The source cues in Dr. No come courtesy of Monty Norman, composer of both the movie’s score and the iconic “James Bond Theme,” which makes its debut here. When producers Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli and Harry Saltzman enlisted Norman to compose the score, they also invited him to Jamaica, where filming was underway, to soak up the music of the island as he was writing.
Norman took them up on their offer — later, he would joke that he only accepted the job because of the all-expenses-paid trip to the Caribbean for him and his wife. Once in Jamaica, he wrote a handful of songs and other pieces of music influenced by the music he heard there.
“Under the Mango Tree”
First is “Under the Mango Tree,” Norman’s stab at writing a Jamaican folk song. Three different versions of “Mango Tree” appear in the movie: one sung by Norman himself, which plays on a radio the first time Bond enter Puss Feller’s club; another sung by Diana Coupland, Norman’s wife and a veteran of British stage and screen, on the LP Bond plays in Miss Taro’s home; and the third sung by the characters Honey Ryder and (briefly) Bond in the iconic scene in which Ryder emerges from the sea wearing only a bikini and a diver’s belt with a sheathed knife.
“Jump Up”
The other song to feature prominently in Dr. No is “Jump Up,” a calypso tune that Norman wrote for the group playing in Puss-Feller’s club as Bond, Felix Leiter and Quarrel try to unravel the mystery of Crab Key. The group in the club was portrayed by — and the songs they performed recorded by — Byron Lee & the Dragonaires, one of Jamaica’s most popular dance bands at the time.
“Love at Last”
One other piece of source music is heard in the movie: “Love at Last,” which plays in the Queens Club as Bond interviews Commander Strangways’ bridge partners. Written by Norman, and melodically vaguely reminiscent of “Under the Mango Tree,” the calypso piece was recorded for the movie by the John Barry Orchestra, who also recorded the underscore.