Prof. Dent (Anthony Dawson)

R. J. Dent
Character information
Alias(es)	Professor Dent
Title/rank	Professor
Age	40
Died	c.1962, Kingston, Jamaica
Hair	Brown, short
Eyes	Blue
Height	6'2" (1.88 m)
Nationality	British
Occupation	Professor Geologist Enforcer
Affiliation	Dr. Julius No
Status	Deceased; shot by 007
Behind the scenes
Role	Henchman
Portrayed by	Anthony Dawson
First seen	Dr. No (film)
Last seen	Dr. No (film)

"You might as well know, as you won't live to use the information. I'm working for... (pulls out gun, but realises it is out of bullets)"
"That's a Smith & Wesson, and you've had your six."

― Last exchange between R.J. Dent and James Bond

Professor R. J. Dent was a professional geologist who worked in a lab in Kingston, Jamaica. He also secretly worked as a henchman for evil scientist and SPECTRE operative, Dr. Julius No, who was attempting to sabotage missile launch programs with a high powered radio beam, powered by a nuclear reactor on his private island Crab Key. Dent is the secondary antagonist in EON Productions' 1962 film, Dr. No, and was portrayed by the late British actor Anthony Dawson.

Biography

Background

R.J. Dent is a metallurgist based in Jamaica and runs an experimental laboratory in Kingston. He is considered an honourable man with a spotless record, but is in fact a henchman of Dr. Julius No, who is plotting sinister things from the private island of Crab Key. Dent is No's confidant in Kingston and is widely respected there.

Killing Strangways

John Strangways, a field operative of the British Secret Service, had collected some mineral samples from Crab Key (Dr. No's island) and sent them to Dent to be analyzed. A worried Dent alerted No, and Strangways and his secretary Mary Trueblood were later assassinated by The Three Blind Mice, also No's enforcers. When James Bond arrives in Jamaica to investigate Strangways' disappearance, he first meets Dent at Queen's Club, where he and Strangways had often played cards with Pleydell Smith and General Potter.

Confrontation with Bond and Death

Bond notices that Dent was the only person who had seen Trueblood, and suspects that he is involved with the assassinations. Later, Bond interviews Dent about a receipt from Dent's practice he found in Strangways' office. He also questions him about some samples Strangways had sent to be analyzed and Dent says they were uninteresting and had discarded them. He also tells Bond that they were definitely not from Crab Key.

Suspicious, Bond later tests Quarrel's boat for traces of radiation using the Geiger counter he requested earlier. He notices that there are abnormally high levels of radiation where Strangways had loaded the rocks, which signals to Bond that Dent is a liar. At the same time, Dent goes to Crab Key during the day, breaking a strict rule of Dr. No's, to warn Dr. No about Bond discovering the samples. Dr. No informs him that if Bond reaches the island Dent would be held responsible. He is given a tarantula to murder Bond. During the night, Bond is awoken by the spider and narrowly escapes death by killing the spider with one of his shoes.

The next day, Miss Taro, who is also an agent of Dr. No's, invites Bond to her house to lure him into a trap. He is chased by The Three Blind Mice but manages to escape, killing them and arriving at his destination. A surprised Taro answers the door and when she receives a call from Dent, she tells him that Bond is with her. Dent tells her to keep him there and entertained for a few hours. Bond suggests going out for dinner and calls for a cab. However, he has actually called Government House and Taro is arrested.

Bond waits for Dent, putting some pillows under the sheets of the bed to make it look like he is sleeping. Dent opens the door and shoots the decoy. However, he turns around and sees Bond in a chair with his own suppressed pistol. Bond immediately tells Dent to drop his pistol on the floor, which lands on a blanket and orders Dent to sit on the bed and begins questioning the Doctor, placing his own pistol in his lap. Dent tells him that Dr. No is behind the whole master plan and while Dent's gun is on the floor, he uses his leg to pull the blanket and pistol toward himself. When Bond turns his head momentarily, Dent snatches up the pistol and tries to shoot his captor. Bond confidently and casually remarks "That's a Smith and Wesson. And you've had your six." Bond coldly shoots him. As he lies on the floor, he shoots him again, killing him.

Behind the scenes

Casting

Anthony Dawson met director Terence Young when he was working as a stage actor in London, but by the time of the film's shooting Dawson was working as a pilot and crop duster in Jamaica.

Controversy

"That's a Smith and Wesson. And you've had your six."

Dent's death scene was controversial because it showed James Bond killing a man in cold blood. Even though Ian Fleming had conceived the character as one who is authorised to commit such actions, in none of his novels is Bond shown acting in this manner. According to James Bond: The Legacy, the filmmakers needed a scene to illustrate the "licensed to kill" concept and in fact had originally filmed the scene to show Bond firing several more bullets into Dent (more directly illustrating Bond's "you've had your six" remark), but ultimately removed all but the first two shots. Some televised broadcasts remove Bond's second shot.

Gallery

Prof. Dent (Anthony Dawson)/Gallery

Trivia

• Dent does not appear in the Dr. No novel and is exclusive to the film. There is a professor character in the novel, but his name is not given and he is not implied to be working for the enemy in any capacity.
• Anthony Dawson met director Terence Young when he was working as a stage actor in London, but by the time of the film's shooting, Dawson was working as a pilot and crop duster in Jamaica.
• Dawson also portrayed Ernst Stavro Blofeld in From Russia with Love and Thunderball, although his face was never seen and his voice was dubbed by Eric Pohlmann.
• He is only the second villain (after The Three Blind Mice) that is killed by James Bond.
• Bond identifies Dent's pistol as a "Smith and Wesson" that holds six shots. It is actually a Colt M1911A1 in .45 caliber. S&W had not made a pistol like Dent's at the time (i.e. 1962) and only in 2003 would the company introduce the SW1911. Presumably the pistol was supposed to be a S&W revolver but was probably changed during the shoot. Additionally, when Dent has fired his six shots into the decoy Bond had prepared, the slide visibly locks after the last round is fired, indicating that Dent is out of bullets. A moment later we see the pistol on the floor with the slide in the firing position.
• Bond's pistol in the scene is not his standard issue Walther PPK (actually a PP model with a longer barrel and slide). It is a FN Browning M1910, fitted with a suppressor. The pistol was substituted for the PPK when a proper suppressor couldn't be found by the prop department for the PP/PPK.