Casino Royale (1967) Review

Overall 4.00 of 5 (by 1 user)

jmdobies
Austin, TX

Kooky '60s Satire of James Bond Films with All-Star Cast

into action flicks, a movie lover, a man, a carnivore, parent of two, interested in cultural experiences, forty something, Lover of quirky, unique films

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Pros

Great Cast, Burt Bacharach's Music

Cons

Overlong, Sellers Didn't Finish the PIcture

JUL

2008

"Seven James Bonds at Casino Royale/They came to save the world and win a gal at Casino Royale..."

When the James Bond phenomenon was reaching its zenith in the mid-'60s, producers Harry Saltzman and Cubby Broccoli tied up the rights to all of Ian Fleming's novels except two, Thunderball and Casino Royale. While they were able to cut a deal with the rights holder of Thunderball, Sean McClory, they were out of luck on the latter. The rights to Casino Royale, the first Bond novel, belonged to Hollywood super-agent Charles K. Feldman, who envisioned a cross between Goldfinger and What's New, Pussycat?, with Sean Connery poking fun at the 007 character, and a who's who of Tinseltown "guest stars" lending support.

Connery wasn't buying, however, so instead of the one true Bond, this movie features seven, including Peter Sellers, David Niven, and Woody Allen. Unfortunately, there were also five different directors, including John Huston (who also portrays "M") and Val Guest, and ten different screenwriters, including Allen, Terry Southern, Joseph Heller, and Ben Hecht. The phrase "too many cooks" comes to mind here, as the results are decidedly disjointed, but nonetheless enjoyable.

The Brilliant, idiosyncratic character actor Peter Sellers made things difficult by refusing to be in the same frame as Orson Welles ("Le Chiffre") during their scenes together, and then by walking off the film, forcing even more rewrites. His abscence from the second half of the film is unfortunate, although Woody Allen picks up the slack as "Jimmy Bond" a/k/a "Dr. Noah."

Also appearing are Ursula Andress as "Vesper Lind," the only Bond girl (besides Miss Moneypenny) to appear in more than one of the films, William Holden, Charles Boyer, Jean-Paul Belmondo, and in an early role, Jacqueline Bisset as "Miss Goodthighs."

The glue that holds this hit-and-miss farce together is the incredible score by Burt Bacharch, which features Dusty Springfield singing "The Look of Love," and appropriately zany incidental music. The soundtrack CD is a must for fans of BB.

While an altogether different animal than the 2007 film of the same name, this Casino Royale offers plenty for both Bond fans and those, like me, who can't get enough of swinging '60s cinema.

Yeah, baby!

Last edited on Nov 30, 2008

Casino Royale (1967) is recommended by jmdobies

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Comments about jmdobies’s Review

In response to jmdobies's comment from Jul 7, 2008 at 1:40PM:

If only we could make all the less-than-remarkable Bond flicks simply disappear! Ah, and heck, anyone can make errors. I know I do! Great review, still, and I learned a few things myself!

In response to Fardreamer's comment from Jul 7, 2008 at 1:30PM:

Right -- her name flashed through my head as I was writing that line, but I basically skipped the last few Roger Moores, all of the Timothy Daltons and most of the Pierce Brosnans. Hence my error...

Actually, Ursula Andress isn't the only Bond Girl to appear in multiple Bond movies. Maud Adams (Octopussy in the movie of that same name and Andrea Anders in "The Man With the Golden Gun") has been in three, including an uncredited role in "A View to a Kill." Nice review, by the way.

I recorded this on my DVR, but struggled with it a lot. I just couldn't finish it in the end, as I wasn't enjoying it. Good review of the film though.