Jake’s Take: One Image from Dr. No (Terence Young, 1962)
Jake Smith examines an image that introduced filmgoers around the world to Ian Fleming’s suave secret agent, James Bond.
“Bond. James Bond.”
It was the introduction heard ‘round the world. It thankfully remains so. And while I have loved the Bond films since I was a boy, it always galled me—until 2006 anyway—that the cinematic 007 wasn’t introduced in a casino named Royale. But it occurred to me much later that Dr. No does indeed introduce Bond in the right way. The first time we see Bond is not in a fight, or a briefing, or in the middle of one of his many romantic interludes. Instead, through the use of a simple cut and nonchalant reveal, we are introduced to him as a gambler.
Beyond the obvious flirtation with Sylvia Trench (the delightful Eunice Gayson) and a tuxedo that the word “dapper” simply doesn’t cover, this first scene presents us with a man who clearly faces risk with commanding charm and a hint of cool menace. “Looks like you’re out to get me,” Bond wryly quips to Ms. Trench. Sean Connery and director Terence Young set the tone for the franchise from the first shot of Bond by showing us not the character in action, but by instead showing how the character will handle that action when it comes. The escapist enjoyment of Bond gambling with his money teases the utter thrill that awaits when Bond gambles with his life for queen and country.
In the next sequence, when Bond is in M’s office, M chides him for being out and about at 3am (a time which recalls Bond’s literary introduction). “When do you sleep, 007?” Without hesitation, Bond responds, “Never on the firm’s time, sir.” M orders Bond to sit down, his terse command imbued with impeccably subtle esteem. Bond is not only a risk-taker, but he is also a loyal agent. An adventurer and a patriot, the man himself may not yet possess some of the complexities of Fleming’s Bond, but longer-term character foundation is surely laid here.
As for Dr. No itself, it holds up less as superspy actioner than pulp procedural, but to this day it remains one of the better entries in the series. Do not ever pass up the ability to see this film on a big screen. Much like Goldfinger, when watched on the small screen, Dr. No can suffer from some poor pacing, but the pacing is forgiven when you behold the production design and the locales on a big screen. Also like Goldfinger, Dr. No contains some of the franchise’s most iconic elements: the gun barrel intro, the brassy theme music, the grand villain (SPECTRE begins here, folks), the distinctive production design of Ken Adam (more on this later), to say nothing of the rise of the incomparable Ursula Andress from the water, clad only in bikini and knife belt.
And that reveal of Sean Connery as Bond, the perfect introduction to the Cold-War-bespoke British agent who achieved the very thing many of his villains sought so greedily: world domination. Of our screens, anyway.