Dr. No (reissue)

Stars: Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman, Eunice Gayson, Jack Lord, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Anthony Dawson, Zena Marshall

Director: Terence Young

Here's a quiz question for buffs. What's the only James Bond thriller without a theme song? Answer, of course, is Dr. No, the first 007 film, and still one of the best and fastest-moving.

The then little-known Connery proved an agile, sleek, handsome and sardonic hero, as easy with a quip as a variety of lethal weapons, and Andress, with her sensational entry from the sea, remains one of the most delectable Bondswomen on record.

The action moves swiftly enough to cover any holes in the plot, while the humour is of a standard not always maintained in some of the later Bond extravaganzas.

This is the one, to refresh your memory, in which Bond meets the gorgeous Honey Ryder (Andress), is singed by a flamethrower, tickled by a tarantula, dogged by bloodhounds. grilled by some electric fencing, drugged by coffee, swamped by sea-water and nearly atomised in an atomic pile.

David Quinlan

UK 1962. UK Distributor: Park Circus (originally United Artists). Technicolor.
110 minutes. Not widescreen. UK certificate: PG.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 1, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 0, Swearing 0.

Review date: 16 Apr 2022