The World of James Bond by Jeremy Black

Author:Jeremy Black
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
Published: 2012-03-03T16:00:00+00:00

In a major contrast to the novels, Dr. No introduces SPECTRE into the films from the start; Dr. No is a member who wishes to look Bond over to see whether he can be recruited. Rather than focusing on the Cold War, Dr. No, like SPECTRE, is free of alignments, and, indeed, by Dr. No’s view of universal predation—“East, West . . . points of the compass,”—ironically frequently emphasizes East-West shared interests. The broader pattern of the films was set by Dr. No: Bond’s mission became a quest to stop the villain, a theme that focused on confrontations between the captive Bond and his megalomaniacal adversary. To the latter, Bond is an irritant, a distraction from the doom of a decadent civilization, but, in fact, Bond becomes the nemesis of the villain who says he never fails. Bond’s boldness and the villain’s hubris are instrumental in the outcome, and repeatedly so.

The film offered gadgets, but certainly not at the rate of later films. The cars are traditional, notably in the chases on Jamaica, and there is no interest in aircraft. The major surprise is a dragon that turns out to be a flame-throwing vehicle in disguise, and that, in practice, is rather low-tech and not particularly gripping. Nor were the fights on the level of later films. On the other hand, the dialogue was good on the parts of Bond and the villain. Dr. No calls Bond “a stupid policeman whose luck has run out,” but a brutal side is shown in Bond’s killing of Professor Dent, a Dr. No agent, and in his harsh treatment of women. Connery’s characterization of Bond was the major legacy of the film, but a lot else was offered, including the theme music, the exotic setting, what became the standard scene with M, the girls, the attempts to kill Bond, and the mysterious and sinister villain who is based in a large and dramatic structure.

The film provided a very different plot, pace, and timescale from those of the novel in that the threat to American rockets is revealed in M’s meeting with Bond, whereas in the novel it comes near the close as part of the solution of a puzzle. Moreover, in the film, the plot lasts four days, not the six weeks of the novel. This provides immediacy, drama, and pace. The murder of Dent—“That’s a Smith and Wesson . . . and you’ve had your six [bullets],” so that Bond can shoot him with impunity, gave Bond a definite edge. A would-be murderer is shot dead when he is no longer a threat. This scene invited the outrage of some critics, but then they were never going to applaud it. The presentation of Leiter began that of a series of cameos of CIA operatives—a series that emphasized the appearance in the films of the Anglo-American “Special Relationship.”

Costing $950,000, Dr. No made vast profits, both for the filmmakers, grossing $2 million in North America and $4 million abroad, and for the publishers, leading to the sale of 1.

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