In light of Sean Connery's passing, I thought it would be appropriate to pay tribute to his star-making turn in Dr. No. It truly is a brilliant multifaceted performance that commands the screen and sucks in the viewer. /1
There is of course his debut scene where Connery is incredibly magnetic. Look at the little smiles he gives, the walk, the magic ability of talking while dangling a cigarette and still not looking silly. Everything about the scene draws in the viewer. /2
But then Connery shows dimension in his next scene with M. A lesser actor would have kept up the confidence level, but here Connery plays it more humbly. It's not that he is a different person, but it is clear this is a different situation and thus Bond acts differently. /3
The death of Mr. Jones is also masterclass for Connery. When he finds out Mr. Jones is a henchman, he just gives a little smirk as if he almost prefers this. Then he casually gives a one liner about Mr. Jones' corpse. Thus, the viewer knows Bond has done all this before /4
There is of course the famous "you had your six" scene. What is striking about it is Connery's face and whole demeanor. It's utterly cold and unflinching. Again, we see that killing in cold blood is nothing new to Bond but he also doesn't revel in it./5