Tonight marks the 1400th time we've done this, and movie's like "Dr. No" are virtually impossible to find anything new to say about, so tonight's Saturday Night Special is just more of a reminder for you, that it might be a good time to check it out again, if you haven't seen it in a while! "Dr. No" was the first of the James Bond series, and one of the best!
Ian Fleming's "Dr. No" was released in 1962, and the iconic theme was written by Monty Norman! The same theme has been used in every James Bond movie ever made! The Bond character has changed many, many times, but the theme has always stayed the same! What an awesome achievement when you think about it. To show you where he was coming from, Monty only had a couple of credits before "Dr. No," and those included "Expresso Bongo" in 1959 where he wrote the music along with David Heneker for a song called "Nausea," he was the composer of the music in 1960 for the movie "The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll,' and he wrote the 'Beatnik' music in the 1961 film titled "The Day the Earth Caught Fire!" Go get yourself a shaken, not stirred martini, and we'll give a toast to Monty! Yessirree Buddy! Thank you, and ...
Cheers!"Dr No" starts off with a cool calypso version of
"Three Blind Mice," that if you'll remember was also used as "The Three Stooges" theme!! There's nothing funny about these three though, that's for sure!
You know we're whatever is older than Olde Skool, so, in my book, there's really only one James Bond, and that's Sean Connery!!! All the movies after that might as well have had Ray Danton, Glenn Saxson, Tony Kendall, or Brad Harris in them as Bond, because it really didn't matter who it was if it wasn't Sean Connery!!
I started to only show pictures of all the boss cars in this film, and this '57 Chevy convertible was at the top of the heap!!
This is a really rude way to treat cases of "Red Stripe" beer, probably one of the top 10 beers in the world!
There's lots of weird shenanigans happening over on the private island of "Dr. No," and a lot of it is radioactive, just for good measure!
This is a gorgeous shot......"Dr. No's" interrogation room!
........And this is a gorgeous shot too!! The exotic Zena Marshall is the treacherous Miss Taro, and no matter how she's served, roasted, baked, or boiled, her natural sugars give a sweet, nutty flavour!!
For all of you under the age of 30, this is what was commonly referred to as a record player, and James Bond is about to play a 7" 45 Revolution Per Minute single song, kind of like pushing the play button on your iPhone!
How stupid do you have to be to try and sneak up on James Bond?
This shot really makes me want to get up off my ass and go somewhere!!
The ravishing Ursula (Slave Of The Cannibal God) Andress is Honeychile "Honey" Ryder trespassing on "Dr. No's" private beach! How dare SHE, what a beach!
The dragon that scares off all the locals is nothing more than an amphibious tank and flame thrower!
Terence Young was the director of "Dr. No," and the killer cinematography was the result of the talents of Ted Moore! Terence Young also directed Bond's "From Russia With Love," and "Thunderball!" Ted Moore worked on those two and more Bond, and also was directory of photography on "The Gamma People," and "Day Of The Triffids!"
The all powerful and mysterious Dr. Julius No was played by a Canadian, Joseph Wiseman! The same year as "Dr. No," Joseph was in the "Twilight Zone" episode titled "One More Pallbearer!" Joseph continued to work until 1996, and just passed away in 2009 at the age of 91!
The Doctor's underwater pad is the ginchiest! Spellcheck isn't hip enough to know what I'm talkin' about, and wants to know if I mean Munchies, Winchester, Gilchrist, or Ginkoes!
James Bond stages a daring escape through the vent system on the island!
This is the big red "GO" button that Tabonga is always talking about!!
Blogger has really thrown us a curve ball with their new and better technology, bear with us til we get all the wrinkles ironed out! So that's it, and what a fantastic shot to end it all with! Maybe I'll use this shot when we ever get around to The End of this journey!
This is a gorgeous shot......"Dr. No's" interrogation room!
I agree with everything you said. I'm over 30 (way over 30) and Dr. No was definitely a landmark film. If it wasn't for Sean Connery, I don't think the Bond franchise would have taken off as it did. He is the ONLY Bond. No matter how many guys say it, his (from Dr. No) was the coolest, suavest and the best reading of "Bond...James Bond." I remember reading once that one of the producers, while casting for the role of Bond, watched through the window as Connery walked away in the parking lot. His cat-like movement was what finalized the decision to choose Connery. I also heard that Connery, who was pretty much the opposite of Bond, was very uncomfortable wearing a suit. The director suggested that he sleep in one one night and that did the trick. Weird story. Thanks for the excellent post and all the inside background info.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I'm talkin' about! Thanx for the added info, Larry! Great little stories!
ReplyDeleteEegah!!
Most memorable Bond line for Da-da is from your next column -- "GOLDFINGER" -- when Bond has a huge laser burning up toward his family jewels...
ReplyDeleteBOND: "Do you expect me to talk?"
GOLDFINGER: "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to DIE."
Btw, you can opt to keep the old blogger tools in the preferences menu. The new interface is awful.
Keep up the good work.
-Da-da (A Man Called)
I just want to say that your copious use of exclamation points always makes this blog a blast to read!
ReplyDeleteThanx MDG!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't think anybody really ever noticed!! Just my little way of trying to put across the dramatic point that every thing I say is for a reason!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When I got my first computer, I used to capitalize everything until a friend told me to stop yelling at him!!!! So, ever since then it's been exclamation point city!!!!
ReplyDeleteEegah!!
I should have noticed Ted Moore shot both Dr No and Day of the Triffids. The first time I saw Dr No, May 30, 1963, it was the second feature to Day of the Triffids. I merely went to see the Triffids (I had turned 13 the day before). I'd never heard of James Bond or Ian Fleming.
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say, it was a case of the second feature vastly outshining the main feature. I think I went through puberty during the movie. Connery and Andress together made me a man. I think I left he theater with my voice an octave lower than when I went in.
Two days later, I was reading Dr. No, and being bummed that the movie didn't have the book's cool Giant Squid. By the time From Russia With Love came out a year later, I had read every Bond novel then published. (Fleming was still alive and writing then.)
OK, here's a couple pieces of trivia on it: The James Bond Theme, though credited soley to Monty Norman, was actually partially written by John Barry. The electric guitar main theme is by Norman, but the fanfares in brass that punctuate it are by John Barry. Contractually, Norman had to be credited with all of it.
The female dancing silhouette in the opening credits, seen in your screencap overlapping male dancers, is the actual screen debut of Martine Beswick. Martine and I have been friends for over 25 years, and she herself told me this. I think this makes her the first "Bond Girl." (If you don't count the 1953 TV version of Casino Royale.) Of course, she went on to appear in From Russia With Love and Thunderball.
It's not a coincidence that she's in all three of Terrence Young's Bond films. He liked her very much, and insisted on using her in them. She always speaks of Young with enormous affection. She says that, in many ways, Young was the style template for James Bond, not fashion style, but personal style.
Daniel Craig is the only Bond who can truly carry the mantle of Connery. All the other Bonds are imposters, as far as I'm concerned.
Thanx Doug, always love the true tales! Martine Beswick does indeed get silhouette credit on IMDB, and now, more than ever I want to watch "From Russia With Love" and "Thunderball" again! This is one subject I'm glad we're all in agreement on!
ReplyDeleteEegah!!
Pay attention to the opening credits in From Russia With Love. Martine Beswick gets billed as "Martin Beswick." Oops. Who is that guy? Her name is spelt correctly in the closing titles.
ReplyDeleteIf you look closely at the photo of Bond and the record player, although there is a 45 rpm record lying beside it. He's playing a 33 1/3rd rpm long-playing album on the turntable.
In the books, the character of Quarrel is first introduced in Live and Let Die, and he and Bond are old friends when they team up in Dr. No, during the course of which he gets killed. Since they shot Dr.No first, they had to meet for the first time, hence the scene of Bond punching Quarrel into teh Red Stripe. And since Quarrel gets killed, when they got around to Live and Let Die, they had to introduce "Quarrel Junior."
Dang Doug, you nailed me on the record, and I've got a giant record collection, just not paying attention, that's all! The Quarrel story is a great one too!
ReplyDeleteHighly descriptive post, I enjoyed that a lot.
ReplyDeleteWill there be a part 2?
I don't comment, however after reading a few of the responses here "DR. NO - "Three Blind Mice" (1962)".
ReplyDeleteI do have a couple of questions for you if it's allright.
Is it simply me or do some of these responses come across
like they are coming from brain dead individuals?
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