Terence Young (who went on to helm From Russia With Love and Thunderball) directs this script by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather that adapts Ian Fleming’s 1958 novel about the British spy James Bond (Sean Connery), who’s sent to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of another British agent. Bond soon discovers that Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman), a member of the criminal organization SPECTRE, is planning to disrupt the Project Mercury U.S. space launch from Cape Canaveral with a radio beam weapon.
DR. NO
What’s it rated? PG
When? 1963
Where’s it showing? Bay Theatre in Morro Bay on Monday, May 11, at 5:30 p.m. (doors at 4:30; $15 benefit for the Morro Bay Senior Center)
The film set the precedent for future Bond films with an eccentric villain; a Chinese German scientist with prosthetic metal hands; beautiful women who fall for Bond’s charm, such as Sylvia Trench (Eunice Gayson), Miss Taro (Zena Marshall), and Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress); and goons for Bond to overcome like Quarrel (John Kitzmiller), who turns into an ally, and Dent (Anthony Dawson), who tries to kill Bond with a tarantula. We’re also introduced to M. (Bernard Lee), CIA agent Felix Leiter (Jack Lord), and Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell).
This low-budget film was a huge financial success but received a mixed critical reception. Over the years, however, it’s become considered one of the series’ better installments. (110 min.) ∆
This article appears in Best of SLO County 2026.