Year: Day to Day Men: January 16

The Farm in Early Autumn

The sixteenth of January in 1962 marks the first day of filming for Terence Young’s “Dr. No”, the first film in the James Bond series. Set in London, Jamaica and the fictional Jamaican island of Crab Key, the filming for Ian Fleming’s novel began on location at the Palisaodes Airport in Kingston, Jamaica. The primary scenes shot at that location included the exterior shots of Crab Key and and the city of Kingston. 

Fleming had originally written “Dr. No” as a television outline for film producer and author Henry Morgenthau III who wanted to promote the Jamaican tourism industry. When that project did not develop, Fleming met with film producer Harry Saltzman to discuss a screen adaptation. Having reached an agreement with Saltzman, Fleming sold him the rights to all the James Bond novels except “Casino Royale” and “Thunderball” for fifty thousand dollars. 

In order to finance the filming of the novels, Harry Saltzman formed a partnership with film producer Albert R. Broccoli. This partnership created two companies: Danjaq which held the rights to the Bond films, and Eon Productions which would handle their production. EON Productions had originally chosen the ninth volume of Fleming’s Bond series, the 1961 “Thunderball”, to be the first adaptation of the Bond films. However , due to a legal battle with the novel’s co-author Kevin McClory, EON Productions decided to film Fleming’s sixth Bond novel, the 1958 “Dr. No”.

After several Hollywood studios passed on the project, United Artists gave Saltzman and Broccoli authorization to produce “Dr. No” with a release date in 1962. Although United Artists agreed to finance “Dr. No”, the studio felt the film was on the same level as Hammer Films productions and was not willing to spend more than one million dollars for the film. United Artist had previously financed British films only to have them fail in U. S. theaters. For the climax scene of the explosion of Dr. No’s base, the producers managed to secure an extra one-hundred thousand dollars from the United Kingdom’s branch of United Artists.

The final choice for director was Terence Young who had previously directed several films for Albert Broccoli’s Warwick Films. In addition to his directorial work, Young made pivotal choices in the development of the James Bond character. Many actors were considered for the role of Bond before Saltzman and Broccoli decided thirty-one year-old Sean Connery would play Bond for first five films of the series. After he was chosen, Connery was taken by Terence Young to Young’s tailor and introduced to the casinos and high life of London. Connery’s role as Jame Bond was officially announced to the media on the third of November in 1961.

Principal photography was completed at the end of March in 1962. Editor Peter R. Hunt used innovative editing techniques of extensive quick cuts, fast motion and exaggerated sound effects on the action scenes to push the fast pacing of the film. Title artist Maurice Binder created the credits which became a signature of all subsequent James Bond films. His highly stylized main title sequence, filmed in sepia by putting a pinhole camera inside the barrel of a .38 calibre gun, and the opening’s music scores became a instantly recognizable symbols of the EON-produced series.

“Dr. No” premiered at the London Pavilion in the northeast side of Piccadilly Circus on the fifth of October in 1962; it was released across the United Kingdom two days later. Although the film did well in the United Kingdom, United Artists were still hesitant to premiere the film in New York City. The first commercial showing in the United States was at Atlanta, Georgia, where it ran successfully for twelve weeks in May of 1963. Despite the successful test run, United Artists did not consider shifting its release strategy. “Dr. No” was next launched in four hundred-fifty theaters in the Midwest and Southwest. The film finally opened in eighteen New York City theaters in June of 1963, nine months after its original premiere.

Notes: Due to the low budget for production, only one sound editor, Norman Wanstall, was hired instead of the usual three or four editors; sets had to be constructed in less-costly ways. The office of M, Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, contained cardboard paintings and a door covered in leather-like plastic. Scenes involving Dr. No’s aquarium were accomplished by using a rear-projection screen and magnified stock film footage of goldfish-sized fish.

Sound editor Norman Wanstall worked on the first five Bond films and won an Oscar for his sound effects on “Goldfinger”. He created the sound effects for the spinning hat of Goldfinger’s servant Oddjob and for Dr. No’s crushing metal hand.