series with all the wit and action that characterized the Sean Connery Bond years.  I have never been able to truly get behind anyone else in the part.  The only things missing are Q and his awesome gadgets.  The DVD came with a very interesting commentary track featuring many of the participants, excepting Connery. Recommended.

Trailer