Category - Movies

63 Years Ago, The First James Bond Movie Filmed Its Last Scene First

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One of the most famous scenes in all of cinema history is Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress), emerging from the ocean in a white bikini, as James Bond (Sean Connery) looks on in awe. But, this wasn't the first time that Connery and Andress actually filmed a scene together. In fact, as it turns out, exactly 63 years ago, the first scene Connery and Andress did for the very first James Bond movie was, in fact, the final scene in the movie. 

As shared by the official James Bond Twitter/X account, February 2, 1962, found Sean Connery and Ursula Andress jumping into a boat in Jamaica to film the final escape scene in Dr. No. This effectively ended the movie, even though all the scenes which would occur chronologically elsewhere in the film, were shot later. So, when Connery first "saw" Andress emerge from the ocean, they'd already both filmed the finale, in which Bond and Honey sailed off into the sunset. (Though as the Bond account notes, their final kiss was shot later on the sound stages at Pinewood Studios.)

On this day in 1962, Sean Connery and Ursula Andress filmed their first scene together for DR NO in Jamaica. The scene was actually the final scene of the film, Bond and Honey Ryder escape Dr No’s Island in a small boat. The kiss at the very end was shot later at Pinewood… pic.twitter.com/z4bK0xkJfQ

— James Bond (@007) February 2, 2025

Something notable about Connery in these scenes in Dr. No is that he's very much not the suave, well-dressed James Bond of our imaginations. Instead, the finale of Dr. No finds Bond in a full-on Die Hard situation, crawling along in hot pipes in a torn, ordinary white t-shirt. One aspect of Dr. No that is often forgotten was just how working-class Sean Connery scanned to both UK and US audiences, partially because he was a relatively unknown actor when he debuted as James Bond. Connery was a literal truck driver before pursuing a career in bodybuilding, and then acting, and much of his tough, working-class grit shone through as Bond in Dr. No.

So, as the first Bond began filming the franchise's very famous onscreen couple, everything started at the end, and James Bond was dressed like an ordinary guy who had a very bad dad and needed a shower.

Dr. No (1962) is available to rent on Amazon, Apple, Fandango and elsewhere.

Related: Next James Bond Movie Rumored To Bring Back the Franchise's Secret Weapon