Casino Royale (1967)

In an early spy spoof, aging Sir James Bond comes out of retirement to take on SMERSH.

Directors:

Val Guest, Ken Hughes (as Kenneth Hughes)

Writers:

Wolf Mankowitz (screenplay), John Law (screenplay)

Stars:

David Niven, Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Sellers	...	Evelyn Tremble (James Bond - 007)
Ursula Andress	...	Vesper Lynd (007)
David Niven	...	Sir James Bond
Orson Welles	...	Le Chiffre
Joanna Pettet	...	Mata Bond
Daliah Lavi	...	The Detainer (007)
Woody Allen	...	Jimmy Bond (Dr. Noah)
Deborah Kerr	...	Agent Mimi (Alias Lady Fiona)
William Holden	...	Ransome
Charles Boyer	...	Le Grand
John Huston	...	McTarry (M)
Kurt Kasznar	...	Smernov
George Raft	...	George Raft
Jean-Paul Belmondo	...	French Legionnaire (as Jean Paul Belmondo)
Terence Cooper	...	Cooper (James Bond - 007)

Storyline

After the death of M, Sir James Bond is called back out of retirement to stop SMERSH. In order to trick SMERSH and Le Chiffre, Bond thinks up the ultimate plan. That every agent will be named James Bond. One of the Bonds, whose real name is Evelyn Tremble is sent to take on Le Chiffre in a game of baccarat, but all the Bonds get more than they can handle.

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Plot Keywords:

spy spoof | 007 | spy | parody | spoof | 

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Taglines:

CASINO ROYALE . . . the greatest JAMES BOND! 007 show on earth ! [Australian Daybill Movie Poster]

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English French Scottish Gaelic German Japanese

Release Date:

28 April 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Charles K. Feldman's Casino Royale

Filming Locations:

MGM British Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$22,744,718, 31 December 1967

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$41,744,718, 31 December 1967

Company Credits

Production Co:

Famous Artists Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System) (70 mm prints) Mono (35 mm prints)

Color:

Black and White (archive footage: Keystone Cops) Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cameos by Frank Sinatra, Sophia Loren, and Barbra Streisand were planned.

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Goofs

When Bond (Niven) and Moneypenny are trying to escape the secret SMERSH base, we suddenly cut back to them and see that Mata Bond and Cooper have wordlessly joined them. Although Mata Bond was put in the same base earlier, Cooper was last seen much earlier in the film safe at MI5, and his presence in the base id never explained.

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Quotes

Frau Hoffner: Come along, child. The auction is about to begin.
Mata Bond: Auction?
Frau Hoffner: Tonight we are selling one of the finest art collections in Europe.
Mata Bond: Le Chiffre's collection?
Frau Hoffner: Who?
Mata Bond: Le Chiffre.
Frau Hoffner: Who's Le Chiffre?
Mata Bond: The man who owns the collection.
Frau Hoffner: What collection?
Mata Bond: The collection that's about to be auctioned.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The opening credit animation by Richard Williams parodies illuminated manuscripts with cartoon-style calligraphy. It sets the tone for the film as a psychedelic "knight's tale" of Sir James Bond.

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Connections

Version of Climax!: Casino Royale (1954)

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Soundtracks

Frere Jacques
(uncredited)
french folksong
[Sang in the scene before the intro]

User Reviews

Everyone is James Bond in Psychedelic Mishmash

This was the Bond title unable to be used by the filmmakers of the regular Bond film series, until the end of the century (they finally got to it for the restart in 2006). So, the intent here was a spoof of the then-wildly popular Bond/spy mania of the mid-sixties. Of course, this wasn't the first such effort; others already began the "Our Man Flint" duo film series and "The Man From UNCLE" on TV was in full swing, not to mention "Get Smart." So, how to outdo them? Get five top notch directors. Get as many sixties stars as possible. Get everything but the kitchen sink (literally, in the over-the-top climax). The original intent was to have each director do their own little mini-movie spoof - an anthology; they ended up editing everything together into one so-called film. A heady brew and, predictably, largely incomprehensible. In addition, actor Sellers, the nominal star, left before completing all his scenes, so his personal trajectory is less than smooth - as if a scene is missing, naturally. If you pay very close attention, you might be able to follow about 50% of the plot, but do you really want to put so much effort into watching a comedy?

Some of this editing is quite clumsy: the first pre-credits scene, a short one, features Sellers, as if the producers are pointing out to us that he is indeed in this movie (he doesn't show up again until 40 minutes later). Welles doesn't show up until the 80-minute mark. The first sequence concentrates on Niven, the real James Bond. He's in retirement but is forced back into a weird plot by the heads of all the world's spy agencies. This first half-hour, except for the scene with the lions, is slow and mostly stupid, not funny-stupid as intended, involving Kerr and a lot of dull fun at the expense of the Irish, for some reason, and painfully obvious joking about Bond's sexual magnetism. There's also one sly poke at the real Bond film series and its gadgetry; apparently, that Bond, of "Goldfinger" and "Thunderball" fame, is actually a replacement for the pure spy played by Niven, who looks down at the concept of gadgets. Things start to pick up a bit later, with the intro of several femme fatales, played by some of the most ravishing starlets of the sixties: Andress of "Dr.No" fame, Bouchet as the new Moneypenny, Lavi and Pettet as Bond's daughter, Mata (why Pettet did not become a major star is baffling to me). Much of the non-plot involves Niven taking over M's operations and naming a bunch of other agents James Bond to confuse the enemy - SMERSH (lifted straight from the books). We finally do see similar plot lines to Fleming's novel, involving villain heavy Le Chiffre (Welles) and one of the Bonds (Sellers) dueling at cards (Baccarat - dramatized differently in the 1954 TV version, yet eerily similar).

Curiously, it's not Sellers who provides the more amusing scenes in this confusing fest, as we would expect. No, that honor falls to Woody Allen, as Bond's nephew, and Welles in his brief scenes conducting some off-the-cuff magic show. Allen's highlight is his very first scene, involving the firing squad. Allen, previously seen in "What's New,Pussycat?," now proves to be one of the most natural comedians for the silver screen. His mannerisms and body movement recall some of the great comedians of the silent era, Chaplin & Keaton, especially evident in the scenes where he can't speak (a mental block whenever Uncle Bond is around). Famous starlet of the seventies Ms.Bisset pops up briefly in a small role as yet another femme fatale. There's also some mildly amusing commentary on the division of East and West Berlin - yes, this was the height of the Cold War - including some almost-clever use of color. But, all the psychedelic stuff, crammed into the tail end of this, is very outdated and useful only if the viewer has smoked a lot of weed. This movie also has one of the worst musical scores - almost like nails on chalkboard to me. If you're in a really good mood, you may be able to sit through this long movie comfortably; if not, you'll probably get pretty antsy as the last third begins - and that's where most of Woody's scenes are. Bonds:4 Villains:6 Femme Fatales:7 Henchmen:4 Fights:3 Stunts/Chases:5 Gadgets:4 Locations:8 Pace:4 overall:5-