Friday, October 5, 1962: 'Dr. No'

The first movie featuring British secret agent James Bond premieres in London. Based on the 1958 book by Ian Fleming, "Dr. No" Sean Connery stars as 007, a role he would play six more times.

From Associated Press writer Bob Thomas, in March 1963 (the movie was released in the United States in May 1963):

"Dr. No" introduces sleuth James Bond to the American market, and he is apt to be just as popular here as he is in his native England. Sean Connery makes a formidable figure of the Ian Fleming semihero, with his fondness for fine food, shapely dolls and danger, not necessarily in that order. This caper has Bond tracking down a demoniacal Chinese who is menacing an American moonshot from an atomic fortress in the Bahamas. It is unfortunate that the first Bond mystery should place so much emphasis on the space-age melodramatics on the mystery island. The result is more flavored with Flash Gordon or Fu Manchu. But the earlier portions of "Dr. No" display a fetching figure in Connery's bond, who will be welcome in future films of this series.

* Movie clips, including original trailer (from www.tcm.com): @

* www.007.com (official website): @
* www.007.info (James Bond International Fan Club): @
* Entry from www.screenonline.org.uk: @

* Entry from www.mi6-hq.com: @

* "The Birth of Bond" (Vanity Fair, October 2012): @

* "Licence to Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films" (James Chapman, 2000): @
* "The Politics of James Bond: From Fleming's Novels to the Big Screen" (Jeremy Black, 2005): @
* Earlier post on "From Russia With Love" (March 1961): @ 

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