Skip to Main Content

Is It Available?

Reviewer Patrick Douglas

Patrick Douglas is a Library Technician at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Title

Dr. No

Starring Sean Connery

Review

This is the film that started one of the most successful movie franchises in history.  Ian Fleming’s James Bond makes his motion picture debut in Dr. No.

When a British agent goes missing in Jamaica, Agent 007 is called on to investigate.  The inquest leads Bond to a Caribbean island and its owner, a mysterious scientist named Dr. No.  Her Majesty’s Secret Service believe that the eccentric hermit is conducting experiments that would destroy the United States’ lunar mission.

While there are none of the special gadgets for which the Bond movies became known, Dr. No has a couple of nasty machines that might fill the void.  Bond is also issued his first Walther PPK and has his famous vodka martini (“mixed how you like it, not stirred”).

There are plenty of chase scenes, assassination attempts, and prison cell escapes to satisfy any fan of the series.  Ursula Andress appears as Honey Rider, a bathing beauty who serves very little purpose other than providing someone for Agent 007 to save.  And pay no attention to the squealing tires of cars racing around corners on a gravel road or the obvious green screen in the chase scene.  It was a simpler time, and budgets were tighter.

The first Bond film isn’t perfect.  It isn’t complex.  It isn’t filled with stunts and special effects.  It is a classic, however, and it is easy to see how the franchise would evolve from this initial installment.

Review Date

Reviewed March 2013