Bond’s first nemesis bids farewell
V. GANGADHAR
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Joseph Wiseman, the villain in the first James Bond film, ‘Dr. No,’ died recently at age 91. His career in films, theatre and television spanned 60 years.
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Joseph Wiseman
In myth or history, fact or fiction one finds the villainous characters more interesting than the virtuous ones. So too in cinema… evil personalities such as Gabbar Singh, Darth Vader, the Joker and Dr Hannibal Lecter are some examples. When
the 1962 movie ‘Dr No’, based on the late Ian Fleming’s book of the same name, was released, it presented to the audience a dynamic new hero James Bond (Sean Connery), a ‘Venus’ who emerged from the sea (Ursula Andress) and a menacing villain with an unusual name – Dr Julius No – ready to destroy the world. Dr. Julius No was played by Joseph or Joe Wiseman, who died recently at age 91, after a 60-year-career in films, theatre and television.
Ian Fleming realised that having created a memorable new hero, he must be pitted against an equally powerful villain and his portrait gallery was adorned with evil men and women who reached great heights in villainy and often threatened to destroy the ‘Free World’ as seen by the writer.
Dr. Julius No makes a rather late entry in the film. Tall, erect, dressed in black with cold eyes and a metal, artificial arm, he cut a menacing figure. His undersea kingdom is unbelievably luxurious, his men – vicious thugs – who control huge dogs and operate a ‘dragon’ (some kind of a vehicle), with powerful lights.
Of German and Chinese parentage, Dr. No finds himself a natural in the world of crime in China. He has worked with the most vicious gangs, lost one of his arms and after extracting bloody revenge, escaped with a booty of a million dollars to Florida where he developed his unique underwater kingdom. With money, comes the greed for power. He helps the Soviets to abort the US rockets launched from Florida, but later operates independently helping criminal organisations such as SPECTER and SMERSH. When the British intelligence chief at Jamaica scents his presence, Dr No has him murdered. This act, puts the famous agent 007 (James Bond) on his track.
After capturing Bond, Dr. No does not kill him but puts him through a deadly obstacle course. Since nothing is impossible for Bond, he escapes, takes steps to destroy Dr. No’s island and has him smothered to death under a shower of guano dust!
A colourful life and a gruesome death. This is the end the Fleming villains, many of whom seek power to conquer the world, face.
A recap of Bond villains
Mr Big, the black boss of the Harlem underworld in ‘Live and Let Die’ practises voodoo to terrorise his people and at the end, thanks to Bond, is eaten by sharks and barracuda. The master villain, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, appears in three novels, ‘Thunderball’, ‘On Her Majesty’s Service’ and ‘You only Live Twice’ before Bond batters him to death in his Japanese Garden of Death. Like Dr. No, Goldfinger has dreams to conquer the world by acquiring all the gold stored at Fort Knox. He turns out to be such an interesting creation that Fleming names the novel after him! Bond strangles him inside an aircraft.
Sir Hugo Drax (‘Moonraker’), another menacing creation hides his deformed face under an enormous moustache and the atomic weapon he develops to destroy England, boomerangs on him! The Spang brothers in ‘Diamonds are Forever’ are also eliminated by Bond as is Scaramanga (‘The Man With The Golden Gun’), who kills his opponents with a golden gun and gold plated bullets. Scaramanga is unique as he has three nipples, the third one in the middle of his chest!
Gert Frobe, a popular German actor played Goldfinger, but no one could match the versatility and experience of Joe Wiseman.
Wiseman, a Canadian, made his Broadway debut in the 1938 hit, ‘Abe Lincoln in Illinois’ and ended with, after nearly 60 years, a role in the Nazi war drama, ‘Judgment at Nuremberg.’
As for movies, he had been hugely popular in the 1950s starting with the film that ushered in the Kirk Douglas era, ‘The Detective,’ where he had a cameo part. He co-starred with the top stars of his time, Marlon Brando (‘Viva Zapata’ directed by John Huston), Burt Lancaster and Audrey Hepburn (‘The Unforgiven’), Rex Harrison and Rita Hayworth (‘Happy Thieves’) and Sir Laurence Olivier (‘The Betsy,’ from a Harold Robbins novel).
He did some forgettable Biblicals such as ‘Silver Chalice’(the debut film of Paul Newman) and ‘The Prodigal’ (starring Lana Turner). Wiseman was much in demand in the crime-related TV serials including the popular ‘LA Law,’ ‘Law and Order’, ‘Crime Story’ and ‘The Twilight Zone.’ Yet, even today the world remembers Joe Wiseman as Dr. No !
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