Dr NO: the first James Bond fils is released (05/10/1962)

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Dr. No (1962), starring Sean Connery, is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather. The film was directed by Terence Young, and produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli, a partnership that would continue until 1975.
In the film, James Bond is sent to Jamaica on an investigation into the death of a fellow British agent. The murder trail leads him to the underground base of Dr. Julius No, who is plotting to disrupt an early American manned space launch with a radio beam weapon. Although the first of the Bond books to be made into a film, Dr. No wasn't the first of Fleming's novels, Casino Royale being the debut for the character. Consequently, the film does not depict Bond earning his Double-0 status, which grants him a licence to kill; instead, it presents Bond as a seasoned veteran, and even makes a few references to threads from earlier books, such as M mentioning that Bond's current gun gave him problems, before presenting him with his more well known Walther PPK.
Dr. No was produced with a low budget, but was a financial success, leading to a series of films that continues to this day. Dr. No also launched a successful genre of "secret agent" films that flourished in the 1960s. Many of the iconic aspects of a typical James Bond film were established in Dr. No, beginning with what is known as the gun barrel sequence. The film begins with an introduction to the character through the view of a gun barrel, and a highly stylized main title sequence, both created by Maurice Binder. In his work on film, production designer Ken Adam established a unique and expansive visual style that is the hallmark of the Bond film series. And, by the way, talking on 'visual styles': in this film we saw a Ursula Andress pretiest than ever.