'Dr. No' | Fleming's Cinematic 007 Template? | Book Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- Did the sixth Fleming penned adventure read the highs of the previous novel? Or are the even numbered Bond books going to continue to be sub-par?
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I always found the Dr No's base scene in the film, where Bond and Honey are looked after by the nurses to be really creepy in why is this place like a luxury hotel (complete with room service)? The book hilariously reveals why. Apparently, No figured that one day the Police or authorities may come there and because there'd be so many he couldn't just kill them, so to answer why he had a large base, he'd built a fake Spa Hotel, fully staffed with actual masseurs etc, and that would be his alibi. He would then have to open the hotel to the public, and continue his criminal activities alongside running it. I'm not joking, this is all in the book! Bond even notices that the bathroom is stuffed with all kinds of luxury grooming products, so No has spared no expense in case this ever happens!
I mean it's an explanation, but I'm kinda glad it never made it into the film. The creepiness of the luxury treatment Bond and Honey receive is atmospheric enough.
There is though an interesting observation Fleming makes, that the nurses are very polite and friendly (as in the film) but have a slight reserve about them. He states they're basically slaves, who never leave the island or in fact ever go outside (they have pasty features), and seem to be in some kind of denial to their situation, acting almost robotically. They also seem to have a Stockholm Syndrome relationship to Dr No, thinking he's a wonderful 'employer'. There's a hint of this in the film, with the creepiness in how pleasant and polite the nurses are, but the book adds a lot more depth to that.
David James Oh my God, you're basically saying Calvin's extended Crab Key resort joke in his review is _exactly_ what No was going for?
I always thought it looked like a hotel.
@@RRVCrinale Yes. I couldn't believe it when I read it. I think Fleming was overthinking this a little bit. There wasn't a need to explain it. But I do love the idea of Dr No having to become a hotelier alongside running his dastardly schemes. There's a sitcom, right there.
I've noticed that in both "Dr. No" and "From Russia with Love" films, James Bond was deprived of the one item which helped or saved the life of 007 in the novels. The table knife in "Dr. No" was a useful tool and weapon in the book, but, in the film, Dr. No spotted it and told Bond to return it to the table. The metal cigarette case in "From Russia with Love" saved Bond from a bullet in the heart, but, in the film, the case was taken away from Bond by Red Grant. This was most likely to create suspense for the film goer who actually read the books, then make them wonder, "How is Bond is going to survive now?" I really enjoyed your book review, Calvin! It makes me want o pull those old books out of "mothballs" and re-read them. It has been forty years.
I really looked forward to _Goldfinger_ too. The first two thirds lived up to my expectations. Then it got weird.
As of writing I'm just onto the final third... So I'm bracing myself now!
@@calvindyson Wierd, but in a good way though.
One of the best parts of the book that blew my mind, I realized DR. No's human trial was alluded to at the beginning of the book by M when he was talking about some doctor that was studying the human tolerance to pain and what organs/limbs humans can live without.
Dolled-Up Instalment: In June 1956, Ian Fleming began a collaboration with the producer Henry Morgenthau III on a planned television series, Commander Jamaica, which was to feature the Caribbean-based character James Gunn. The series never got made, but Fleming used this as the basis for his next Bond book.
Good evening sir! Fanboy here! Loving the reviews. Inspired me to reread the series myself 😂😂😂
Man , I miss you calvin , please upload more and keep up the good work ! Cheers !
Yeh I couldn't agree more man !!
Just recently read the book, that ending was unexpected! I think Miss Taro does appear in the novel, but only very briefly in comparison to the film.
This is where I came in. Through the fourth novel in a Reader's Digest hardcover omnibus (all of the novels were condensed, it being Reader's Digest) given me for Christmas and I think one of the other three novels contained therein was Rogue Male, but I cannot guarantee that and can't remember the other two for the life of me. Anyway, I definitely wanted to read more of this Bond guy, especially after my skin crawled during the centipede scene (and gave me a lifelong abhorrence for the cranky little bastards) and the fight with the giant squid.
Inspiration for the Work: In March 1956, Fleming and his friend Ivar Bryce accompanied Robert Cushman Murphy (of the American Museum of Natural History) and Arthur Vernay (of the Flamingo Protection Society) on a trip to a flamingo colony on Great Inagua in the south of the Bahamas. The colony was 100 square miles (260 km) of dense mangrove swamp and salt flats, home to flamingos, egrets and roseate spoonbills; the location inspired Crab Key.
Boothroyd said the .25 caliber wasn't a practical weapon for 007. But neither is the PPK. Later in real life the bodyguard of the Dutchess of Wales had a PPK that jammed during an abduction attempt. The British stopped using it.
You've really hit on the idea that everyone wrongly thinks that the novels are dark and serious, when as you mention, there are most certainly moments of over-the-top camp (which I also enjoy).
In my opinion, the darkness that people tend to reference are the shadow of the Cold War that is ever-present in the novels, the psychology of Bond (a man who's both like us yet an assassin) and some of the events that happen to Bond (such as the endings of CR and OHMSS, the Boneyard scene in LALD and the climax of GF).
Dr. No is one of the better book. The build up for Dr No is great. Honey is hands down the most interesting Bond girl from the books, shame she never popped up again. And Bond's trip through the obstacle course is BRUTAL. But man, what an anticlimax. That was always Felming's biggest weakness. Same with Moonraker, From Russsia with Love and Thunderball. Live and Let Die, that one had a great ending.
Burying Dr. No in bat poop was laughable.
Just reread the book. Quarrel doesn't mention anything about a dragon prior to them meeting Honey Rider. In the movie he does but not the book. In the book, Quarrel's fear of crab key was due to the fact that many fishermen went over there and did not return. He thought they were being killed by No and his people, a more logical assertion than the movie version of Quarrel. In my opinion the literary Quarrel is a better characterization than the film version.
Just got out of school and it’s been posted! I’ll have to watch this when I get home I’ll dig my copy out for sure keep it up
So glad your doing so many videos again! I was worried for a while that you were done with TH-cam!
Not at all! Just a dormant phase :D
The radio drama of doctor no from the bits I gave seen is very dramatic. You should definitely check it out.
As a testament to what Boothroyd was saying to Fleming, the Beretta you see Bond handing over in the film is not the one he uses in the book. The book Beretta is absolutely tiny, and would look kind of silly being held by Connery. When Boothroyd describes it as a lady's gun, he's right in the sense that it does not look like guns we typically see men using in films. Of course, it has the advantage of being very easy to conceal, so from Fleming's perspective it made total sense for a secret agent. The PPK is also small and concealable, but not as small, and it packs a relative punch. Another advantage is that the PPK used a calibre of bullet that was very common at the time, so it would be easy for Bond to buy bullets anywhere he was, whereas his Beretta was very out of date.
I believe they gave Craig a Sig Sauer in the more recent movies, which makes sense, although there might be product placement at play there. In England we do not think about the handgun market, but when a gun features in a movie it always increases sales. I believe there are a lot of very compact handguns similar to the original Beretta in size that are much more powerful. Generally, Bond would expect to be using the gun at very close range. so he's going to opt for the smallest lightest gun he can find - so small that they are unlikely to feature it in the movies.
Correct, Daniel Craig's James Bond used a Sig Sauer P226 in both Quantum Of Solace and No Time To Die. The Walther PPK still saw some usage in both films though as it is a staple of the series.
miss taro was present but didn't really talk to Bond in the novel.
But happy for a review.
I thought Dr. No was Fleming tipping his hat to his fellow British author Sax Rohmer by making Dr. No a pastiche to Dr.Fu Manchu minus the mechanical hands, Dr. No bears a striking resemblance to Fu Manchu.
Calvin, just a suggestion (having read through the series several times myself). You are only two books from the FOR YOUR EYES ONLY collection. Though the OCTOPUSSY/The LIVING DAYLIGHTS collection was the last official Fleming "book" released, the short stories included were actually originally written and/or published around the same time as those in the FYEO collection, or within a a few years afterwards, in various periodicals and newspapers. So I suggest that you read both short story collections back-to-back at this time (after completing GOLDFINGER). Not only is it more accurate doing it that way, but THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, despite coming off as a bit rushed (I still absolutely love it, despite the criticisms), does give us as neat an ending to the saga as you're going to find.
I put Octopussy and the Living Daylights between OHMSS and YOLT. Idk, I feel it builds suspense for me and is a detour that is referenced in YOLT's opening chapters.
Dr. No is the first Bond book I ever read. I picked up a copy of it at a Flea Market .
I got me into the books ,
Could you please do another livestream, first one was great
Just recently finished reading this book myself. Kind of makes me think of how the film would have been if it had the budget of Goldfinger. Either way though I feel the Giant Squid fight was never going to happen.
Interesting take on Dr. No. So far out of all the novels I’ve read in order it was my least favorite. I believe part of this is to due with it being so similar to the movie in most regards there wasn’t much in the form of surprises. As for the stuff excluded from the movie, I understand why it was cut and I think the film is better for it. On to Goldfinger now!
It seems like Fleming didnt like having questions to answer from the previous book. Every time one of his novels ends With a cliffhanger its quickly resolved in the next novel.
At the 5.20 mark... I hear what you're saying Calvin, but... a Ken Adam set is usually not described as "disappointing". :P
It has to be realised there wasn't much money in the first couple of Bond films, and Adam himself said they expected more from him than the budget would allow. That said, he did some fantastic work. And impressed Stanley Kubrick enough, to get himself hired to do the prod design on Dr Strangelove.
Funny considering on YOLT, the British crew misinterpreted Adam's measurements of the volcano set to be in Imperial, and so built it bigger than he planned (and that was big). But EON didn't mind paying by then, as they were rolling in money.
My favourite
I usually read about 2 or 3 chapters a day too, but I went through Dr. No pretty fast as well because the film is one of my favorites in the series and I was very interested in seeing how the novel compared to the film, and because it was such a great read to me as well. The centipede and the obstacle/assault course are two of my favorite parts in the novel because of how intense they are. I don't know if it's just me but Bond seems a lot more talkative in this novel compared to the others before and afterwards. Bond is usually quiet so I thought that was funny lol.
I thought he was quite chatty in Casino Royale too. I'm finding him surprisingly talkative overall though, my perception was always that he was a man of few words but he loves to give his two cents on most subjects!
@@calvindyson The first film luckily adapted the novel faithful, but I honestly feel it was a good move to make a few changes to make it somewhat realistic (Ex. Dr. No's death). P. S. You might like the short story collection of James Bond which has a lot of story elements that were used in later Bond films as well as characters.
@@calvindyson Have you heard of Toby Stephens' James Bond novel radio dramas from BBC Radio 4? He voices James Bond in the radio dramas along with other celebrities in their supporting roles. Since Moonraker is your favorite and Dr. No being a close second, you should check them out on TH-cam. I myself have the new Moonraker radio drama (it first aired on March of 2018) uploaded on my own channel. They're around 90 minutes long. I believe you'll enjoy them. :)
No vesper
This is one of the least grounded books. Also one of my least favorite. No coincidence there.
Always said that the James Bond films needed more giant squids in them!
It's where the Craig films have been going wrong.
"Where the Craig films have been going wrong? What about the credits to "Spectre", though?
@@aristidetwain9117 That was an Octopus
@David James: Let's not split tentacles.
@@aristidetwain9117 Lol! Daniel Craig needs to fight a giant squid in Bond 25 though. It could be the true head of SPECTRE.
Summary of Doctor No's character: An angst ridden basement dweller who hated his dad.
I see some parallels there with the Spectre interpretation of Blofeld.
Yeah and the funny thing is Dr No thought himself all the better for being that way. He even goes so far as to take the term "maniac" as a compliment.
I love the background Fleming writes for his villains - you see it with Dr No here, Red Grant in FRWL and Blofeld in Thunderball. It adds a lot to their character which got lost in adaptation - which is fair enough because you can do a lot with narration in a book that you can’t have on screen (unless you use voice-over, but that often feels really clunky).
Part of the reason I like this one is its sense of place and setting. Of course, Fleming lived and wrote in Jamaica, so he knew it very well and thus he is able to set the scene very effectively - little things like the road names and the newspaper they read give a good sense of verisimilitude.
A battle with a giant squid does sound more like something from a Japanese Kaiju film, or an episode of ‘The Avengers’ or 60s/70s ‘Doctor Who’ than Bond. It would be interesting to see it done on screen - perhaps wait until after Craig has vacated the role, however.
I think a key reason Leiter was added to the film was just to give it more appeal to American audiences - to make up for the fact that the main hero wasn’t American, almost. Heck, the fact Bond retained his British identity in the jump to film and not become American himself was quite remarkable for the time.
And, on a final note, this is the book where I learnt that ‘Chigro’ was apparently a word people used back in the 50s. Or at least Fleming did.
Dat Nightfire music.
Glad you caught it!
NightFire has a kick-ass, awesome soundtrack
I always liked how Bond was genuinely hurt by Quarrel's death in the book. Bond in the film really didn't seem bothered.
Bond did feel guilty about Quarrel's death in the film. He did tell Doctor No that he would join SPECTRE's revenge department so he could kill Quarrel's murderer.
@@ricardocantoral7672 True but he seemed more sorry in the book.
I just realized that the Bond book series is really a different universe than the Bond movie series. They overlapse, of course, but somehow from listening to your reviews of the books I get the feeling that book Bond deviates from the movie portrayals, as well as all other characters deviate from their respective movie counterparts. Not saying that one universe is inherently better than the other, I'm only saying that the impression I get from the book reviews is refreshing, since the movies don't hold that much attraction for me at the moment.
The books are indeed very different and in my view a breath of fresh air. They're relatively realistic and quite psychologically dark (only a few moments of outlandishness, notably in the later novels, but even those outlandish moments are tempered by a feeling of dark realism and plausibility), Bond is a much darker character (only Timothy Dalton in Licence to Kill and possibly Daniel Craig for most of Skyfall came close in their respective portrayals), and the Cold War is an omnipresent shadow even during the later novels dealing with SPECTRE.
As for the continuation novels, I'd say that arguably the best is Colonel Sun, since the brutality of the book is reminiscent of Live and Let Die, and it hits some hard themes that were skimmed over in The Man With The Golden Gun.
Talking of Dr. No, loved your review but I’d just like to add that in my particular case Dr. No was the FIRST James Bond book I ever read in 1964! And I read it in school during the English, Geography and History lessons! I used to have it open on my lap while the teachers of these subjects had the backs turned to the class writing on the blackboard! It was a risk but I thoroughly enjoyed it! I’ve read it again two or three times since! I have to admit, however, that I do prefer the film version! Firstly because there are more characters and Felix Leiter’s in it and also, there’s a long passage in the book where Quarel is training Bond to swim a marathon or something and I find that a bit boring. I also prefer Dr. No’s death in the movie since his iron hands can’t grip the metal structure in the radioactive pool to pull himself up! The book version, in my opinion, is a bit shitty if you’ll pardon the pun! Finally, last but not least, I’ve ALWAYS LOVED Ursula Andress and I think, if I’m not mistaken Fleming use her as the description of another Bond Girl later on in the series!
Now I finally understand why the Dr's surname is No. Thank you Calvin of this magnificent video! What do you think about my suggestion to rank the best casino scenes? 🧐
i really love this book!
Great review Dyson. I enjoyed Dr No as well. I wish the challenges Bond had to go through in the tunnels was more prominent in the film. I started You Only Live Twice on my commute today. After OHMSS I'm looking forward to see what happens to Bond next.
Also Ken Adam made the best sets as the tarantula room is simple yet menacing. If your interested there is a book on the art of every bond film.
Interestingly it was made with the last of the budget. Adam was given like £50 or something to make an effective set. So he brilliantly decided on the minimalist set with a grate overhead. Which it has been said is far more effective than an elaborate set, but Adam was a genius.
Indeed I read about that. Dr. No’s budget was a mere 1m pounds and later on budgets got bigger which gave way for Ken Adam to make even more elaborate sets.
@@mubondfan216 Although it's obviously more with inflation, but I do find it funny that Ken was given £50 to make a set. Even he made clear that wasn't very much for what was required.
Yeah, even in 1962, £1M was low budget. And once you factor in location shooting in Jamaica, it's amazing what they pulled off.
Can you imagine being Jeffrey Boothroyd back in the 50s and reading Dr. No? That guy basically won the jackpot.
In actuality, the real life Boothroyrd wanted Bond to carry a 38 Centennial airweight revolver, which he did in this book although Fleming said it was for Bond doing "long range work". Anyone who understands a snub revolver will understanding how wrong that statement is. I do wish that Fleming would have taken Boothroyrds advice and he carried the 38 instead of the PPK because it is a superior gun in regard to function, draw, and terminal ballistics. Ultimately Fleming went with the PPK after given a list of options from Boothroyrd due to it being more aesthetically pleasing although severely underpowered. I still dream of an alternate reality in which James Bond's signature gun was a 38 snub.
Great review! I read it in 3 days, it helps that I'm not working or studying full time right now
When I was young my grandfather knew I was reading all the Fleming novels and he decided to read one. Dr. No was the book I chose for him.
If From Russia With Love is good, this one is even better IMHO: outlandish, funny, with that larger than life Julius No and a fantastic climax. A funny romp as it can be.
The sort of relationship between Honey and Bond in this novel reminds me of the kind of relationship between bond and Stacey Sutton in the AVTAK flick and Melina in the FYEO flick. There is a sort of mentor/paternal figure, but he still has kinky fun with them.
Actors I imagine in this novel:
Bond - Timothy Dalton
Honey - Nikki Van Der Zyl
Dr. No - Joseph Wiseman
Quarrel - John Kitzmiller
The best Bond stories have a great balance of realism and outlandishness, Dr.No is a great example. Can't wait for you to review the rest of Fleming and beyond!!
No Vodka martini
Stirred not shaken. Mwahahahahahaha!
Prefer a Vesper myself!
He's hungover from yesterday's livestream!
The buttocks comment brought out a big chuckle from me! Thanks, Calvin!
Lovely video but at 10:00 you are saying that Dr. No is a move towards camp after the more realistic Cold War thriller that is FRWL but many have forgotten that Dr. No started off as a screenplay for a mini-series, originally titled "Commander Jamaica" and I believe the over-the-top elements such as the giant squid fight reflect the origins of the story as a screen treatment. I like your videos and look forward to more.
One major thing Fleming does well is third acts. Every time I read a Bond book, regardless of the quality of the overall book, I always end up reading the last half of the book in damn near one sitting. They always seem to start kind of slow for me, and then a little after halfway, they really pick up momentum until all I can think about is finishing the book.
This one was great. I think it was much better than the film adaptation.
I would not rely on Ian Fleming for any medical information (eg. sumo wrestlers cannot draw their balls back inside their bodies!). Your heart is not "On the left", it's pretty much in the middle (behind your breastbone) - the heartbeat is stronger on the left side because the left ventricle and atrium are larger than the right. It's possible (though rare) for this to be reversed (so the right side is more developed) and this might be what Dr No was alluding to, though even getting shot in the lung would require immediate medical intervention.
Still fondly remember reading both Dr. No and Goldfinger during the summer of 1997. Really liked the buildup to James Bond's return to duty. I really enjoyed the famous scene with Major Boothroyd and him recommending the change to the Walther PPK. Plus, Bond's spy activities once he reaches Jamaica are quite suspenseful. Especially when he finds the poisoned fruit and his encounter with the centipede in his hotel room.
Really enjoyed Honey Rider's introduction and her interactions with Bond. I too found interesting that Bond accepts her broken nose rather than wanting her to correct it. Dr. No really stands out too, with his clipped speech and his physical appearance.
I imagined Yul Brynner when I read the book
Ian Fleming first tried to persuade his friend Noel Coward to do it. Coward sent him a telegram back saying, "Dr No No". Then Fleming tried to get his cousin Christopher Lee in the part, but Wiseman had been cast by then. Lee would go on to play Fu Manchu in five films. A literary character who was an inspiration for Fleming in creating Dr No. EON had also considered Max Von Sydow (later to play Blofeld in Never Say Never Again, and Ming The Merciless in Flash Gordon, which is prob the closest we'd get to him as Dr No!).
Ironically the filmmakers wanted Yul Brynner, to play Blofeld in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. He turned them down for another movie, which I cannot recall at the moment. I am sure that would have made a great villain.
As for Doctor No, it is one of my favorite novels in the series after From Russia With Love and Moonraker. The scene with James Bond getting his Walther PPK from Major Boothroyd was very exciting to read, I do wish that Fleming had Bond fire it rather than wait until the short story Riscico. The obstacle course Bond has to deal with is one of the most exciting scenes in all of Fleming's novels. I liked how Bond used his wits and the resources at hand( a stolen cigarette lighter, a table knife he stole from dinner and a spear he fashioned from the wire grill in his holding cell) .
Bond's relationship with Honey is another reason why I enjoyed this book. With her being younger than Bond and her tragic past, it is easy to feel compassion for her. Plus from how Ian Fleming describes her, she sounds like a physically beautiful woman broken nose and all.
@@user-si9fx4xb6v It's funny in the film of Dr No, the writer had the villain notice Bond take the knife at dinner and make him give it up, as he thought Bond got it too easily.
I also like how in the novel, Bond's a bit spooked by the details of Honey's life, inc her instinct led approach to morality and life. You can understand after what she's been through, but she is something of a female Mowgli.
12:54 I had a student with her heart and all her organs displaced to the right side.
Is that nightfire music I hear?
Good spot :D
Calvin - Bond Reviewer great choice!
I like Calvin's take on Bond. I wish Eon would go back to the books and faithfully adapt them in the right order, and set them in the late fifties/early sixties. I know they wouldn't be as spectacular as the movies, but could make up for it with good story telling and tension. Maybe even a tv series.
Check out BBC Radio 4’s audio-play adaptations. They’re faithful to the books (for the most part), and they’re really well-made and fun to listen to. Toby Stephens plays Bond and he does a good job in the role.
I completely agree man !!!!!!
But if eon did do that , would you fear that the film's may become boring and predictable , considering the whole answer is in the book ?
@@BenCol I love those so much.
When are we getting Dr Yes
I'm making my way through all the books right now. Just finished 'Dr No' last night and that was really enjoyable. So far I've enjoyed 'From Russia With Love' the best. 'Diamonds are forever' the least. But you're right Calvin, 'Moonraker' is certainly up there. I especially loved the high stakes gambling at the beginning.
So far
1) From Russia with love
2) Moonraker
3) Dr No
4) Casino Royale
5) Live and Let die
6) Diamonds are forever
I still REALLY want them to do the BOND vs GIANT SQUID scene in one of the movies...
Think of Goldfinger as a combination of both.....from one Bond fan to another I think you should give my book, Sanction Blue, seeing as how it shares alot in common with Bond. Love the videos by the way.
Good job. I really enjoyed your comic commentaries of areas I didn't think about.
Honey "Where's Dr. No?" Bond "He's full of shit"
The novel Goldfinger is the polar opposite Doctor No, so it would be interesting to hear your reaction.
Great video series! Love Dr. No. On another note, another top 10 idea is soundtracks...
I wonder if Bond and Honey were served just a few grapes in the book as well. XD
I'm so glad you're referencing how "Bond fans" say how dark and serious the books are. They never were, which is why Craig's era (SF aside) feels so anti-Bond. The books are outrageous and bizarre, even CR, and the current era has totally stripped Bond of that, as well as sexual energy and charisma and replaced it with childish tantrums.
Bond himself is a very dark/moody character in the books though. Besides, even the more outlandish books have an edge to them that many of the films lack.
But they were never camp or downright silly, either. Which is why some of the Moore era feels unlike Bond at times (Moonraker, especially), just for the opposite reason.
@@BenCol Exactly. The Fleming books always took themselves seriously, even at their most weird/outlandish. I actually think the early Connery films captured the tone of the books relatively well.
@@SolarDragon007 That’s why I like Brosnan as Bond. He was just serious enough to be taken, well, seriously but also just light enough to be fun to watch.
Love these Bond book reviews! Cannot wait for Bond 25 and your review!!
Do a wealther ppk review
It's walter lmao
Ujwal 9000 No it’s Walther LMAO
@@alexdas2000 Well shit.
I just started another binge watch of my James Bond Blu Ray set and looked up some random Bond videos here in TH-cam when I came across your channel. All Bond all the time? Instant subscribe!
Ahhh, thanks mate! That's much appreciated. The production quality of the channel improves a lot with more of the recent content I should point out!
I started liking this book more over time, just like The Spy who loved me. BTW Calvin, I recommend reading / reviewing the two short story collections one after another, unless you want to finish your Fleming run with Bond's personal recipe for scrambled eggs. (MWTGG was the last one anyway, since all 4 Shortstorys in Octopussy were already published before it. Nice review once again.
I personally read Octopussy and the Living Daylights between OHMSS and YOLT.
I agree completely. This is one of the best Bond books. Yeah, the last part is absolutely bonkers but it's also so damn entertaining. I prefer the insanity of the book to the film's climax which I always found rather rushed and underwhelming.
They ran out of money on the film, and I believe time. There's a half hearted attempt at the assault course in the film, but we're never aware if No set it up deliberately. Honey was supposed to be staked out for giant land crabs to maul her, but apparently the crabs wouldn't play ball and go near Ursula Andress, and the fake ones looked rubbish. So they settled for her apparently being left to drown, very slowly. And there was no way to realise the giant squid fight with the budget or 1962 tech.
Calvin, making a 007 animated movie would be a good idea?
I think that a From russia with love animated movie would be awesome.
I'd like a Bond animated series.
Shaken...Not stirred
Brilliant as always Calvin, can’t wait for the 007 Legends review
Glad u liked Dr No Calvin!
This was the very first Bond novel I read and It is easy to see why it was selected as the very first James Bond movie.
Besides being Fleming at his most creative and imaginative,
It is filled with memorable iconic characters and memorable moments that the filmmakers knew would be easy to translate to cinema.
I think that sequence where Bond endures Dr No’s torture tests and battles all that crazy stuff ending with the fight with the giant squid is one of the most exciting scenes in the entire series and it’s too bad they never included it in any of the films.
The book remains one of my very favorites,only topped only by one of his final books which you will see as you get closer to the end!
SPECTRE was implicitly working for China in the movie, given all the Chinese working for him and the fact that No says he's on a mission to "prove our power", plus China's role in Goldfinger and YOLT.
Also, bat guano was part of the plot in Ace Ventura 2. In real life it actually is a lucrative industry.
When he says "prove our power" in the film, he's talking about SPECTRE. As he's just introduced it to Bond. No doesn't work for China, but SPECTRE (and seems quite proud of it), although as in Goldfinger and YOLT it's possible China has hired SPECTRE. That said, it seems to be more of an exercise for SPECTRE to demonstrate to America that they are a force to be reckoned with, prior to launching extortion operations. As in the Bond film universe, it seems the world powers aren't aware of the organisation.
The Chinese staff seem to have come with No from his homeland. Note he also employs Jamaicans (and Dent) to do his work in the populated areas.
@@davidjames579 No, I think it's better to infer that SPECTRE is working for China and that it is China they are hoping to prove their power to.
It makes no sense that they want to prove their power to America, because America not only doesn't know they are behind the attacks, America doesn't even know that SPECTRE even exists. But if it's China then we can say that the Chinese wanted a demonstration of SPECTRES' capabilities before they hired them for bigger work.
No's team seems highly specialised for a guy whose criminal background was being a treasurer for gangsters that he fell out with, as where in the world is No going to find nuclear technicians and the like who are also willing to engage in terrorism? The Jamaicans and Dent are fine because he's just hiring locally, bu as for the Chinese it seems just as likely that the Chinese supplied them for this mission.
Perhaps it's just my own personal head canon that Mao Zedong is the ultimate unseen Bond villain who kept hiring SPECTRE and Goldfinger and let's Scaramanga have his own private island in return for the odd favour, but honestly I do think it's consistent with what comes later in the series.
@@jonathancampbell5231 It's an interesting idea, but I think it's clear No isn't a Chinese agent, he works for SPECTRE. As I say he seems proud, like he's found an organisation that's worthy of his genius (as he sees it). Also he was rejected by the country of his upbringing, for being mixed race. So it seems to me he has quite possibly a feeling of bitterness or vengeance to China. As we see in the film, he is a scientist, and participates in Nuclear operations. He is surrounded by highly qualified people working in that field, so it's possible wherever he did that previously they've come with him. SPECTRE, being an international organisation, has quite possibly found them (disenchanted or corrupt government workers). There is something that is made clear in the book, but probably due to casting problems, isn't so prevalent in the film, and that's all of No's staff are mixed race. Effectively they're the rejected of society, and No has scooped them up and given them a purpose. This getting back at nations who reject people for not being 100% of that country's primary race seems like an undercurrent of No. Possibly it is a cause of his insanity, or megalomania. He at least wants to prove his superiority, and that being mixed race doesn't make him less. I know he's attacking America, in this case for SPECTRE, but I never get the impression he's doing it to help China. A country he seemingly hates. As SPECTRE are meant to be none political, as in they attack and extort any major country (as seen in YOLT, against US and USSR, and Diamonds against US, USSR and China), then perhaps No is hoping to have a pop at China at some point. I think he sees SPECTRE as the evolutionary successors (a brains trust) to these flawed nations, and in time China, and other countries, will be under their thumb. And he will have proved his point, as well as rightly be one of the rulers of the world.
I believe the reason SPECTRE didn't announce themselves to the Americans earlier, is because No was still testing the toppling process, and he needed to be certain it would definitely work, before directly threatening the US. Note, at this point it is only suspected someone is interfering with the rocket launches.
I'm sure we can all agree that Jeffery Buthroid (hope I didn't botch the name) writing to Ian Flemming with the suggestion to give Bond a Walther PPK instead was one of the best changes the series ever made. Can you imagine Bond today still using that old Beretta M1934? Or even using a Beretta M9 or hell, a Beretta Cheetah? And the change became iconic, as the firearm became iconic.
Speaking of firearms, I hope someday, they have Bond use the Walther P99 again. Maybe not the original P99, but a P99C, which would be more useful for stealth missions.
Boothroyd.
Qs real name / rank is Major Boothroyd, as a nod to the fan.
@@jonathancampbell5231 Well, that flew over my head until you told me. Thanks.
@White Phoenix: Bond's compact Beretta pistol in the novels is a Beretta 418 in .25ACP, as fellow fans were able to piece together from clues in the writing Fleming included in each book from Casino Royale to Dr. No. When the movie was filmed, Bapty (the long-time prop weapons house for the Bond series until Die Another Day) substituted a Beretta Model 1934 in .380 ACP likely due to a prop 418 not being available for filming. Likewise, a Walther PP was used as a substitute for a PPK for a majority of the film. For the death of Professor Dent, an FN model 1910 pistol was used since it could fit the prop suppressor better and an M1911A1 was used during the fight with the Dragon Tank. When From Russia With Love was filmed, Bapty was able to find a PPK for Sean Connery to use.
I've been waiting for this since you did Casino Royale. I loved the pain experiments at the end, it was so compelling. The squid at the end was pretty weird, but the hot and cold and creatures were amazing.
He calvin what is your favorite bond villain lair/base?
Mine is the vulcano lair from yolt. After that the medical facility from ohmss.
Top 10 Lairs better be in the cards
Rushy mine is probably Atlantis or scaramangas island.
It'll be my next top 10 :D
Calvin - Bond Reviewer yay!