Like most folks, I enjoy a good James Bond movie, and I’ve
seen just about all of them over the years. However, a couple of years ago, I
read an article about some of the earliest James Bond movies, and it occurred
to me that I’d never actually watched the very first James Bond movie, 1962’s “Dr.
No.” For that reason, I put it on my “bucket list” and made plans to watch is
as soon as I could arrange it.
Thanks to NetFlix, “Dr. No” arrived in my mailbox this past
Saturday, and I watched it from start to finish on Sunday, officially
scratching it off my bucket list. While watching it, I realized that I’d seen
bits and pieces of this movie over the years, probably when I caught snatches
of the made-for-TV version in passing. Even for a movie that’s over half a
century old, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it,
especially fans of James Bond.
For those of you unfamiliar with “Dr. No,” it was released
in theaters on Oct. 5, 1962 and was directed by Terence Young, who also
directed two later James Bond movies, “From Russia With Love” (1963) and “Thunderball”
(1965). “Dr. No” starred Sean Connery in the lead role of fictional British
secret agent James Bond, aka, 007. Joseph Wiseman played the villain, Dr. No,
and Ursula Andress played Bond’s main love interest, Honey Ryder.
The movie is set mostly in Jamaica, and Bond goes there to
investigate the unexplained disappearance of two agents who were already on the
island keeping tabs on a host of villains, including Dr. No’s operations. Bond
eventually comes to the attention of Dr. No and his henchmen, but successfully
dodges several attempts to take him out before he learns too much about Dr. No.
Bond eventually takes the fight to Dr. No’s doorstep when he infiltrates his
secret hideout, where he learns that Dr. No plans to disrupt a NASA space
launch from Cape Canaveral.
I was interested to learn that the “Dr. No” movie was based
on a novel by James Bond creator, Ian Fleming. By my count, Fleming wrote 14
James Bond novels, and “Dr. No” was the sixth in order of publication. Needless
to say, watching the movie made me want to read the original novel, which was
published in March 1958.
I’ve head “Watch all the James Bond movies” on my bucket
list for several years now, and I’ve got 25 more to go. Those movies include “From
Russia With Love” (1963), “Goldfinger” (1964), “Thunderball” (1965), “You Only
Live Twice” (1967), “Diamonds Are Forever” (1971), “Never Say Never Again”
(1983), “Casino Royale” (1967), “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” (1969), “Live
and Let Die” (1973), “The Man with the Golden Gun” (1974), “The Spy Who Loved
Me” (1977), “Moonraker” (1979), “For Your Eyes Only” (1981), “Octopussy”
(1983), “A View to a Kill” (1985), “The Living Daylights” (1987), “Licence to
Kill” (1989), “GoldenEye” (1995), “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997), “The World Is
Not Enough” (1999), “Die Another Day” (2002), “Casino Royale” (2006), “Quantum
of Solace” (2008), “Skyfall” (2012) and “Spectre” (2015).
In the end, how many of you have watched “Dr. No”? What did
you think about it? Which James Bond movie is your personal favorite? Let us
know in the comments section below.
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