Bela Lugsoi's 130th Birthday

It was today in 1882 that Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó was born. If that name does not sound familiar, then I am certain the stage name he used throughout his career does: Bela Lugosi. Alongside Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi is perhaps the most iconic horror actor of all time. While other actors would come to be identified with the genre (Vincent Price, Sir Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing among them), it is perhaps Messrs. Karloff and Lugosi who remained most firmly tied to the genre in most people's minds. Sadly, to this day many people tend to think of Bela Lugosi primarily as Dracula, ignoring the many other roles he would play in his career, some outside the horror genre. The fact is that Bela Lugosi was a very talented actor who could play roles well beyond that of the famous vampire.

Perhaps like the majority of people I first saw Bela Lugsoi in Dracula (1931) and, while this might seem like heresy to many, I was not terribly impressed with his performance. Even taking into account that Mr. Lugosi's performance as Dracula has been parodied for literally decades, I thought he played the role much too broadly. This is particularly true in the scene in which Dracula tries to hypnotise Van Helsing (Edward Van Helsing), in which Mr. Lugosi's acting seems particularly affected. I suspect Bela Lugosi's somewhat hammy performance in Dracula was the result of a number of factors. The first is that he had played the role on Broadway for 261 performances. As  a result Mr. Lugosi brought with him to the film version of Dracula the techniques he used in the role on the stage. Unfortunately, these did not adapt well to film, nor did director Todd Browning try to adjust Mr. Lugosi's performance so it was better on the film. Second, like many actors Bela Lugosi had not been starring in talkies for very long. The Jazz Singer had only been released in 1927. Bela Lugosi had only made his first talkie (The Thirteenth Chair) in 1929. Now contrary to popular belief, silent acting styles varied from the extremely naturalistic to extremely broad. And while the broader acting styles could prove effective in silent movies, they did not always translate well to talkies. I've often wondered if I would not have appreciated Bela Lugosi's initial performance as Dracula more if the film had been a silent.

Whatever I might believe to be Bela Lugosi's shortcomings as Dracula in the movie of the same name, he proved to be a very effective actor in talkies. While it is true that he was typecast and he spent the majority of his career in horror films, in the end Mr. Lugosi would play a wide variety of types of roles and do them quite well. In fact, despite the fact that many tend to think of Bela Lugosi in his roles as a horror villain, I think my favourite of his performances are those in which he played a hero. Mr. Lugosi's skill as playing a hero can be seen in the first film he ever did with Boris Karloff, The Black Cat (1934), in which he played psychiatrist Dr. Vitus Werdegast. In the film Dr. Werdegast finds himself at odds with his old friend, architect turned diabolist Hjalmar Poelzig (played by Mr. Karloff). Mr. Lugosi plays Dr. Werdegast with a slightly more naturalistic style than he used in Dracula and it pays off quite well. Dr. Werdegast is a very sympathetic character, although one bearing the scars of his own past all too visibly. In The Black Cat Bela Lugosi matches Boris Karloff in his performance, no small feat for any actor.

Even more notable than his performance in The Black Cat is Bela Lugsoi's performance in another film in which he was paired with Boris Karloff, The Invisible Ray (1936). While The Invisible Ray was definitely one of Universal's lesser efforts, it is worth watching for Mr. Lugosi's performance alone. The Invisible Ray centres on Dr.  Janos Rukh (Karloff), who discovers a new radioactive element that, unfortunately, both poisons him and turns him into a homicidal killer. Bela Lugosi plays Dr. Rukh's kindly associate Dr. Benet, who figures out a way the new element can be used for good (healing people, curing the blind, et. al.). Bela Lugosi gives what may be the best performance in the film. It is also one of his most restrained performances, with Mr. Lugosi making Dr. Benet a complex idealist who must deal with the fact that his friend has gone mad.

Of course, there are those rare films in which Bela Lugosi played neither hero nor villain. A movie in which this is the case is the classic Island of Lost Souls (1932), a pre-Code Paramount horror that is intense even by today's standards. The film was based on H. G. Wells' novel The Island of Dr. Moreau, in which Dr. Moreau (played in the film by Charles Laughton), who has been experimenting in turning animals into humans. Bela Lugosi plays one of the beast men known as "The Sayer of Law," the one who reminds the other beast men of the rules. The Sayer of Law is really neither hero nor villain, but simply a tragic character cast in a situation not of his own making. Mr. Lugosi gave what could be his best performance as the Sayer of Law, endowing the character with both dignity and pathos. Indeed, it is Bela Lugosi who has some of the films' best lines.

Another film in which Bela Lugosi played a character who was neither hero nor villain was Ninotchka (1939).  In the film Mr. Lugosi has the small role of Commissar Razinin. Commissar Razinin is a strict man known for sending individuals to Siberia. While Razinin is stern, it must be pointed out that he is only doing his job. Indeed, for as formidable as Razinin is, Bela Lugosi makes him likeable nonetheless. In fact, it is here that we can see that Mr. Lugosi was a great comic actor. Unfortunately, it would be his last supporting role in a mainstream, major feature film.


Sadly, Bela Lugosi would spend much of his career playing villains, usually in horror movies. In fact, his most famous role besides that of Dracula could be Ygor, the mad blacksmith with a twisted body from Universal's later "Frankenstein" movies. Ygor first appeared in Son of Frankenstein (1939). In Son of Frankenstein Ygor manipulates Frankenstein's Creature for his own evil ends. Ygor returned in Ghost of Frankenstein and, if anything, was even more demented than ever. Bela Lugosi did a very good job as Ygor, lending the character both madness and evil, while at the same time making him somewhat believable.

While Ygor may be Bela Lugosi's second most famous villainous role, it was by no means his best. That would perhaps be Dr. Richard Vollin in The Raven (1935). Dr. Vollin is a surgeon with a love of Edgar Allan Poe and a penchant for torture devices inspired by Poe's short stories It is then perhaps unfortunate that he becomes obsessed with the beautiful Jean Thatcher (Irene Ware). Bela Lugosi is very subtle in his performance as Dr. Vollin, a character who can be chivalrous and polite, but can turn cruel and sadistic. Even though Boris Karloff received top billing in The Raven, it is Bela Lugosi who is the real star. He is the primary villain of the film (Mr. Karloff played his unwilling henchman, convicted murderer Edmund Bateman) and he gives by far the best performance.

Although he was best known for playing villains in horror movies, Bela Lugosi appeared as a somewhat villainous character in the pre-Code comedy International House (1933). In the film he plays General Nicholas Petronovich ("formerly of the Russian Imperial Guard--at present general manager of the Moscow Utilities Company").  General Petronovich wants the radioscope (a sort of early television) invented by Dr. Wong (Edmund Breese) and is willing to use either trickery or intimidation in order to buy the rights to it. At the same time General Petrnovich is trying to win back his ex wife (Peggy Hopkins Joyce, playing herself) and jealous enough of millionaire Prof. Henry R. Quail (W. C. Fields) to take a shot at him.  In International House Bela Lugosi proves that he had a gift for comedy and does a great job with General Petronovich. While Petronovich is hot tempered, manipulative, and jealous, such is his charm and elegance that one can't help but like him (one gets the sense he is more bark than bite).

Of course, Bela Lugosi's most famous screen villain would remain Dracula, and he would have a chance to revisit the character in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). Mr Lugosi's performance as Dracula is much more naturalistic this time around. There are none of the affected gestures or broad displays to found in the film. Indeed, despite the fact that Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a comedy, Mr. Lugosi plays his role straight. Sadly, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein would be Bela Lugosi's last major motion picture. The rest of his career would be spent appearing in B-movies (and in the case of Ed Wood's films, Z-movies).

It seems obvious to me that Bela Lugosi was a very talented actor whose career should have gone very differently. It was perhaps his misfortune to star in Dracula, leading him to be typecast as a horror actor. While it is true that Mr. Lugosi never lost his Hungarian accent, that need not have been a hurdle to good roles. Many European actors, Marlene Dietrich and Herbet Lom being prime examples, never lost their native accents but played a wide variety of roles in both dramas and comedies. Of course, Bela Lugosi also had the disadvantage of having chronic sciatica that he developed due to injuries he had received while serving in World War I. This led to being treated with pain killers to which he became addicted. This resulted in dwindling roles as the Forties progressed. Even taking into account his eventual addiction to morphine, however, it seems that had he not been typecast and had Universal and was given better roles in non-horror films, Bela Lugosi could have been regarded as a truly gifted actor. Indeed, looking at his career, it seems to me that he may have actually been better suited to comedy roles than horror roles.

While Bela Lugosi would spend most of his career in horror movies, many of which were B-movies, he gave enough great performances that his talent should never have been in doubt. Boris Karloff himself described Bela Lugosi as "...a shy, sensitive, talented man..." Although as identified with Dracula as he has always been, many of Bela Lugosi's other roles are well deserving of rediscovery and his career is in need of re-evaluation. While his career may not have gone as well as it could have, Bela Lugosi left behind a legacy of great performances that have largely been ignored by the public at large.

Why I Don't Like The New YouTube Layout

It is a rare thing that I am unhappy with Google. Google is my search engine of choice. Google+ is my favourite social network. I have always liked Google Maps. There are very few things that I think Google could do better (Chrome is among them), but at the moment YouTube is definitely one of them.

It was a few days ago (at least for me--I don't think it has changed for everyone yet) that YouTube changed its look entirely. Unfortunately, for myself and perhaps others, it was a change for the worse. At one time when one went to the YouTube home page, one would see his or her subscriptions there and nothing else. A few months ago the home page was changed to display both recommended videos and videos people had shared on Google+. Even then one could check a box that would keep one's home page set so that he so she only saw his or her subscriptions. Sadly that is not the case with the new home page.

Now when I go to YouTube I am faced with a home page that displays not only my subscriptions, but recommended videos and videos people have shared on Google+ all mixed together. Now on the sidebar to the left there is a link to one's subscriptions, so it is not like one does not have a means of seeing his or her subscriptions alone. Still, it is not nearly as convenient as the way the home page once was. I really don't care what videos others are sharing on Google+. I can see that on Google+. And while looking through the recommended videos can be enjoyable, I don't want them mixed in with my subscriptions. When I go to the YouTube home page, I want to see material from my subscribed channels right away.

The other problem I have with the new YouTube layout is that there is just too much white. In fact, outside of the YouTube logo and the thumbnails of various videos and channels, and text, white seems to be the only colour on the page. As someone with light sensitive eyes, this makes the YouTube home page (and every other page on YouTube, for that matter) much too bright for comfortable viewing. To give you an idea of how different the home page looks, here is the way it looked a few days ago:

You'll notice that the left sidebar is black, the centre is white, and the rest of the page is a grey blue. I thought it was very easy on the eyes. Sadly, it now looks like this:

You'll notice that it is entirely white, with nothing to break up the white except for the grey blue bar at the top. Whereas at one time I found it very easy to look at the YouTube home page, now I find myself nearly blinded!

Of course, YouTube's new layout is not the only problem I have with the website. I also have a problem with changes they made to channels many months ago. At one time one could display a featured video on his or her channel, with one's other videos displayed on a sidebar to the right. That particular channel layout is no longer available. While one can still display a featured video, any other videos are automatically placed in an "Uploaded Videos" playlist. While I do want anyone who stumbles upon one of my videos to watch each one, I don't want them to be placed automatically in a playlist. My reasoning for this is simple. If a person wants to watch just one of my videos, he or she might not appreciate being forwarded to the next video in the playlist when the video he or she was watching ends! I know I do not appreciate it myself. For the past several months, then, my channel has not had a featured video and only the most boring layout!

If there is one upside to all of this, it is that Google, unlike some other web based companies, do listen to their customers. Several changes to Google+ have come about because of user feedback. I am then hoping that others will speak up, so that Google will the YouTube so it is a bit more practical and a lot more aesthetically pleasing. As it is, I don't want to adjust the brightness on monitor every time I visit YouTube.

Michael O'Hare R.I.P.

Michael O'Hare, who played Commander Jeffrey Sinclair on Babylon 5 and appeared on shows from Trapper John M.D. to Law & Order, died on 28 September 2012 at the age of 60. The cause was a heart attack.

Michael O'Hare was born on 6 May 1952 in Chicago. He attended Harvard, majoring in English literature. He later studied acting at the Juilliard School of Drama. He made his television debut in the mini-series The Adams Chronicles in 1976. He made his debut on Broadway in Players in 1978. In 1979 he made his film debut in The Promise In the late Seventies and in the Eighties he appeared on such shows as . T. J. Hooker, Trapper John M.D., Kate & Allie, The Equaliser, and Tales From the Darkside. He was a regular on the soap opera One Life to Live for a time. He appeared in such films as The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper (1981), C.H.U.D. (1984), Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989), By a Thread (1990), and The Ambulance (1990).  In 1979 he appeared on Broadway in a revival of Man and Superman.

From 1994 to 1996 he played Commander Sinclair on Babylon 5. In the Nineties he guest starred on L.A. Law, The Cosby Mysteries, and Law and Order. He appeared on Broadway in A Few Good Men and a revival of The Crucible.

Gary Collins Passes On

Actor and television host Gary Collins died 13 October 2012 at the age of 74.

Gary Collins was born in Venice, California on 30 April 1938. He attended Santa Monica City College, then served in the United States Army in Europe. While in the military he performed on the Armed Forces Network. He made his film debut in 1962 in The Pigeon That Took Rome. In the Sixties he appeared in such films as King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), Stranded (1965), Angel in My Pocket (1969), and Airport (1970) .  While he first appeared in films, it would be television that would dominate his career. He made his television debut in an episode of Kraft Suspense Theatre. In the Sixties he would be a regular on both The Wackiest Ship in the Army and Iron Horse. He appeared on such shows as Perry Mason, The Name of the Game, Bracken's World, and The Governor and J. J.

In the Seventies Gary Collins starred in the shows The Sixth Sense and Born Free. Beginning in 1980 he hosted Hour Magazine for eight years. He appeared in such shows as The F.B.I., Hawaii Five-O, Dan August, Marcus Welby M.D., Love American Style, The Six Million Dollar Man, Barnaby Jones, Tales of the Unexpected, and Charlie's Angels.  He appeared in the films Streets of Hong Kong (1979), Killer Fish (1979), Hangar 18 (1980). In the Eighties he hosted the Miss America pageant from 1982 to 1990. He also hosted The Home Show from 1989 to 1994. He appeared on such shows as Fantasy Island, Hotel, and The New Hollywood Squares.

From the Nineties into the Naughts he appeared on such shows as Friends, Dharma & Greg, and Dead Like Me. He was the host of Now Playing with Gary Collins.

As an actor Gary Collins was not overly versatile, although he did play his roles quite well. While he was not a versatile actor, however, he had real talent as a television host. Gary Collins was always warm and welcoming and very relaxed as a host. He seemed particularly skilled at putting people at ease and getting them to talk about themselves. It is little wonder he was nominated for the Emmy award six times and that he won the award for Outstanding Talk Show Host in 1983.

Dish Network REALLY Does Not Want to Keep Its Customers

As many of you already know, Dish Network dropped the AMC Networks' channels (including the popular channel AMC, home of Mad Men and Breaking Bad) on 1 July 2012 with the claim that the ratings were too low for the price AMC Networks was asking for their channels. AMC in turn charged that Dish Network actually dropped its channels because of an unrelated lawsuit that was brought against Dish Network by Voom Networks, a property of AMC Networks' former parent company Rainbow Media Holdings LLC (a lawsuit which some analysts are now urging Dish Network to settle). Regardless, from social media it has become clear that many Dish Network customers want at least AMC, if not the other AMC Networks' channels back, and are unhappy about missing some of their favourite shows (Dish Network's Facebook page is still filled with customers stating that they want AMC back). Sadly, during all of this Dish Network's reaction to their customers has at times left a lot to be desired.

To wit, Dish Network posted on their Facebook page the following message to its customers,”DISH understands that ‘The Walking Dead’ on AMC is a very popular series. To show appreciation, customers will be provided ‘Tales of the Apocalypse,’ a free scary movie fest every day in the month of October. Starting at 8 PM ET on Blockbuster Studio, channel 102, ‘Walking Dead’ fans can enjoy these horror/science-fiction commercial free movies. Additional On Demand scary movies will also be available for only 10 cents each. Visit http://bit.ly/UooiDI for full details as well as the full list of scary movies.”movies.”

Looking at the schedule, most of these movies one could easily watch on Amazon or Netflix or even rent at one's local video store (if there is still one in his or her community). That is, if one wants to watch them. While they are showing a few very good films and a few classics (the "Living Dead" movies, The Crow, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Omega Man, Re-Animator), it seems like most of the movies are absolute losers. Circuitry Man? Redneck Zombies? Death Valley: The Revenge of Bloody Bill? That's Dish Network's idea of substitutes for an Emmy winning horror series with a very faithful following? Speaking as a fan of horror movies from the silent era to the present and a fan of The Walking Dead, I would be downright insulted if a I were a Dish Network customer.

Quite frankly, I can't help but see this as a very feeble attempt on Dish Network's part to appease those customers who are angry at having lost AMC. And those customers don't seem to be few in number. As I said earlier, on Dish Network's Facebook page, there are a number of posts from customers still angry at losing AMC (in fact, there are so many one can spend several minutes scrolling through them). A search on Twitter turns up a good number of people angry at Dish Network for dropping AMC as well. Indeed, some are angry enough at Dish Network for dropping AMC that tomorrow Walking Dead fans will descend on Washington D.C. dressed as the walking dead to protest Dish Network still not carrying AMC (see this Washington Post article if you don't believe me!).

Dish Network has claimed that the AMC Networks were not a good value for their customers, but it seems quite apparent that many customers disagree. Indeed, regardless of how low rated IFC or WE (two channels owned by AMC Networks) are, for the year 2011 AMC ranked #17 in the top 20 highest rated cable channels. That is very good given that there are literally hundreds of cable channels out there. What is more, even if IFC and WE are low rated, I suspect they are higher rated than some of the channels Dish Network carries on their most basic package. Daystar? Angel Two? DIY Network? I suspect these channels get ratings that make IFC and WE look like ratings giants.

Of course, in the end it does not matter what ratings the various AMC Networks' channels get on Dish Network. The fact is that many Dish Network customers want AMC back and do not seem to mind if they have to pay more to get it either. That Dish Network has not yet resolved their dispute with AMC makes me think that they really don't care if they lose customers as a result of not carrying AMC. Granted, I don't think thousands of people would necessarily drop Dish Network if the dispute lasts much longer, but I think they will lose customers regardless. If the dispute lasts too long, they could lose enough customers to be hurt significantly. It seems to me, then, that it is in Dish Network's best interests to return AMC to their line up as soon as possible.

Together by Kina Grannis

I have felt sick most of today, so I don't feel up to a full fledged blog post. For that reason I'm leaving you with a song. This is "Together" by Kina Grannis. Miss Grannis is an acoustic pop performer whose sound, I think, sounds a little like folk. By the way, if this song sounds familiar, it's because Disney Restorts has been using it in their commercials (at least here in the United States). Anyhow, without further ado....

The Beatles & James Bond: 5 October 1962

According to the calendar, the Sixties began on 1 January 1961. If one is looking for the date when the Sixties really began, that day when it suddenly stopped being the Fifties and became the Sixties, one could probably find no better date than 5 October 1962. It was on this date, fifty years ago today, that The Beatles released their very first single, "Love Me Do" backed with "P.S. I Love You" in the United Kingdom. It was also on this date the very first James Bond movie, Dr. No, had its premiere in London. Given that the Sixties would largely be shaped by The Beatles and the other British bands that followed in their wake, as well as James Bond and the spy craze that the character's films would help intensify, one could perhaps say the Sixties began on 5 October 1962.

That what we know as the Sixties really did not begin until the arrival of The Beatles can be attested by what came out of their phenomenal success. From about 1956 to 1958 the United Kingdom saw a skiffle craze, skiffle being a genre of American folk music made with improvised instruments (washboards, jugs,  tea chest basses, et. al.). As the skiffle fad came to an end, many of the British skiffle bands would turn to rock 'n' roll. Among these skiffle bands were The Quarrymen, the band who would evolve into The Beatles. In the end rock 'n' roll bands began to emerge in such cities as Liverpool, Manchester, and Birmingham, as well as London. Liverpool and the surrounding Mersey area proved especially fertile ground for bands performing what was then called "beat music."  Concurrent with the emergence of beat music was the emergence of a number of rhythm and blues bands, such as The Spencer Davis Group, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, and so on.

The phenomenal success of The Beatles would lead to success for other beat bands, including fellow Liverpudlians Gerry & The Pacemakers and The Searchers; Manchester's Freddie & the Dreamers, Herman's Hermits, and The Hollies; London's Dave Clark Five; and so on.  In addition to the various beat bands who found success in the wake of Beatlemania were groups who drew in equal parts from the currents of both beat music and rhythm and blues, namely The Kinks and The Who. It is a bit of a cliché to say that what The Beatles began with the release of "Love Me Do" on 5 October 1962 was a revolution, but it also happens to be true. Prior to 1962 the music industry in the United Kingdom was dominated by London, with little input from other parts of Great Britain. The success of The Beatles changed all of that. All of a sudden the British music industry was overwhelmed by bands from such places as Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, and other English cities, and from places even further afield such as Glasgow, Scotland and Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Of course, The Beatles would not simply revolutionise the British music industry. They would revolutionise the American music industry as well. Contrary to popular belief there were British artists who had found some success in the United States prior to The Beatles. Lonnie Donegan, The Tornadoes, and The Springfields, among others, had all had hits in the Untied States prior to The Beatles. That having been said, it would be The Beatles would have the most success of any British band in the United States. Indeed, as in their native Britain, The Beatles became a veritable phenomenon in the United States (on 4 April 1964 Beatles songs would occupy the top five places of Billboard's Hot 100, a feat which has never been duplicated since). The Beatles' incredible success would begin what has become known as the British Invasion, that period from 1964 to 1966 when British artists would dominate the American charts. The British Invasion would have a lasting impact on the American music scene. Whereas at one time it was rare for British artists to hit the American charts, after 1964 it became a common, everyday occurrence. Music artists as diverse as Led Zeppelin, The Electric Light Orchestra, Duran Duran, Oasis, Coldplay, Amy Winehouse, and Adele then owe a debt of gratitude to The Beatles.

Of course, The Beatles became not only the most successful band in the United Kingdom and the United States, but in the world. As such they would have a lasting impact on rock music, in at least one instance creating a whole new subgenre of rock and having a huge influence on other subgenres. While the term "power pop" would not be coined by Pete Townshend until 1967 in a New Music Express article (nearly four years after The Beatles' first single), there can be no doubt that The Beatles invented the subgenre. Perhaps best described as a blend of Everly Brothers harmonies with an emphasis on electric guitar, the first power pop songs are also some of The Beatles' earliest songs: "She Loves You," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "Please Please Me," and so on. While The Beatles invented power pop, they would be an important influence on other rock subgenres. They would prove influential in the developing subgenre of psychedelia, with the songs "Tomorrow Never Knows" from the album Revolver and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" from the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. With songs such as "Eleanor Rigby," "Yesterday," and "I Am the Walrus," among others, The Beatles would have lasting influence on symphonic rock and such bands as The Electric Light Orchestra and The Nice. The Beatles would also have an influence on the related subgenre of progressive rock through various tracks on the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and the songs "I Am the Walrus," "Strawberry Fields Forever," and others. As strange as it may seem, The Beatles would also have an influence on heavy metal. The song "Helter Skelter (from the album The Beatles, better known as The White Album)" can be considered one of the earliest heavy metal songs written.

Ultimately the influence of The Beatles, not only on Anglophonic music and Anglophonic pop culture but on music and pop culture worldwide, cannot be measured. Along with Bob Dylan and a few others, The Beatles were among the first music artists to perform primarily songs that they had written themselves. Along with Frank Sinatra and a few other artists, The Beatles were among the first to place an emphasis on the record album, as opposed to singles. Before the Sixties ended this would become the norm for artists not only in the genre of rock music, but most other music genres as well. The Beatles would also be innovators in the recording studio.  For example, automatic double tracking (ADT) was invented by EMI engineer Ken Townsend for the album Revovler.  While The Beatles were hardly the first artists to use music videos, they were largely responsible for popularising the form with their various promotional films for songs ranging from "Help!" to "Something." The Beatles' movie A Hard Day's Night would revolutionise the rock musical.

The James Bond film franchise that was inaugurated with Dr. No would not be as revolutionary as The Beatles were (I am not sure anything is), but it would prove to very influential. James Bond was hardly a new character when he made his feature film debut on 5 October 1962. He had first appeared in the novel Casino Royale by Ian Fleming, published on 13 April 1953. By the time the film version of Dr. No was released, James Bond had already appeared in nine novels. Indeed, James Bond had already appeared on television. In 1954 the novel Casino Royale was adapted as an episode of the CBS anthology series Climax. Barry Nelson played James Bond, who was portrayed as American rather than British. In the Fifties Ian Fleming made various attempts to bring James Bond to the big screen. He approached producer Sir Alexander Korda about making a Bond movie. Unfortunately, while Sir Alexander Korda was initially interested, he would eventually turn the project down. Ian Fleming and producer Kevin McClory would make an attempt at making a Bond film with a screenplay written by Ian Fleming, Kevin McClory, and  Jack Whittingham in 1958, but the project never got off the ground. Ian Fleming would later turn the screenplay into the novel Thunderball.

It was in 1961 that producers Albert R. Broccoli and  Harry Saltzman bought the rights to every single Bond novel except for Casino Royale (whose rights were in other hands at the time). They were unable to interest any of the Hollywood studios in Bond films, who felt the novels were "too British" or objected to the rather open sexuality in the novels. In the end Messrs. Broccoli and Saltzman made an agreement with United Artists. They founded Eon Productions in order to produce Dr. No.  Dr. No would have a very small budget compared to other Bond movies, only £1,000,000. Initially, out of that budget production designer Ken Adam with which to design sets. Fortunately, he successfully argued for another £6,000. Sean Connery, who would forever become identified with the role, was cast as James Bond after  Albert R. Broccoli saw him in, of all things, a Disney movie: Darby O'Gill and the Little People. The now well known "James Bond Theme" was written by Monty Norman.

Dr. No premiered 5 October 1962 at the London Pavilion, Piccadilly Circus. Its general release throughout the Untied Kingdom was the next day. The film proved to a smash hit in Britain, grossing £840,000 in its first two weeks of release. Dr. No would be released over the early month of 1962 in the various countries of Europe, where it would also do well. Finally, about seven months after its release in the United Kingdom, Dr. No was released in the United States on 8 May 1963. In the United States it repeated the success it had elsewhere, grossing $2 million in its initial release. In the end Dr. No would gross $59.6 million worldwide.

The most immediate impact of the success of Dr. No was that it launched the James Bond film franchise. While other movie series have many more entries, at 50 years in age the James Bond film series is the by far the longest running series in movie history. With the release of Skyfall next month, there will be 22 Bond movies produced by Eon Productions. In total the James Bond movies have grossed $5 billion in total, making it the highest grossing film series when adjusted for inflation.

Of course, here it must be pointed out that, contrary to popular belief, Dr. No did not start the spy craze that swept the United Kingdom and the United States in the Sixties. At the time of the release of Dr. No the United Kingdom was already in the midst of a spy craze that had begun with the TV programmes The Avengers and Danger Man in 1961. In fact, much of the success of Dr. No in the United Kingdom was perhaps due to the ongoing spy craze in Britain. With regards to the United States, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., the initial series in the American broadcast networks' cycle towards spy show, was initially conceived in late 1962, before the release of Dr. No in the United States. While Dr. No would in a large part be responsible for bringing the British spy craze to the Untied States, then, the first American show to capitalise on that craze was already in the works before the film had even been released in the Untied States.

While Dr. No did not start the spy craze of the Sixties, it did play a large role in intensifying it and probably gave the spy craze a longer lifespan than it might have had otherwise. In the wake of the success of Dr. No several other spy films (some wholly different from the James Bond films, others outright imitators, and yet others spy spoofs) would follow throughout nearly the rest of the Sixties. Some of these films would be successful enough to create short lived movie series in their own right. This was the era of Matt Helm (The Silencers, Murderers' Row, The Ambushers, The Wrecking Crew),  Harry Palmer (The Ipcress File, Funeral in Berlin, Billion Dollar Brain), and Derek Flint (Our Man Flint, In Like Flint). The next several years would see the release of such films as Hot Enough for June (1964), Modesty Blaise (1966), Fathom (1967), and The President's Analyst (1967). From 1964 to 1968 it would be difficult to avoid spy movies at one's local theatres.

In the United Kingdom television was already in a cycle towards spy shows started by The Avengers and Danger Man in 1961 when Dr. No debuted, while The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was already in its planning stages even before the film made its way to the United States. This is not to say that Dr. No did not have an impact on television. In the United Kingdom the film perhaps injected even more life into the spy craze. In fact, the success of Dr. No and the continuing success of The Avengers may have played a role in the revival of Danger Man in an hour long format in 1964. As to the Untied States, it was perhaps the success of Dr. No that led to a spate of spy shows that debuted in the autumn of 1965. It and its follow up, From Russia With Love, may have also been responsible for the late blooming success of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., which began the 1964-1965 season at the bottom of the ratings, but had become an outright fad in the spring of 1965. While the success of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. came too late for it to inspire any of the new spy shows in the 1965-1966 season (which were most likely the progeny of Bond), it success may have been responsible for the new series that debuted in the 1966-1967 season, as well as the importation of such British spy series as The Avengers and Danger Man.


While Dr. No played a pivotal role in the continuation of the spy craze of the Sixties, it would also be rather subversive with regards to film. Though it seems tame today, in 1962 Dr. No was considered to be blatantly sexual. Indeed, James Bond has a sexual encounter within minutes of the beginning of the film. It would not be his last. The sexual content of Dr. No, tame by today's standards, would lead the Vatican to condemn the film. In the United States the Legion of Decency gave Dr. No a rating of  "B: Morally Objectionable In Part For All." While Dr. No was blatantly sexual for the era, at the same time the women of the film were hardly mere sex objects. Sylvia Trench (Eunice Gayson) and Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) were both sexually liberated, independent, self sufficient women. And while Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) may not have been sexually liberated, she was certainly intelligent, capable, and could get along quite well without having to depend upon a man. While the early Bond Girls may not have been as cutting edge as Mrs. Cathy Gale on The Avengers before them or Mrs. Emma Peel on The Avengers only a little later, they were certainly a sharp contrast to many women in film before them. In fact, among their few precedents may have been Hitchcock's heroines. Dr. No then occupies a special place in film history, a film made at the start of the sexual revolution and one that took full advantage of that fact.

Dr. No would also set the pace for many spy adventures to come. While many of Hitchcock's spy thrillers (The 39 Steps and North by Northwest) and the TV series The Avengers were done with tongue firmly in cheek before Dr. No, it is arguably because of Dr. No that so many of the spy thrillers of the Sixties and later would be tongue in cheek. This would become even more pronounced as the Sixties progressed, with many spy films and eventually the later Bond entries becoming tongue in cheek to the point of self parody. Regardless, it would be Dr. No that would provide the template not only for all Bond films to come, but several other spy films to come as well.

Together The Beatles and Dr. No would largely shape what we know as the Sixties. The success of The Beatles would lead to success for other British music artists and largely provide the soundtrack to the decade. Dr. No would launch the James Bond movie franchise and add fuel to a spy craze that was already under way in the United Kingdom. Both The Beatles and the James Bond movies would create rampant Anglophilia in the United States that would dominate the nation for much of the Sixties and never has quite died out. The Beatles' success in the United States would launch the British Invasion, which would see such bands as The Dave Clark Five, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Hollies, and The Who successively conquer America. Dr. No would help bring the spy craze to the United States and would inspire other spy films and television series to the point that the majority of the decade was dominated not by cowboys, detectives, or doctors, but by spies. Together The Beatles and James Bond not only shaped the Sixties, but they changed the world. While the United States had dominated entertainment and pop culture for much of the 20th Century, in the Sixties the United Kingdom could lay claim to the most successful band of all time and the most successful superspy as well.