Resumo de Doctor No - Ian Fleming

Ian Fleming's Dr. No is early James Bond fun, one of the first novels and the first film. The Bond character is not yet fully stylized into the high tech gadget-loving, multi-lingual, card-playing, three women per film character that we know from the films. However the lovable vices such as the vodka martini and the pistol in the shoulder holster, are already well established.

In fact we see glimpses of another side of Bond, especially early on when Bond is nearly drummed out of the 00 branch. Remember that From Russia With Love immediately preceded Dr. No, and Bond had nearly died from the shoe-tip poison injection.

Bond had spent months in hospital and M was unsure that he was fit for return to full duty, so he sent him to Jamaica to close out a few loose ends on what was thought to be a minor Human Resources problem. M saw this as an extension of the rest and relaxation period, a point which Bond uncharaceristically later mocks M about in his communique to the office.

Bond spreads about some cash and assembles the old team in Jamaica. He quickly discovers that the real story is homocide and terrorism, not an aging colleague taking off with a vivacious young assistant. Of course Bond makes his way to a tropical paradise where he meets Dr. No, his dragon, and the unforgettable Honeychild Rider, played by Ursula Andress in the film. The famous stunt in the film, where the good guys hide in the lagoon breathing through bamboo sticks, turns out to have actually been Honey's idea.

It is always interesting to me as a fan of both the novels and the films to see where they went different directions in telling the story. Most unfortunately, Honey appears in the novel without her famous bikini. Interestingly she has a disfiguring broken nose, one souvenir of a very difficult life as a Jamaican orphan, descended from supporters of the Restoration. She also has quite a store of knowledge of local plants and animals, much of which turns out to be quite useful in her adventures with Bond.

Dr. No's occupation has also changed from guano farmer/missile expert in the novel, to some kind of poorly defined nuclear scientist in the film.

No is one of the better villains, and he gets a chance, over a long dinner, to tell his story. He had been a big-league gangster in both China and America, and has actually earned medical degrees. He was accused correctly of theft, had his hands cut off to mark him as such, and was shot in the chest and left for dead. Fortunately for No, he was the one man in a million whose heart is on the wrong side and he survived the shooting.

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