Casino Royale (film)
"Casino Royale" (1967) is a British-American film that serves as a parody of the James Bond series, only loosely based on Ian Fleming's original 1953 novel. While the film faced critical backlash, it achieved significant box office success, eventually becoming a cult classic. The movie features an ensemble cast, including Peter Sellers and David Niven, with a total of seven actors portraying James Bond, including two women. The plot revolves around Sir James Bond's retirement and his reluctant return to combat the evil organization SMERSH, leading to a series of absurd and chaotic events that culminate in a fantastical battle.
The film was marked by a tumultuous production process, having five directors and over eight writers, with production costs spiraling to over twelve million dollars. Notably, the film's music, including the nominated song "The Look of Love," contributed to its cultural footprint. Despite being a comedy, "Casino Royale" has influenced the development of later Bond films, as Eon Productions produced a non-parodic adaptation in 2006, reviving the franchise. The distinct style of "Casino Royale" (1967) reflects the op art and psychedelic aesthetics of the 1960s, while its chaotic narrative and production struggles provide a fascinating lens into the complexities of film-making during that era.
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Casino Royale (1967 film)
- Release Date: 1967
- Director(s): Val Guest; Ken Hughes; John Huston ; Joseph McGrath; Robert Parrish; Richard Talmadge
- Writer(s): John Law; Wolf Mankowitz ; Michael Sayers
- Principal Actors and Roles: David Niven (Sir James Bond); Peter Sellers (Evelyn Tremble / James Bond 007); Ursula Andress (Vesper Lynd); Barbara Boucher (Moneypenny); Orson Welles (Le Chiffre)
- Book / Story Film Based On: Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
Casino Royale is a British-American parody of the James Bond films and is only loosely based on Ian Fleming’s 1953 novel of the same name. Although critics panned it, the film was a hit at the box office and ultimately entered the ranks of cult movies. The song "The Look of Love" received an Academy Award nomination.
The film had five directors, more than eight writers, and ended up doubling its original budget by spending over twelve million dollars. It was filmed in five separate locations, including Paris, West Berlin, and Ireland. Filmed in the sixties, the luxurious sets also made use of the op art and psychedelic images of the era.
Filming the movie was turbulent and difficult. Woody Allen, who played James Bond’s evil genius nephew, called the filming of Casino Royale a madhouse. Peter Sellers, who had a major role, caused confusion and chaos when he disappeared from the set for days, even weeks, at a time. He was temperamental, refusing to act with Orson Welles, and saying that a set needed to be destroyed because he had had a nightmare about it. He engaged in a fistfight with a director, and then suddenly left in the middle of filming.
In order to make Sellers’ role less important, more roles were created. Casino Royale has a star-studded cast, though many of the stars only appear in cameos. There are seven James Bonds in the film, including two women. David Niven plays the "real" agent 007. Niven was author Ian Fleming’s choice to play Bond in the films based on his novels; however, Casino Royale is the only time Niven appears as Bond.
Plot
Sir James Bond, agent 007, has retired and is living on a luxurious estate in the country. Various spy agencies try to entice him out of retirement to fight SMERSH, an evil organization that is killing agents all over the world. When Bond refuses, his former boss M, the head of MI6, blows up Bond’s mansion and is himself killed in the explosion. Bond takes M's toupee, all that is left of him, to the widow, who has been replaced by an enemy agent who wants to kill Bond. Instead she falls in love and saves him. Bond becomes the head of MI6 and decrees that all agents shall be called James Bond in order to confuse their enemies. After hearing that many agents are dying because they cannot resist women enemy agents, Bond starts a training program to teach agents to resist women. He then sends agent Vesper Lynd to enlist expert baccarat player Evelyn Tremble, to play against SMERSH agent Le Chiffre. Le Chiffre will be killed by SMERSH if he cannot replace the money he stole from them.
Bond’s daughter, Mata Bond, infiltrates a SMERSH spy school and destroys the compromising pictures of military leaders that Le Chiffre had planned to use for blackmail. When the villain tries to win at Casino Royale’s baccarat table instead, Vesper steals the sunglasses that are allowing him to cheat. This enables Tremble to win the game. Le Chiffre kidnaps Tremble and tortures him with hallucinogenic bagpipe music to get him to hand over the winning money. Vesper rescues Tremble but later kills him. SMERSH kills Le Chiffre.
SMERSH kidnaps Mata Bond in a flying saucer and Bond finds her in the secret underground lair of his nephew, Jimmy Bond, who is the head of SMERSH. Jimmy’s evil plan is to make all women beautiful and kill all men taller than he is. He wants a British agent called The Detainer to be his co-ruler, but she slips him an atomic pill, which will kill him with a hiccup explosion.
In an enormous battle with secret agents from all sides, cowboys on horses, American Indians with parachutes, seals, monkeys, and Keystone cops, Jimmy’s pill explodes and kills everyone. They all go to heaven except for Jimmy, who sinks in the other direction.
Significance
Casino Royale grossed $41.7 million worldwide despite its poor reviews. The New York Times called it tedious and disconnected, while Variety said it was frenzied and strained. However, some aspects of the film, notably the music, were nominated for a few awards. The score is by Burt Bacharach and the song "The Look of Love," sung by Dusty Springfield, garnered an Academy Award nomination. The theme song was composed and performed by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. They also performed the Burt Bacharach score. The film was also nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts Film Award for best British costume, and for a Grammy Award for best original score. Based on a poll of Canadian and American film buyers, Casino Royale received a third place Laurel Award for comedy.
The film was not originally planned as a parody. Charles K. Feldman held the film rights to Fleming's Casino Royale while Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli held rights to all other James Bond novels. Feldman hoped to cast Sean Connery, who already starred in the other wildly successful Bond movies from Broccoli and Saltzman's Eon Production, but Feldman did not want to pay the actor's one million dollar salary. Rather than try to compete with the Eon films, it was decided to make Casino Royale a spoof. The only part of Fleming’s book not previously used by Saltzman and Broccoli was the baccarat scene, so that became a major part of Feldman’s movie.
Eon Productions eventually acquired the film rights to the Fleming's Casino Royale novel, and used the opportunity to reboot its long-running series. The Eon version of Casino Royale, released in 2006 and starring Daniel Craig as Bond, is not a satire and has a story line closer to the original Ian Fleming novel. The film was a box office hit and received good reviews, helping to revitalize the James Bond franchise for the twenty-first century. It was nominated for many awards and won twenty-seven of them, including the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Film Award for best sound; ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards; the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA Saturn Award for best action/adventure/thriller film; the Empire Awards, UK for best film, best actor, and best newcomer; and the National Movie Award, UK for best action/adventure.
Bibliography
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"Casino Royale (1967)." Turner Classic Movies, www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/4482/casino-royale/#overview. Accessed 20 Oct. 2023.
Cawthorne, Nigel. A Brief Guide to James Bond. London: Robinson, 2012.
Lax, Eric. Woody Allen: A Biography. New York: Knopf, 1991.
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Moore, Roger, and Gareth Owen. Bond on Bond: Reflections on 50 Years of James Bond Movies. Guilford: Lyons, 2012.
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