Honeychile Rider is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James BondnovelDr. No. In the 1962 Bond film of the same name, her name was shortened and changed to Honey Ryder. In the film, she is played by Swiss actress Ursula Andress and due to her heavy accent was dubbed by Nikki van der Zyl. In the film series, Ryder is widely regarded as the first Bond girl, although she is not the first woman in the film to be with Bond. Ryder's entrance in the film, emerging from the ocean in a white bikini, holding two large seashells, while the sun shines on her wet blonde hair, is considered a classic James Bond moment, establishing both the character and actress as a sex symbol. The bikini is a movie invention - in the corresponding scene of the original novel, the character Honeychile Rider emerges wearing her belt only. Andress referred to the Dr. No bikini as the "secret of her success". As an homage, Halle Berry performed a similar scene in an orange bikini in the 20th James Bond film, Die Another Day. Ursula Andress was later mentioned by name in the novelOn Her Majesty's Secret Service, and described as a "beautiful movie star". As such, Andress is the first of only two entertainers that have actually starred in a Bond film to be mentioned by Fleming in his James Bond novels. The other is David Niven who co-starred as James Bond in the 1967 film adaptation of Casino Royale which also starred Andress.
Novel
Honeychile Rider is a Jamaican shell diver, descended from an old-established colonial family. She was orphaned at the age of five when her parents' house was burned down. She then lived with her black nanny in a cellar until she was 15, when her nanny died. Rider reveals that she was also raped as a young girl by the overseer of the property on which she lives. She later avenged her rape by killing the man with a poisonous spider. Rider is an independent and very beautiful woman, with the minor imperfection of a broken nose, a lasting memory of the time the overseer punched her in the face to subdue her before sexually assaulting her. She became a shell diver near Crab Key in order to make enough money by selling the shells to American collectors, so that she can then have plastic surgery performed on her nose. While on Crab Key, she meets James Bond and confides in him she dreams of becoming a call girl in New York City order to live a good lifestyle. Bond gently dissuades her, citing how sordid prostitution is. Rider and Bond are later captured by Dr. Julius No, who attempts to kill Rider by tying her to some rocks and allowing crabs to eat her alive. However, she is aware that the crabs do not like human flesh and they won't attack her. She escapes, meets up with a badly injured Bond and, after Bond kills Dr. No's three hired assassins, they steal his armored dune buggy and escape to Bond's hidden canoe. Rider then single-handedly sails them back to Jamaica while Bond lies unconscious in the bottom of the canoe. She then tends his wounds until he can get to a hospital the next day. It is implied in the book that she and Bond will later travel to New York City where Rider will get her nose fixed; and that on her return, she will work at the Jamaican natural history museum. Before they part, Bond and Rider have dinner at her home, and the couple share a romantic night together before Bond leaves Jamaica. In later novels, Bond divulges that Honeychile Rider moved to Philadelphia, where she married a doctor by the name of Wilder and had two children with him.
Film
Honey Ryder is a beachcomber making a living selling seashells in Miami. As in the novel, she is a very independent woman claiming to not need help from anyone. Resourceful and courageous, Ryder states that she can defend herself against any hostile when she first meets Bond. Although she is at first wary of Bond, he is allowed to get closer when he comments that his intentions are honourable. Like Pussy Galore in Goldfinger, Ryder does not appear until halfway through the film. She comes out of the ocean singing "Under the Mango Tree", Bond startles her when he joins in singing. She pulls her dagger out, wary of Bond's position but grows to trust him. Ryder shows Quarrel and Bond a secret way to escape No's men, while being chased. After they evade No's men, she tells Bond how her father died when on Crab Key, and that she was raped by a local landlord. Ryder relates how she got her revenge by putting a black widow spider in his mosquito net and causing his lingering death. When in a marshy region of the island, Quarrel, Bond and Ryder have a close encounter with No's "dragon". Quarrel dies and the remaining two get captured. No's men wash away radiation that Honey and Bond got on their clothes and they get rooms of luxury. The next day, they meet Doctor No. When in conversation, No has Ryder taken away. After Bond kills No, he saves her from the island and they make love in a towed boat.
Reception
In a UK survey conducted in 2003 by Channel 4, the character's entrance in Dr. No was voted number one in "the 100 Greatest Sexy Moments". Honey Ryder was voted the best Bond Girl by Entertainment Weekly. Author Anthony Horowitz named his James Bond tribute character Alex Rider after Honeychile Rider.
