Movie review: ‘Dr. No’

FloridaGator80
A promotional still photograph from the movie “Dr. No.”

I’m not sure how the cognoscenti of the “James Bond – 007” franchise view “Dr. No,” but I’d say it is better than most that would follow after the 1990s. “Dr. No” became the foundation and set a tone and an outline for all 007 films to come. For the 007 world, “Dr. No” set a course with simple but intriguing gadgets, while more creative would follow; it had Ursula Andress as the female lead and later such characters would have the ignominious moniker of “Bond girls,” while she was definitely a woman; and it most importantly had Mr. Bond saving the world from evil geniuses. Now, here’s my look at “Dr. No” …

‘Dr. No’
(1963; 110 minutes; rated PG; directed by Terence Young and starring Sean Connery, Ursula Andress and Jack Lord)

‘DR. NO’ WAS THE ‘YES’ TO THE START OF ‘007’

(NOTE: I expanded this review with additional opinion and trivia and the updating of links on Feb. 11, 2026.)

When Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman brought author Ian Fleming’s fictional spy “James Bond” to the big screen in limited release overseas in 1962 and then in 1963 in the U.S., I’m not sure if they could have envisioned what would follow – 25 films (and two “unofficial” ones outside the Broccoli-Saltzman world) and a franchise that has reaped rewards spanning seven decades. “Dr. No” was about as good a start as any movie franchise could beg for, and it is a really excellent motion picture – not just a piece of action trash.

Just as the U.S. Constitution as originally written has been adapted as time has passed and society change, so goes the world of “James Bond.” From the great spycraft of “Dr. No” and “Goldfinger” (click here for my review), the series became one of big thrills, big visuals and big excitement – and it took a couple of decades for it to fall into somewhat of a … hmmmm, well, rut.

Sadly, you now find a lead actor in his last 007 feature, one Daniel Craig, whose only expression on screen, no matter what the film, is as if you’ve caught him having a bowel movement. “James Bond” he is not, nor ever should have been – and it’s just disgusting to ponder what next mistake will be heaped on the public as 007.

A promotional still photograph from the movie “Dr. No.”

However, in “Dr. No,” you have the most classic “James Bond” of all: Sean Connery. He simply defines the spy and the character.

“Dr. No” doesn’t have flashy gadgets, but it does have a few basic gadgets such as a Geiger counter and thereby setting the tone for all future 007 efforts; it has “James Bond” doing the international thing, but only one hop from London to the Caribbean instead of the multi-country efforts in the future; and star Sean Connery didn’t mind doing a double entendre or two, but such repartee wouldn’t get as quirky as Roger Moore would turn the character in the 1970s.

Further, “Dr. No” introduces what would be “James Bond’s” most iconic weapon: the Walther PPK 7.65mm pistol, as he’s forced to shelve his favorite .22-caliber Beretta at his boss’ insistence. One of the exotic means of trying to kill 007 in “Dr. No” is with a tarantula – which was a great visual to audiences in 1963, but today most know it is not a deadly spider – and the “James Bonds” of the future would face much more deadly threats.

A promotional still photograph from the movie “Dr. No.”

So, all-in-all, “Dr. No” set the stage for everything else great in the franchise that would entertain audience for now approaching three generations. Thanks, “Dr. No” you’re a great “Bond” villain, but a better scene-setter!

As far as the plot for “Dr. No” goes, a British agent has been killed on an island in the Caribbean. In comes Connery in the debut of “James Bond” and he investigates. Along with the agent’s disappearance, there’s a parallel plot of U.S. space missions being in jeopardy from interference – apparently from the same area.

Of course, “007” focuses on the island of a mysterious “Dr. Julius No,” just as his dead comrade had focused. Unlike the other agent, Connery solves all the mysteries; meets up with Ursula Andress in a classic bikini scene on “Dr. No’s” island; shows the cold professionalism that his “00” ranking needs; and exhibits all the sophistication an agent of his caliber needs (no pun intended on the “caliber”).

Here’s a look at the top of the cast of “Dr. No” …

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Dr. No.”

    An Oscar winner and two-time Golden Globe winner and four-time nominee (not for this one), Connery doesn’t show much of his character’s future with snarky comments. Early on and throughout most of the film, he’s all business and busy doing all the correct espionage tradecraft – from setting up signs in his hotel room to tell if it gets searched (it does) to staging a scene in a woman’s bedroom to catch an opponent. Connery was not the first choice as “James Bond,” but hindsight shows that no one else could have done as well (and no actor has bested him since in the lead role). Connery won his Oscar and one Globe for “The Untouchables” and he has notched a legendary career in Hollywood that is topped not by an Oscar, but his work as the best supporting actor in the “Indiana Jones” world – he is “Indy’s” father, “Professor Henry Jones Sr.,” in the great second sequel “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” Connery died at 90 in 2020 of respiratory failure.

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Dr. No.”

    A TV icon-to-be, Jack Lord plays CIA agent “Felix Leiter,” and is the first of eight actors to play the character on the big screen. And, like most originals in film, the first is the best of the lot. Lord is pitch-perfect in first suspecting Connery and then being part of the team. I would have liked to have seen a little more of him in action, as you’d see Joe Don Baker as a different-named CIA agent in “GoldenEye” (click here to read my review) and “Tomorrow Never Dies” (click here to read my review). Lord would go on to be the iconic “Steve McGarrett” as he led TV’s “Hawaii Five-O” for 12 seasons beginning in 1968. He died at 77 in 1998 of heart failure in his beloved Honolulu.

  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Dr. No.”

    A Golden Globe winner for “Dr. No,” Andress plays “Honey Ryder” and has a part that is a little bigger than some women’s characters in future films. Also, Andress, like Honor Blackman in “Goldfinger,” is a woman in the world of what would be called “Bond girls.” It’s difficult to get a handle on how good of an actor Andress could be given the character here, but she does a solid job and doesn’t fumble her work. Andress, who also has a Globe nomination, has been in drama such as the classic war film “The Blue Max” and one of the two other unofficial “Bond” films – “Casino Royale” where David Niven played 007 (David Niven? What a poor choice; Niven was almost an anti-Bond). Andress was also in the original “Clash of the Titans” (click here to read my review of mythology in film).

  • John Kitzmiller played “Quarrel,” who is a Cayman Islander on Jamaica and had helped the dead secret agent investigate “Dr. No’s” island. Kitzmiller, whose name was spelled “Kitzmuller” in the film’s credits, does an energetic job, but the character becomes a bit obsequious after a start as being cold, tough and aloof. Kitzmiller died at 51 in 1965 of cirrhosis of the liver.
  • In the film’s most underrated performance, Anthony Dawson plays “Professor R.J. Dent.” He’s a secret operative of “Dr. No” and tries to kill Connery with the spider. Dawson is very good in this role and shows more emotion in each scene than most of all the other actors combined. He would have a unique place in the “James Bond” world: He is a doomed stooge of the villain in “ No” but would be arch-villain “Ernst Stavros Blofeld” in the next 007 flick – “From Russia With Love.” Dawson was in the Charles Bronson crime film “The Valachi Papers” (click here to read my review) as well as “Dial M for Murder” from 1954. He died at 75 in 1992 of cancer.
  • A promotional still photograph from the movie “Dr. No.”

    A former Broadway performer, Joseph Wiseman plays the iconic (I’m going to wear that word out in this review) “Dr. No,” who introduces the evil criminal organization SPECTRE to Connery. Wiseman gives a rather wooden performance, but I’d say that’s more what the screenplay sought rather than a lack of ability in this role by this excellent actor. Wiseman was also in a 1970s potboiler called “The Betsy” with Laurence Olivier and was also in “The Valachi Papers.” His final acting credit of 95 spanning five decades came in 1996 with an episode of “Law & Order.” Wiseman died at 91 in 2009.

The film is obviously dated in the case of the presentation of culture. It has actors of color (Kitzmiller) and culture (take any of the Asians in “Dr. No’s” employ) and the villain is self-described as being British-Chinese, but is played by a Caucasian. “Dr. No’s” appearance of being vaguely Asian isn’t as bad as Connery’s would be when he goes to Japan for the pretty much misogynistic “You Only Live Twice” in 1967. Be prepared, if you can be offended by such portrayals and have no ability to understand that the film is an outgrowth of its era.

“Dr. No” was the No. 8 film at U.S. theaters in 1963 with $16 million in ticket sales, according to Wiki. The No. 1 film with $57.7 million was “Cleopatra” with screen legends Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, while the No. 2 film was “How the West was Won” with $46.5 million. The other two films from 1963 that I’ve reviewed are:

Assorted cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):

  • Connery’s birth name was Thomas Sean Connery; Dawson’s full birth name was Anthony Douglas Gillon Dawson; Kitzmiller’s middle name was Hanibal; and Jack Lord’s birth name was John Joseph Patrick Ryan.
  • None of Hollywood’s leading men at 5-foot-4 or 5-foot-5 were among the headliners. From Connery (6-foot-2) to Lord (6 feet) to Kitzmiller (6-foot-½ inch) to Dawson (6-foot-1¼); and to Wiseman (6-foot-¼ inch), it is a tall leading cast.
  • The first scene filmed of Connery for “ No” is recorded as being shot on Jan. 16, 1962, at the Kingston, Jamaica, airport where he holds his hat up to thwart a photographer’s picture.
  • Although he played a British-Chinese villain in “ No,” Wiseman was born in Montreal and died at 91 in Manhattan.
  • Andress had both her speaking voice and singing voice dubbed by different actors in uncredited work. Wiki notes that Niki van der Zyl dubbed the dialogue while Diana Coupland dubbed the singing. Some online sources say that Coupland did not dub the singing, that it was van der Zyl.
  • When Connery sang a verse from “Under the Mango Tree” to Andress on “Dr. No’s” island, it is the only time the “James Bond” character sings on screen in any film.
  • The Walther PPK that is Bond’s signature handgun is the same model that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler used to commit suicide.
  • Fleming was quoted as evaluating “ No” as “dreadful.” Well, he was in a unique position to judge and few authors are totally satisfied with how their work is translated to the big screen.
  • Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “According to Lois Maxwell, Ursula Andress made quite an impression at the wrap party. ‘At the party, she danced with all the crew and she was the first grown woman I had ever known who didn’t wear a bra. As she danced, those wonderful breasts were just swaying. I remember thinking how marvellous it must be to be that uninhibited and I wanted to throw my bra off, but I didn’t have the courage.’”
  • Click here to read IMDb.com’s extensive trivia page of the movie …

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