Casino Royale (Climax!): Difference between revisions
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In 1954, producer and director [[Gregory Ratoff]] of [[CBS]] paid Ian Fleming $1,000 to adapt Casino Royale into a one-hour television adventure as part of their [[Climax!]] series. Additionally, in the late 1950s CBS invited Fleming to write 32 episodes over a two-year period for a television show based on the James Bond character. Fleming agreed and began to write outlines for this series. When nothing ever came of this, however, Fleming grouped and adapted three of the outlines into short stories and released the 1960 anthology For Your Eyes Only along with an additional two new short stories. |
In 1954, producer and director [[Gregory Ratoff]] of [[CBS]] paid Ian Fleming $1,000 to adapt Casino Royale into a one-hour television adventure as part of their [[Climax!]] series. Additionally, in the late 1950s CBS invited Fleming to write 32 episodes over a two-year period for a television show based on the James Bond character. Fleming agreed and began to write outlines for this series. When nothing ever came of this, however, Fleming grouped and adapted three of the outlines into short stories and released the 1960 anthology For Your Eyes Only along with an additional two new short stories. |
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[[Image:Casino_Royale_1954_Screenshot.jpg|thumb|left|240px|[[Barry Nelson]] In "Casino Royale"]] |
[[Image:Casino_Royale_1954_Screenshot.jpg|thumb|left|240px|[[Barry Nelson]] In "Casino Royale"]] |
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The episode, Casino Royale, aired on October 21, 1954 and starred Barry Nelson as secret agent "Card Sense" James 'Jimmy' Bond and Peter Lorre as [[Le Chiffre]]. For this Americanised version of the story, Bond is described as an agent for "Combined Intelligence" (apparently confusing what the "C" in CIA stood for), while the American character [[Felix Leiter]] from the original novel became "Clarence Leiter," a British agent for Station S, and a combination of Leiter and [[List of James Bond allies in Casino Royale#René Matahis|Rene Mathis]]. The name "Mathis" was given to the leading lady, who is named Valerie Mathis (instead of [[Vesper Lynd]]). |
The episode, Casino Royale, aired on October 21, 1954 and starred Barry Nelson as secret agent "Card Sense" James 'Jimmy' Bond and Peter Lorre as [[Le Chiffre]]. For this Americanised version of the story, Bond is described as an agent for "Combined Intelligence" (apparently confusing what the "C" in CIA stood for), while the American character [[Felix Leiter]] from the original novel became "Clarence Leiter," (listed in the closing credits as "Clarence Letter") a British agent for Station S, and a combination of Leiter and [[List of James Bond allies in Casino Royale#René Matahis|Rene Mathis]]. The name "Mathis" was given to the leading lady, who is named Valerie Mathis (instead of [[Vesper Lynd]]). |
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This was the first screen adaptation of a James Bond novel, and was made before the formation of EON Productions. When MGM eventually obtained the rights to the 1967 film version of Casino Royale, it also received the rights to this television episode. |
This was the first screen adaptation of a James Bond novel, and was made before the formation of EON Productions. When MGM eventually obtained the rights to the 1967 film version of Casino Royale, it also received the rights to this television episode. |
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Revision as of 22:53, 25 November 2007
| Casino Royale (1954) | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | William H. Brown Jr |
| Written by | Ian Fleming Charles Bennett Anthony Ellis |
| Produced by | Bretaigne Windhurst |
| Starring | Barry Nelson Linda Christian Peter Lorre |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
Release dates | October 21, 1954 (USA) |
Running time | 50 min. 55 min. (With The Complete Ending) |
| Language | English |
Casino Royale is a 1954 television adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. It was the first film adaptation of a James Bond novel.
Background
In 1954, producer and director Gregory Ratoff of CBS paid Ian Fleming $1,000 to adapt Casino Royale into a one-hour television adventure as part of their Climax! series. Additionally, in the late 1950s CBS invited Fleming to write 32 episodes over a two-year period for a television show based on the James Bond character. Fleming agreed and began to write outlines for this series. When nothing ever came of this, however, Fleming grouped and adapted three of the outlines into short stories and released the 1960 anthology For Your Eyes Only along with an additional two new short stories.
The episode, Casino Royale, aired on October 21, 1954 and starred Barry Nelson as secret agent "Card Sense" James 'Jimmy' Bond and Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre. For this Americanised version of the story, Bond is described as an agent for "Combined Intelligence" (apparently confusing what the "C" in CIA stood for), while the American character Felix Leiter from the original novel became "Clarence Leiter," (listed in the closing credits as "Clarence Letter") a British agent for Station S, and a combination of Leiter and Rene Mathis. The name "Mathis" was given to the leading lady, who is named Valerie Mathis (instead of Vesper Lynd).
This was the first screen adaptation of a James Bond novel, and was made before the formation of EON Productions. When MGM eventually obtained the rights to the 1967 film version of Casino Royale, it also received the rights to this television episode. The hour long showing itself is split into three acts:
- Act I: Opening -- Opening of Baccarat scene
- Act II: Opening of Baccarat Scene -- Hotel Room finale Opening
- Act III: Hotel Room finale Opening -- Ending
Release History
According to Lee Pfeiffer, a well known James Bond expert, the Casino Royale TV-film was lost for decades after its first broadcast on 21st October 1954. It was not until early 1980s that the show was finally found and put on VHS release (there was also a one-time appearance on TBS). However, such release (that was later included as a bonus feature to the DVD of the 1967 Casino Royale film) and the airing on TBS did not include the full finale of the adaptation, which were at that point lost. It was found later on and included on a Spy Guise & Cara Entertainment VHS release. That release is the only one to date which includes the full finale that was last seen on the original broadcast, although as Lee Pfeiffer points out, the very last few seconds of the ending credits are still missing. After the VHS version, Spy Guise offered pre-orders for a DVD release, but rights issues with MGM forced them to scuttle the DVD release. MGM subsequently included the truncated version on its DVD of the 1967 Casino Royale. While Spy Guise has made the full version available to MGM, no public announcement of such a DVD release has been made. DVD and HD disc releases of the 2006 film version of Casino Royale do not include the TV adaptation.
External links
- Casino Royale (1954) at IMDb
- The Curious History of Casino Royale at MI6.co.uk
- Casino Royale (1954) Coverage at MI6.co.uk
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