DR. NO

1962, Terence Young, 109 mins. 

James Bond investigates nefarious deeds in the Caribbean.

The first Bond movie is a brisk and enjoyable spy thriller with a star-making performance from Sean Connery as our favourite spy and iconic turns from Ursula Andress and Joseph Wiseman as the archetypal Bond Girl and Bond Villain. It’s noticeably more grounded in some kind of reality than later films in the series and it’s lacking several elements which would later become indispensable – notably the theme song and the pre-credits teaser. But it’s already looking like the beginning of a franchise thanks to Ken Adam’s extravagant designs, Ted Moore’s colour cinematography and the insolent wit of the dialogue. It’s really Connery’s show though and he’s irresistibly watchable, whether trading bon mots with Miss Moneypenny, growling seductively at Sylvia Trench or performing unusually believable tradecraft in his Jamaican apartment. Not forgetting the wonderful James Bond theme played by John Barry.  

ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE

1969, Peter Hunt, 142 mins.

The first Bond movie without Sean Connery sees Bond battle Blofeld in Switzerland.

My favourite Bond movie and one of the best films of the Sixties. It’s got just about everything; wit, charm, astonishingly visceral action, a pounding John Barry score, gorgeous location photography, and classic villains in the shape of Ilse Steppat’s Irma Bunt and Telly Savalas’s definitive Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Admittedly, it’s also got George Lazenby but, personally, I like him – he does very well in the action scenes and has genuine presence, while his engagement with proceedings is a vast improvement on Sean Connery’s efforts in his later Bond movies. He has a lot to carry too – a more emotional storyline than usual which allows the role of the Bond girl, in the shape of Diana Rigg, to be fully developed; and an ending which hits you like a hard blow to the gut even when you know it’s coming.  

OCTOPUSSY

1983, John Glen, 131 mins.

Bond in India and East Berlin and, er, Sotheby's.

Despite misgivings, this is one of my favourite Bond movies. The stereotypical portrayal of India jars – although it helps if you see it as part of the “Boy’s Own” tradition of Gunga Din – and some of the "adolescent antics" disapprovingly mentioned by Q are embarrassing in the context of Roger Moore’s obvious age. But on the whole it's a brisk, funny, and exciting film, which looks a treat and offers two delicious bad guys - Louis Jourdan's exquisitely wry Kemal Khan and General Orlov, played by a madly overacting Steven Berkoff. The technical credits are, as you’d expect, top-notch. There’s a fine John Barry score and a nice cameo from the extraordinary eyebrows of Douglas Wilmer. Dreary Maud Adams in the title role drags the film down, but thankfully doesn't have too much to do, and the ending is strangely anti-climactic.