"Climax!" Casino Royale (1954)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

William H. Brown Jr.

Writers:

Charles Bennett (writer)
Anthony Ellis (writer)

TV Series:

"Climax!" (1954)

Original Air Date:

21 October 1954 (Season 1, Episode 3)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

American spy James Bond must outsmart card wiz and crime boss LeChiffre while monitoring his actions.

Plot Keywords:

Spy | American | Soviet | Gambling | Franc

Cast

Barry Nelson	...	James Bond
Peter Lorre	...	Le Chiffre
Linda Christian	...	Valerie Mathis
Michael Pate	...	Clarence Leiter
Eugene Borden	...	Chef de Partie
Jean Del Val	...	Croupier (as Jean DeVal)
Gene Roth	...	Basil
Kurt Katch	...	Zoltan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William Lundigan	...	Host

Runtime:

48 min | USA:58 min | USA:50 min | USA:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG (video rating) | USA:Not Rated (VHS) | USA:Unrated (DVD) | USA:Not Rated (video) | UK:U (VHS)

Filming Locations:

CBS Television City - 7800 Beverly Blvd., Fairfax, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

CBS Television Network

Trivia:

The "Casino Royale" tele-movie was lost for decades until it resurfaced in 1981 when film collector and airlines executive Jim Shoenberger discovered a 16mm kinescope print of it amongst some old cans of film. The copies were labeled "Casino Royale" and he thought they were the Casino Royale (1967) James Bond parody. When he realized they were black-and-white prints, he played the reels out of curiosity as the 1967 spoof was a color movie. The 1954 telemovie was thence rediscovered and it was screened in a theater, shown on TBS and released on videocassette. It is now available on DVD.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: A prop gun went off accidentally right at the beginning of the show. Four shots are heard but only three gunshot markings are seen on the casino building.

Quotes:

Zuroff: [Clarence Leiter is on telephone. Zuroff walks over with a gun under a black cloak] Mr Leiter
[Points now visible gun at Leiter's back. Leiter turns around to face him. Zuroff conceals gun under cloak]
Zuroff: That money you have. Would you kindly put it on the table. I believe it to be twenty six million francs. We want it.
Clarence Leiter: That makes it very awkward. Because I want it too.
Zuroff: You have exactly ten seconds to do as I say.
Chef DePartre: [Phone rings. The Chef De Partie walks over] Excuse me Mr Leiter.
Clarence Leiter: It's quite all right. I think the call's for me and in any case just a moment would you do me a kind favor. Take this money to the cashier, tell him to hold it for Mr Bond who will pick it up later this evening
[He hands him banknotes from his wallet]
Clarence Leiter: Thank you very much
[Chef de Partie exits]
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Real Casino Royale (2006) (TV)

First Appearance of James Bond...on American TELEVISION!

When Ian Fleming published the first 007 novel, "Casino Royale", in 1952, he envisioned it as being made as a movie, and began 'selling' it to anyone who might be interested. He quickly struck a deal, but soon discovered that he'd made a bad bargain; once he'd relinquished the rights, not only did he lose any control over how it would be used, or where, but on any potential revenue from it, as well. He'd be far more cautious in future, but "Casino Royale" became the one 'Bond' title that Eon Productions wouldn't own...giving it a convoluted history that is worth a book on it's own!

American television, in the 1950s, was called the "Golden Age" of 'live' drama, in part because recording techniques were so primitive. Short of actually filming productions, which was costly and time-consuming, the only way of recording was on videotape's predecessor, which was grainy, dark, and really awful. As a result, much would be performed 'live', with the taping only made as a record of the airing.

A lot of plays, stories, and novels were edited into half-hour and hour-long television programs, and "Casino Royale" was adapted, by Charles Bennett and Anthony Ellis, for an episode of the "Climax!" TV series. Changing sophisticated British spy James Bond into American CIA operative "Card-Sense Jimmy Bond", the characters were toned (and in some cases DUMBED) down for American audiences (I think the writers thought the Yank idea of 'sophistication' was beer in a glass). Vesper Lynd became Valerie Mathis, CIA agent Felix Leiter became British agent Clarence(?) Leiter, etc. The villain's name remained 'Le Chiffre', although his method of torture (caning one's genitals in an open-seated rattan chair) was 'cleaned up'...

As Bond, veteran American actor Barry Nelson was smug, confident, and independent, preferring a 'lone hand' to outside interference. I met Nelson in the early 1990s, and asked if he remembered the production. He said he recalled little of it (as the production was 'live' and he was very busy in a variety of projects), but that, he recalled, Peter Lorre, as Le Chiffre, had trouble remembering his lines, and ad-libbed a lot.

Within television's limitations, the basic plot (of Bond beating an enemy agent at the gambling tables to prevent him from recouping 'lost' espionage funds) is pretty faithful to the novel (which was based on Fleming's own wartime experiences). Despite this, the production is stagy (with only two sets), rife with missed cues and flubs, and overripe performances. Lorre does make a good villain, however, certainly better than some of the later film ones! All in all, the production offers novelty value, and little else...