The Bond Villains: Dr. Julius No

DR. JULIUS NO

The first ever villain of the James Bond film series only physically appears 84 minutes into the film where merely his cream-colored trousers, shoes and black metal hands can be seen. Three minutes later, we finally get to see his face. Dr. Julius No, the child of a German missionary and a Chinese woman, is a skilled scientist specialising in radiation which, at one point, lost him both his hands. After America and Russia had rejected to make use of his skills, No joined the mighty criminal organisation SPECTRE to seek revenge. From his Jamaican island lair Crab Key, Dr.No tries to send American missiles off-course by using radio waves – a method known as “toppling”.

“The successful criminal brain is always superior. It has to be!” – Dr. No

Dr. No (played by Joseph Wiseman) is among the most iconic villains of the film franchise, not least because he was the first. But while he and his master plan might have appeared totally menacing to 1960s audiences, they both seem only mildly dangerous by todays standards. When Dr. No reveals his background and plans to Bond over dinner, he seems eerily calm and doesn´t move a muscle other than his mouth and eyes – not even when Bond tries to attack him with a table knife. No even has the guts to casually invite James Bond to join SPECTRE. Naturally, 007 refuses. It´s more his steely composure and neat appearance that make Dr. No come across as significantly sinister. Bespoke Nehru suits, clean-shaven and those black metal hands. Sadly, the latter are only useful to hold a cigarette tip or crush small objects.

In the long line of Bond villains, Dr. No has earned his place as the original personification of an evil mastermind. Bond would have to deal with more dangerous ones in future films, but never again with such an overly composed one. He is also the villain who introduced cinema audiences to the criminal organisation SPECTRE by explaining to Bond, what the letters stand for: Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion. He calls them the “four great cornerstones of power”. It would however take another year for SPECTRE leader “No.1” to appear on-screen, when the criminal organisation desperately tries to take revenge for the killing of Dr. No in the second Bond thriller ‘FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE’ (1963).

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