Dr. No | James Bond 007 | Dangerous Meal

The first installment of the 007 series "Dr. No" was a huge success. Dr. No created a "recipe" that the filmmakers would apply to the series for decades. That's the element of humor needed in stressful, dramatic situations, using scenic spots worldwide as filming locations and building beautiful but dangerous "Bond girl" character models.

The producers were confident that Dr. No was so complete that they ran the words "James Bond will return" in the sequel "From Russia With Love." And yes, Sean Connery played four more James Bond parts from 1963 to 1967. All five films have high sales revenue.

Dr. No had a big challenge in choosing the main villain. Salzman and Broccoli's first choice was Swedish actor Max von Sydow, but he turned it down. Fleming persuaded them to invite his friend Noel Coward for the role, but Coward himself was not interested.

Ultimately, the producers cast Robert Wiseman mainly because Salzman liked his performance in Detective Story (1951). Meanwhile, Fleming, who didn't know Wiseman had been cast, convinced his famous cousin Christopher Lee to be interested in the role. However, Lee did not get the role because everything was done.

The filming of Dr. No took 58 days. Filming began in Jamaica on January 16, 1962, before moving to Pinewood Studios on February 26. The last day of filming was March 30, 1962.

Before the release of Dr. No, a rough cut was sent to United Artists Corporation (UA) for preview. Fleming considered the film terrible, and UA was glad the film was on such a low budget that financial loss would not be a concern. However, when the film was completed, Fleming changed his attitude 100% as he enjoyed it very much.

Dr. No held its premiere at the London Pavilion on October 5, 1962. Three days later, the film was shown in the rest of the UK in 168 theaters. Dr. No was a huge success, becoming the 5th highest-grossing film of 1962. Its worldwide gross of over $6 million exceeded all financial expectations.

Critically, Dr. No had mixed reviews when it was first released. However, the film gained tremendous respect over six decades. In 1999, Dr. No was ranked 41st on the BFI (British Film Institute) list of 100 British films. It was also ranked 11th on the list published by Empire magazine.


Dr. No cast:

- Sean Connery as James Bond.
- Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder, a local seashell diver.
- Joseph Wiseman as Dr. Julius No, the man of SPECTER.
- Jack Lord as Felix Leiter, a CIA agent.
- Bernard Lee as M.
- John Kitzmiller as Quarrel, a Cayman Islander.
- Anthony Dawson as Professor R. J. Dent, a geologist in Kingston.
- Zena Marshall as Miss Taro, Pleydell-Smith's secretary.
- Eunice Gayson as Sylvia Trench.
- Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny, secretary of M.
- Peter Burton as Major Boothroyd, the head of Q-Branch.
- Reginald Carter as Mr. Jones, henchman of Dr. No.
- Yvonne Shima as Sister Lily, the warden.
- Michel Mok as Sister Rose, a warden.
- Marguerite LeWars as Annabel Chung, a photographer and Bond follower.
- Louis Blaazer as Pleydell-Smith, Chief Secretary.
- Timothy Moxon as John Strangways, head of MI6's Kingston station.

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