Posted 22:17 by Grote 1 comments

The Great James Bond Project:

Dr. No (1962)

1. Pre Credits: There is no pre-credits sequence for Dr. No, so we’re going to jump ahead to the first scene in the movie. The three ‘blind’ men are walking through the streets of a Jamaican town (Kingston?) We see Strangways playing bridge when he has to take a call from ‘the office’. He gets himself killed by the blind men who drive off to his house. There, his secretary turns on the short-wave radio and then is murdered. While ominous music plays, we see two files: Crab Key and Dr. No 3

2. Credits: Not much to say, lots of Technicolor dots as the 007 theme plays. We then see what would be a staple of bond films to come, silhouetted dancers dancing across the screen, which fades into ‘Three Blind Mice’ calypso style. Which brings us to the ‘pre-credits’ scene. 2.5

3. Villain: Dr. No, is cool calculating mysterious (we don’t see him to the last third of the movie), and believes that he’s superior to all others. 4

4. The Plan: Topple US rocket launches so that United States stays behind the Soviets in the space race, which might lead to nuclear war and SPECTRE (SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion.) can rule the world. I’m not sure they’re fully thinking this one out, but it’s better than future villains’ plans. 3

5. Other Bond Girls: Sylvia Trench: Breaks into Bonds apartment after meeting him in a Casino. He finds her, after his briefing, in nothing but a dress shirt of his. Miss Taro brings Bond to her house in the mountains thinking the three blind mice might take care of Bond before he gets there. They don’t, so she beds him (or he beds her) and she gets Dent to come up to try to kill him. 3

6. Titular Line: It’s the villain’s name. Not much of a stretch. 3

7. Bond: He gets full marks for this movie. The series wouldn’t exist unless Connery was spectacular, and he was. 5

8. The Office: We meet the lovely Miss Moneypenny for the first time as well as Bond’s Boss, M. It’s early in the morning and M is sending 007 to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of a spy there. 4

9. Q and his gadgets: Ok, so I might be a little harsh because the movie stays close to the book and Goldfinger starts a trend that spirals out of control in the 80s and 90s. I digress. However all that the “armourer” gives Bond is a replacement for his girly Berretta. He gives him the Walther PPK, which has “the delivery of a brick through a plate glass window.” Still, nothing special. 1

10. The Car: It’s a Bentley. That’s it. 1

11. Allies: Jack Lord of Hawaii Five-O fame plays Felix. We also meet Quarrel, a local drun-I uh mean islander and Pussmiller, the owner of a local club that gives 007 some info. 5

12. The Deathtrap: Bond is thrown in a cell with an electrified grate over the air vent. Honey (more on her later) is chained to an area where it’s slowly filling with water, so I assume she’ll eventually drown. Sometime in mid-70s perhaps. 2.5

13. The Chase: Bond on the way to Miss Taro’s place is chased by a hearse driven by the Three Blind Mice. For its time, it was exciting rear-projected action! He escapes by making the hearse spin out and crash down the mountain side. 4

14. Henchmen: Miss Taro, who does a crappy job of concealing that she’s a plant (spy not houseplant) inside Jamaican’s Government House. Professor Dent breaks the major rule of Dr. No’s by going to the island in daylight after Bond sniff’s him out. The photographer attempts to get Bond’s picture twice and fails. None are threatening or very competent. 1.5

15. HQ: This also sets the tone for the entire series. Crab Key is an island where Dr. No has a gigantic fish tank complete with concave glass (so they appear huge). It comes complete with diesel powered dragon tank and nuclear reactor, that they use to topple US rocket launches. Somehow. 5

16. Quips: Nothing overly special but they aren’t groaningly bad either. Two that stand out are: 1) when Bond drops off the car with the dead henchman in it he quips “Make sure he doesn’t get away,” and 2)After Bond disposes of the “Blind Mice” in their hearse, a construction workers asks what happened and he replies, “I think they were on their way to a funeral.” 3

17. Good Girl: Ah… Honey Ryder. She has a memorable entrance scene, exiting out of the water in her white bikini, not totally helpless but still damsel-in-distress-like. Once again sets the watermark that few in the series will reach again. 5

18. Disposal: In the climatic scene, Bond has snuck into the reactor room disguised as a technician and disrupts Dr. No’s plan. Dr. No and Bond fight ending with Bond dumping the claw-handed Doctor into his own cooling pool. 3.5

19. Last Line(s): Bond and Honey escape the exploding island (although probably not the massive amounts of radiation being spread throughout the Caribbean) only to be rescued by Felix and the Marines. Bond asks Felix if he needs any help, when Honey stands up, Felix replies, “I can see you don’t.” 4

20. Extra Credit: One point for being the first in the series. One point for really being the first film of it’s kind. Two points for Sean Connery and two points because I was really surprised with the mediocre score it ended up with. It's not a bad film, at least compared with the others in the series. 6

Total Score: 68 points.