James the 1st
Dr No opened in cinemas 60 years ago. MARION MCMULLEN looks at the screen debut of everyone’s favourite spy
THE suave British agent, code name 007, appeared on the big screen for the first time 60 years ago in Dr No introducing himself with the immortal line “Bond... James Bond”.
Sir Sean Connery brought Ian Fleming’s famous character to life and made his memorable introduction over a high-stakes game of baccarat.
However the author was initially resistant to the idea of the 31-year-old playing his suave lead character. He thought the Scot was an “overgrown stuntman” who was not refined enough for the role, but he was later so impressed with Sean’s performance that he created a Scottish ancestry for James Bond in his subsequent books.
Fleming first wrote the story of Dr No back in 1956 for a television series called James Gunn Secret Agent. His episode was titled Commander Jamaica, but the TV action drama was never made and Ian Fleming later used his own script as the basis for his sixth James Bond novel.
He said he came up with the name of his famous agent because “I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find. James Bond was much better than something more interesting like Peregrine Maltravers. Exotic things would happen to and around him, but he would be a neutral figure – an anonymous blunt instrument wielded by a government department.”
Produced by Canadian Harry Saltzman and American Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, Dr No proved a blockbusting success when it opened in cinemas 60 years ago this month. It catapulted jobbing actor and former milkman Sean to international stardom and also introduced Swiss actress Ursula Andress as the first Bond girl, shell diver Honey Ryder. The two characters famously first meet when Ursula emerges from the ocean wearing a white bikini, complete with a knife tucked into her belt. Bond hears her singing a melody while collecting conches and joins in the song before approaching her. Tessa Prendergast designed the twopiece with belt buckling detailing for the movie and Ursula later said the bikini “made me into a success”. The world premiere of Dr No was held on October 5, 1962, at the London Pavilion, Piccadilly Circus and was attended by Sean Connery, Zena Marshall, who played Miss Taro in the film, a nd Ian Fleming. Sean once said: “There’s one major difference between James Bond and me – he is able to sort out problems!” Casting movie villain Dr No himself proved tricky. Fleming originally wanted his cousin Sir Christopher Lee to play Dr No, but he ended up appearing as another Bond villain entirely – Scaramanga in 1974’s The Man With The Golden Gun.
Fleming also asked British star Noel Coward to be Bond’s first antagonist. He replied with a telegram simply saying “Dr No? No! No! No!”
The role of scientist Julius No eventually went to Canadian-born actor Joseph Wiseman who later said he had no idea what he was letting himself in for. “As far as I was concerned, I thought it might be just another grade-b Charlie Chan mystery.”
Dr No specialised in radiation, which cost him his hands and the villain would meet a grisly end falling into a reactor pool after 007 learns of his plans to stop a space launch.
The film also introduced the criminal group Spectre, which loomed large in subsequent Bond movies. We also got to see Bond behind the wheel of his first car – a humble Sunbeam Alpine he drove
to rendezvous with the enigmatic Miss Taro in Jamaica. After Dr No, Sean played Bond in From Russia With Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967) and Diamonds Are Forever (1971). He did return to 007 one last time, in 1983 at the age of 52, in the unofficial Bond film Never Say Never Again.
He was knighted in 2000 for his services to film drama over an illustrious career that saw him win an Oscar – for The Untouchables in1988 – two Baftas and three Golden Globes.
Sir Sean was hailed as the definitive Bond when he passed away at the age of 90 two years ago. A pistol used by him in Dr No sold at auction for £190,000 two years ago, and an original Dr No film poster fetched £11,250 in 2019.
Current James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli said having the “A Team” of cast and crew over the last 60 years is what has made the 007 franchise so successful.
She said: “Ian Fleming wrote a really interesting, multifaceted character, the literary character in the 50s and Cubby and Harry made him the cinematic hero that he is.”