Casino Royale

The first ever screen representation of James Bond is, understandably, miles removed from the way we have come to know and love Britain's top secret agent; for starters, this 50-minute adaptation of Ian Fleming's first Bond novel is not only shot in black-and-white but was recorded live for an American TV program entitled "Climax!".

In fact, even Bond himself - occasionally referred to as Jimmy! - is an American here (played by the rather uncharismatic Barry Nelson) and the wildly international cast also consists of Austrian Peter Lorre as the villain of the piece Le Chiffre, Mexican Linda Christian as the female interest, Australian Michael Pate as C.I.A. operative Clarence(!) Leiter and Polish Kurt Katch as one of Le Chiffre's henchmen. The program concerns itself only with the all-important game of baccarat taking place in the Casino of the title and as such is much less exciting than any subsequent Bond outing but, for all that, Lorre's professionalism and the sheer naivete and, indeed, rarity of the whole thing gives it a certain charm which keeps one watching.