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I will get this series started soon, I think within a week. Thanks for understanding. I do want to put the right effort into it, to enjoy it fully for myself and choose the most apt info to share from the book and SirHenry. I cannot do that just now. I am personally okay, but my dog is not. He is elderly, now suddenly hit with 2nd bout of vertigo. Not as severe as months ago, but still very concerning because he may injure himself.
I hope to get to Dr. No within a week; thanks for your patience. Please chat away on here in the meantime - any decent Bond subject welcome. B-)
My other stresses are up and down, but I plan to start my Bondathon thread on Sunday. I hope so. Just restarting working on Saturday (which is a good thing, my only source of extra income). So life is on the upswing, and I hope to be able to put my energy and fun into Dr. No this weekend, which I'll write about here. B-)
Good news is I will give my Bondathon a start today. Dr. No it is! Films in chronological order, with excerpts from fab Bond book Some Kind Of Hero, along with snippets of trivia, background info, and reviews from this thread's founder, SirHenry. All start after breakfast. I'll be posting some probably this afternoon.
To keep in mind, as stated above: This will not be a full review, nor just a comparison of films.
This Bondathon look at the films from me aims to be:
~ a fresh look at each film, with my own main points and observations (not a review, just my take and what I found interesting)
~ quotes from the book Some Kind of Hero, giving background stories; interesting info
~ quotes from Sir Henry's past excellent write-ups of each film, including the link to the page on this thread so you can read all the trivia, background info, facts he included (as well as his review). From there you can read other members' reviews and comments as well.
DR. NO B-)
I had first read the novel and it remains one of my favorite books. I didn't see this in the theater as a child but older when it was shown on TV. I'm very fond of this first Bond film, for a variety of reasons.
Let me give you this link to start us off:
It's an original documentary about the making of Dr. No. Some of you have probably seen this before. I have not and will watch it later.
Dr. No gave us the template for James Bond on film. If it flopped, there most likely would not have been a second film. Broccoli and Saltzman loved the material and wanted to make the best film they could. It was to be different from other spy/detective/thrillers, and they cared about getting the world of Bond (and of course Bond himself) portrayed as vibrant and compelling as possible. Of course they wanted a hit, but to everybody who was involved's credit, it seems to be they really tried to bring Fleming to the screen. The attention to detail was there. They had much labor over the script. They knew casting was critical.
I'll only touch on a few things ... (exact wording from Some Kind of Hero is in italics below) ~
The opening credits are fun - wow! First ones ever, so well worth noting. Comparing them to the opening shots and music that followed in the next Bond films, Dr. No gives us a pared down experience. But the essence of Bond is right there: That genius first gun barrel shot (done by Bob Simmons), the blast of Bond music that we know so well now; startling intro! Then what immediately follows is a succinct, stripped down, colorful, Jamaican flavored opening. Pulsing dots of colors and silhouettes of women dancing, leading to the three blind mice killers. It really is the perfect opening as it gives us the flavor, sense of danger, locale, and brutal, murderous action within moments. So quick and compact compared to all the Bond films that will follow. Everything essential in what we love about opening montage is right there at the beginning of this first film.
Some Kind Of Hero notes re gun barrel sequence: It was a Colt 45, a British service revolver, short-barrelled. We couldn't focus down to get the rifle in. The actual lens just couldn't cope with it. I had an idea ... I had heard about pinhole cameras. So we got a piece of black paper and stuck a pin through it and cog the iris to shut right down and we got a perfect picture of the gun barrel. We had to have a policeman standing by - a British bobby because of the gun laws in England.
Ursula as Honey Ryder ~ One of my favorite Bond girls because she was in the book essentially a wild child (Honeychile) - self sufficient and not worldly, a Tomboy who had a lot of self-educated knowledge about animals and nature. With Ursula in the role, she simply looks like a force of nature. Stunning. So Cubby first glimpsed her in a photo her husband had taken of her, in a wet shirt. Hmmm. Some Kind of Hero quotes Cubby as saying "She looked very attractive - wet - like a sea lion." Broccoli followed this up with a call to Casting Director Max Arnow, who informed him "No photograph can catch the beauty of this girl." (a bit more elegant way of putting it, in my opinion) However, Arnow went on to say "She has a voice like a Dutch comic." Ursula ended up being dubbed for the film.
Since the moment Ursula came on screen, walking out of the ocean, what an impact she had. She deserves her iconic status. Some Kind of Hero quotes Ursula about her famous bikini: "I wanted something very simple. I had a very special idea about how I wanted the bikini. We designed it together. I chose the material, I didn't sew it, but I helped to cut it!" (She helped costumer designer Tessa Prendergast.) ...
The bikini was sold years later in 2001 at auction for 41,125 (British pounds) - more than twenty-seven times her 1,500 (British pound) salary for appearing in Dr. No. "It was a rag. Who wanted it? I was going to throw it away and then a friend of mine said 'Oh keep it!' I had it in a box in Los Angeles for years."
Terence Young + Sean Connery coming up soon ... ;) then possibly one more particular tidbit about this film that started it all, and I'll wrap up with SirHenry's review and other links.
Meanwhile, feel free to comment from the few things I've noted above about Dr. No. After I finish, if there is any topic in particular concerning Dr. No that you'd like me to check in the book Some Kind Of Hero, I'm happy to do that. Cheers!
Regarding this. Surely that was intended as "rifling", the grooves inside a gunbarrel that give the bullet a spin assisting a true path.
I wondered for a brief moment about "rifle" but just copied it as is from the book.
Before I delve into Terence and Sean, just a broader look at how this film was presented and started out ...
Some Kind of Hero notes:
Dr. No was first screened at Terence Young's club, the Traveller's, in July 1962.
How chummy to break it open there; I like that.
Another preview took place in Wimbledon a few months later. Then, on 5 October 1962, the London Pavilion paid host to the worldwide premiere. The first tangible indications of the scale of success were felt at the premiere, as Monty Norman recalled, "Within no time at all, you could feel the buzz in the place especially at the moment he says, 'Bond, James Bond' and the music comes in behind him. That was an amazing moment."
Indeed, I bet hearing that for the first time ever, in that time and place, was truly thrilling.
Saltzman gives interesting into here, in this book (bolding by me, not in the book): "We broke every record record known. We made 69,000 (British pounds) the first week, and we held the record for eleven years. We played twenty-four hours a day at 1 (pound) per ticket. They never saw such business, and the most surprised was United Artists. To them, it was a B picture They hated it."
Again from the book: Despite the UK success, the US release in May 1963 was badly handled. Broccoli recalled the distributors were "... anxious to get their money back so they schlocked the film out, playing it in drive-ins. Dr. No never opened in New York, Chicago or any key city. It opened from the inside."
Sooooo ... a B picture, United Artists? One to just schlock out? Sometimes it's so good to be wrong, eh?
We got Connery. Sean Connery.
And I'm so glad we did. For me Sean was great for several reasons, especially for the first to play Bond on the big screen: his underlying strong personality, his always barely simmering masculinity, and his acting chops. We got a believable Bond. And he was enough of Fleming's Bond for me, even if Fleming himself found him too Scottish and not quite posh enough. From Some Kind of Hero, Saltzman said, "Fleming didn't like Sean Connery because he spoke with a Scottish accent. Fleming saw James Bond as himself, high-born, very educated, very English, posh public school accent."
More from Some Kind of Hero: The producers were always adamant they needed a slightly tougher British figure to play Bond to add the requisite level of machismo to the gentleman spy. Saltzman said, "When we spoke to him, we saw he had the masculinity the part needed." Broccoli noted the misconception about the literary Bond. "There was a general feeling that he should be the school-tie hero, here in England. And he isn't." Salzman agreed their Bond was a tougher interpretation. "Actually Ian Fleming's picture of him was not as an educated gentleman. Ian Fleming said he was a blunt instrument. And we try to keep him in that image."
One more note of what I type here. When I break something up with ellipsis/dots ... like this ... it nearly always means I am editing, cutting out some of the actual text. And bolding within quotes from the book is mine. OK, carry on. B-)
Terence Young, director, had the personal background with all the "polish" that was required to look, move, and act like Fleming's Bond. That was very fortuitous. From the book: Terence Young took Connery on an extensive crash course in all things refined. Various sartorial establishments in London dressed Bond: tailored suits from Anthony Sinclair ... shirts and ties from Turnbull and Asser ... trilby hat from Lock and Co., and handmade shoes from Lobb and Co.
Clothes, accessories, food, how to handle one's self as James Bond - thank you, Terence Young. As this interesting book continues: He (Terence) advised Connery to sleep in his suit to get comfortable with it, taught the actor to eat with his mouth closed. Young tutored Connery into becoming the refined gentleman spy. Diane Cilento recalled, "Terence Young had a son called Shaun, so he called my Sean 'Junior'."
Now I wonder if Sean flashed back to memories of those times when he played Indiana Jones's dad ... ;)
I cannot think of a better choice to play Bond in the first film. Sean was fresh, not widely known, but an experienced actor who was dead serious about doing a very good job with this role. He was 31 years old at the time.
Continuing from this book - Connery appreciated the opportunity ahead. "I could see that, properly made, this would be a start - a marvellous opening. It had the ingredients of success: sex, action, and so forth. The only thing lacking, I thought, was humour."
Connery said: "When I first met Fleming there was certainly no dissention between us on how to see Bond. I saw him as a complete sensualist - senses highly tuned, awake to everything, quite amoral. I particularly like him because he thrives on conflict."
And the book makes this keen observation: Watching Connery as Bond entering his flat after the introductory gaming scene, observing his panther walk gleaned from years working with ballet dancer, Yat Malgrem, and seeing him smell Miss Taro's towel and cooling his silencer after killing Dent - Connery's effortlessness in these scenes belied the training of a professional actor.
Yes, Sean was very good in this role - and I appreciate his approach, making all the sensual nuances a natural part of the James Bond we were introduced to in this fine film.
As for that immaculate introduction in the film, when we first see Bond in the casino here is some info on that scene. I like how Terence set this up so carefully. This book explains: Terence Young was also taken by the introduction of Paul Muni in the 1939 film Juarez - James Bond is seen from behind and in profile, but never fully revealed. ... We see Bond being chased on the chemin de fer table by the stunning Sylvia Trench in a striking red dress who prompts his introduction, "Bond. James Bond."
Young deliberately altered the timing of the scene so that instead of flicking his lighter and uttering the words, Connery paused a beat and then exhaled as he reveals his name, for the first time, through a haze of smoke. Eunice Gayson recalled Connery was nervous before they shot the scene and was asked by Young to help Sean relax. After lunch and a few calming drinks, the scene was captured in posterity for the delight of generations.
And as I wrap up today's posting ( to be continued tomorrow), here is that lovely, classic introduction of James Bond in Dr. No ~
Tomorrow will bring SirHenry's review and thoughts into this, with links to pages, and my final overall thoughts on the film.
The same thought occured to me when I was reading that. Off to a blasting start dear @4Ever! Love it!
I think my look at each film will take approximately 3 to 4 days to get all posted - due to my own time limitations for research and typing and to get all the back info from SirHenry copied. But I think it's interesting to have these 3 perspectives: the book, Some Kind of Hero, my own observations, and SirHenry's info (which he gave us plenty on each film). Some info you will have already known about, but I hope to give you some glimpses of new info, too.
SirHenry's review coming up in a few hours. I do hope more Originals chime in, but I also want all members to just read thru, hopefully enjoy and comment on this Bondathon of films as we head towards Bond 25. (And yes this thread is staying 100% spoiler free for Bond 25; only the title will be revealed here, when that happens). Cheers! B-)
P.S. Great archive within link inside this tweet ...
From the golden pages of this thread, our original reviews and thoughts ~
Start at the first page to get the gist of SirHenry's aims and you and can read the nice participation from older "original" fans; this thread took off quickly. SirHenry wanted the "originals" to review each film, with rating by categories, then we would have a final standing on that later. Which we did. Dr. No is found on page 3.
Unlike later films, it seems SirHenry did not revisit this film with lots of additional trivia, background info (alas!). I'm scanning thru the pages today to make sure. I will be posting here all his additional notes for a film, as we go through the series.
I do suggest hopping back to page 3 (or the very first page) to get the flavor of this Originals review project, plus just the wonderful memories that people shared about films, growing up with Bond, their personal stories.
Here is SirHenry's 1st ever review on this thread, for the iconic Dr. No ~
Dr.No (1962)-
"The name's Bond. James Bond"
Based on the 1958 novel by Ian Fleming, the 6th in his James Bond series, the debut of the cinematic series finds newly appointed 00 James Bond of MI6 sent to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of SIS section chief John Strangways, and the murder of his secretary. Strangways had been working with the CIA on a case that involved American missile launches being sent off course by an unknown force. Bond's subsequent search for answers leads him to the mysterious Dr. Julius No, a member of an equally mysterious worldwide criminal organization called SPECTRE, who is using nuclear power to operate a radio beam that is causing the problems.
Filming began in Jamaica on January 16th, 1962 and was completed after just 58 days in England on March 30th. Canadian film and theatre film producer Herschel "Harry" Saltzman held the rights to the novels, and elected to form a partnership with American film producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli to make the novels into movies rather than sell the rights outright to Broccoli. For the all important role of James Bond, the candidates considered were Cary Grant, future Bond Roger Moore, David Niven, Patrick McGoohan, Richard Johnson, and Richard Todd. Eventually, the producers settled on a relative unknown in 30 year old Scottish actor Sean Connery after seeing him in the 1959 film "Darby O'Gill And The Little People". The film, which was budgeted for $1 million dollars (an extra $100,000 was later added to allow for the explosive climax) would go on to gross $59.6 million worldwide and lead to plans for a second installment of the series.
THE CAST-
- Sean Connery as James Bond
- Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder (spoken voice by Nikki van der Zyl, singing voice by Diana Coupland)
- Joseph Wiseman as Dr. Julius No
- Jack Lord as Felix Leiter
- Bernard Lee as M
- Anthony Dawson as Professor R. J. Dent
- John Kitzmiller as Quarrel
- Zena Marshall as Miss Taro
- Eunice Gayson as Sylvia Trench
- Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny
- Peter Burton as Major Boothroyd
- Timothy Moxon as John Strangways
- Reggie Carter as Mr. Jones
- Marguerite LeWars as Dr. No's photographer "Freelance"
Remember, points given are on a 1 (worst) to 5 (best) ratings scale for each category. No zeroes please. Add each individual score and divide by 10 for your overall rating, and don't forget to recollect your first impressions of the film, including when and where you first saw it.
BOND- From the first uttering of his immortal introduction, Connery is on his game and commands the screen as he would come to do. I can't find any reason not to give him top marks in the role, with a firm nod of course to the tutelage of director Terence Young. 5/5
WOMEN- Pretty much a no-brainer here. The aggressively sexy Sylvia Trench, the treacherous yet delicious Miss Taro, and of course who can forget the impact of Ursula Andress emerging from the water as Honey Ryder? An iconic moment and a memorable cast. 5/5
VILLAINS- Considering his screen time is on the limited side, Joseph Wiseman scores big with his portrayal of Dr. Julius No, and has a solid cast behind him in Anthony Dawson as Professor Dent, Miss Taro, Jamaican actor Reggie Carter, and then reigning Miss Jamaica Marguerite Lewars. I would have said yes to more of Dr.No, but the suspense of seeing him overrides that. 5/5
HUMOR- Not as much one-liners as would come later, but again we have director Terence Young helped to create the sense of humor Connery would portray in the role, which was also practical considering the censorship of the time. 3/5
ACTION- Not a whole lot of it to be honest, at least in comparison to what was to come. Bond spends more of his time investigating than fighting and the movie never gets too over the top. About average for a movie of it's time. 3/5
SADISM- Key moments here include the incineration of Quarrel Sr, Bond's beating by No's henchmen, Bond knifing another, No's planned demise for Honey, and of course the good doctor dissolving into radioactive waste. 4/5
MUSIC- Other than the Bond theme and John Barry's orchestration of said theme, Monty Norman's soundtrack is sub par in comparison to other composers of the time. 2/5
LOCATIONS- Considering only Jamaica and England were used, not a lot to see and the movie at time shows it's budget limitations. What there was is very nice and Ken Adam creates some fine sets to augment the location of various scenes. 2/5
GADGETS- Well, there aren't any to add to anything. Bond uses practical items aside from a Geiger counter. 1/5
SUPPORTING CAST- Bernard Lee makes a solid debut as M, flexing his muscles when necessary to establish he is Bond's boss. Lois Maxwell is fine for her bit, and this isn't Desmond Llewellyn as Major Boothroyd. What makes the cast even more memorable is Jack Lord as Felix Leiter and John Kitzmiller as Quarrel Sr. Both do excellent jobs in their character portrayals and Lord remains my favorite Leiter from the early days. 4/5
OVERALL SCORE AND RECOLLECTIONS- I was just 10 weeks old when principal filming began in January 1962, so I have no recollections of it's release and first saw the film in 1969. As far as the film, it scores 34 out of 50 points for me, and a solid score of 3.4 out of 5 stars.
1) When did you first see Dr. No? In the theater, on TV, at a special retrospective ... and has your opinion of it changed over time?
2) Do you think it looks dated? If so, is that bothersome or part of its charm? (This certainly applies for most older films; they are a product of their time)
3) What stands out in this film for you?
Plus any other comments you'd like to make about this very first Bond film.
And don't forget ... please think of anything you may be curious about - I'm happy to look in Some Kind Of Hero for info relating to anything you'd like to delve into regarding Dr. No B-)
Here's Sean with Ursula on location ... "It's a wrap!" ;)
Ernie Ranglin ~