Dr. No
60th Anniversary 1962-2022

Ursula Andress, who played Honey in Dr. No, was not cast until shooting had already begun in Jamaica, and she was offered the role without ever meeting the producers beforehand. Rounding out the cast was American actor Joseph Wiseman as the titular villain; Jack Lord as CIA agent Felix Leiter; and Canadian-born actress Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny, who had originally been considered for the part of Sylvia Trench (played in the film by Eunice Gayson) but wisely chose the recurring character of M’s secretary – a role she would play for the next 23 years. To play Bond’s boss, veteran British character actor Bernard Lee was signed to the production just a day before studio filming began. Lee was probably the best-known of all the cast members at the time, and explains why his name appears with an ‘also starring’ credit on the film posters, together with the principal cast. Lee went on to play M in the next 10 films in the series until his death in 1980.

On December 18, 1961, Film Finances Inc. (the UK’s leading completion bond company) borrowed £325,000 ($1 million) from Bank of America, and production formally began on the first James Bond film. United Artists had only agreed to back Saltzman & Broccoli’s first joint venture on the condition that their company, EON Productions, had a completion guarantee with Film Finances Inc. The arrangement was a way of UA assuring itself there would be some degree of control over a production that would be far from its own doorstep. Out of the £325,000 budget over one third was already taken up with the salaries of the cast and crew. By far the largest payment was to Ian Fleming, who received £35,715 for the story rights to DR. NO (then $100,000 per film and also 2.5% of the net profits); director Terence Young received £15,000 - plus £2,500 expenses for his 26-weeks work on the film. Co-producers Harry Saltzman & Albert R. Broccoli received £14,286 each (although their deal with United Artists also gave them a 50% share in the profits of the film after UA had recouped their investment). Surprisingly, Wolf Mankowitz, who withdrew from the project was paid £7,000 for his contribution to the screenplay, compared with £5,100 for Richard Maibaum and £1,000 for Berkely Mather. Johanna Harwood who had originally adapted the novel received just £300. On the acting front Sean Connery was paid £6,000 for his debut as James Bond; with Joseph Wiseman earning £5,382, and Jack Lord £2,857. The highest- paid technicians were production manager L. C. Rudkin £2,849; associate producer Stanley Sopel £2,400, and director of photography Ted Moore £1,312.

Ursula Andress received £1,500 for her iconic performance as Honey Ryder, with the same amount being paid to Anthony Dawson in the much smaller role of Professor Dent. Dawson, a friend of director Terence Young, would return to the series in From Russia With Love (1963) and Thunderball (1965) playing the hands and body of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, with the character’s voice provided by Eric Pohlmann in both films. Anthony Dawson would also appear as Colonel Klebb in screen-tests filmed at Pinewood Studios during February 1963 opposite the various actresses trying out for the role of Tatiana Romanova in From Russia With Love (1963). Eunice Gayson was paid £300 for three days’ work as Sylvia Trench, with Bernard Lee receiving £250 for his two days’ work as M, and Lois Maxwell earning £200 for her two days as Miss Moneypenny - in addition to providing her own costume for the film. Peter Burton received £50 for his one-scene performance as Major Boothroyd, filmed at Pinewood Studios on February 26th, 1962. For the role of Bond’s Jamaican ally, Quarrel, American-born John Kitzmiller was paid £750. Kitzmiller (mis-spelled Kitzmuller in the end credits) made an estimated 40 European films and achieved great fame in 1957, as the first black actor to win a Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival for his role in the Yugoslavian (Slovenian) film Valley of Peace. Ian Fleming himself had favoured British actor Paul Danquah (1925-2015) for the role of Quarrel, following his breakthrough performance in A Taste Of Honey (1961). The author and actor had met several times whilst Danquah was studying law in the UK. Ironically, A Taste Of Honey was a film that Harry Saltzman had tried to set up at Woodfall Films, but left the production after a fall out with the other founders of the influential British ‘New Wave’ Company. ‘Cubby’ Broccoli had wanted Bahamian-born Earl Cameron for Quarrel, who would later play the similar role of Pinder in Thunderball (1965).

Production Designer Ken Adam was paid £2,563 for his remarkable contribution to the film. Working at Pinewood Studios whilst the crew were location shooting in Jamaica, Adam designed and oversaw construction of the interior sets for Dr. No at an estimated cost of £25,000. Additionally, EON Productions had spent at least £14,500 to rent the space required at Pinewood for the studio work, which began on February 26 and ended on April 26, 1962.

With the key components now in place, director Terence Young and star Sean Connery flew to Jamaica a week before the rest of the crew to soak up the Caribbean atmosphere, staying at the Courtleigh Manor Hotel, which served as the base of operations for the production (and the exterior of Bond’s hotel in the film). Action arranger Bob Simmons (who earned £400 for his work on the film - plus additional payments for particular stunts) also went on ahead in order to prepare Sean Connery for the gruelling physical shoot. On Sunday January 14, 1962, the rest of the cast and crew required for location filming flew from London to Palisadoes Airport on a specially chartered Britannia 312 at a cost of £5,000. Composer Monty Norman (and his then-wife Diana Coupland) was also among those invited to accompany the crew in order to get inspiration for the music score, after being signed to Dr. No following the closure (after just 44 performances) of his 1961 Music-Hall show Belle (or The Ballad of Doctor Crippen), co-written with Wolf Mankowitz. One of the financial investors of Belle was Albert R. Broccoli, who despite the show’s critical and commercial flop had promised to work with Monty Norman again.

Shooting on Dr. No began at Palisadoes Airport on Tuesday January 16, 1962, where the scenes of Sean Connery as James Bond being photographed by ‘freelance’, Marguerite LeWars (Miss Jamaica 1961) were filmed. The character of the girl photographer appeared in the Ian Fleming novel DR. NO as Annabel Chung, but was not named in the film. In the main titles her billing reads ‘Margaret Le Wars’, but the end credits she is correctly listed as Marguerite LeWars. Work continued throughout the day, but progress was slow as the crew were trying to film in an operational airport, which resulted in many delays as passengers arrived and departed. Jack Lord arrived late at the location and his scenes were rearranged due to the position of the sun. At the end of day once the production had completed eight camera setups it resulted in one-minute and 56 seconds of useable footage. At 5.40pm the production was already half-a-day behind schedule. The vehicles used in the airport scene (Leiter’s car and two taxis) were arranged for by location manager Chris Blackwell. Born in England, Blackwell moved to Jamaica with his parents soon after his birth in 1937. His mother Blanche was a close friend and sometime mistress of Ian Fleming, and with her husband Joseph had provided the funding to enable Chris Blackwell to form Island Records in 1958. In 1976 Chris Blackwell purchased Ian Fleming’s former Jamaican home ‘Goldeneye’ from reggae musician Bob Marley, and turned the estate into a luxury hotel.

On January 23, 1962, production manager L.C. Rudkin [Leonard Cathrow] (1908-1981) sent a memorandum to associate producer Stanley Sopel detailing the payments to be made for the various vehicles used during filming. A limousine used to transport cast members to the airport was owned by a Geoffrey Taylor, who was paid for three days use at £5 per day. Additionally he was paid £40 for damage to the car. The Sunbeam Alpine driven by Sean Connery was owned by Jennifer Jackson, who was paid £10 per day. The car had been used for two days filming at the time of the memo, but was likely to be used several times more. The production also hired a Cadillac for BP plates, but this was later changed to the Chevrolet Bel Air (driven by Reggie Carter and Sean Connery) seen in the film (although the insert shot of the speedometer is from a 1957 Ford!). The Cadillac was owned by Keith Roberts of Federal Motors in Kingston who received £10, although the car was not used. The production also hired a various assortment of canoes and catamarans for use in the film, or as camera platforms. Mr. A.L. Hendry of Kingston provided the motorboat used by Bond and Honey as they escape from Crab Key, and Quarrel's canoe at a cost of £30 per week. The boat that takes Professor Dent to Crab Key was owned by Gary Potter, who received £35 per day. Other vessels were hired as camera boats, in addition to the HMS Troutbridge Motor Cutter and a detachment of sailors who transport Felix Leiter (Jack Lord) to rescue Bond at the end of the film.

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