Casino Royale (Climax!)
- Barry Nelson: James ' Jimmy ' Bond
- Peter Lorre: Le Chiffre
- Linda Christian: Valerie Mathis
- Michael Pate: Clarence Head
- Eugene Borden: Chef DePartre
- Jean Del Val: croupier
- Kurt Katch: Zolto
- William Lundigan: narrator
- Gene Roth: Basil
Casino Royale is a television film from 1954, based on Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel Casino Royale. The show was the third episode of the first season of the CBS - TV show Climax! broadcast.
Action
Maps genius and spy Le Chiffre, communicates to a Soviet spy ring wants to win in a French casino money for his organization. The American secret agent Jimmy Bond is supposed to prevent. After Bond has taken, among others, his former lover Valerie Mathis, there will be a meeting at the gaming table, where Bond against Le Chiffre in the card game baccarat competes and eventually wins 87 million francs. Le Chiffre must now fear being eliminated by his organization because of the loss and Valerie kidnapped to force Bond to surrender issued by the casino checks for that amount. Looking for Valerie Bond is captured and tortured because he does not want to betray the place of storage of the check in their hotel room of Le Chiffre. Finally, he manages to overpower Le Chiffre and escape with Valerie.
Americanized Bond
Ian Fleming's book Casino Royale in 1954 into a film starring Barry Nelson as an American secret agent Jimmy Bond and Peter Lorre in the role of an opponent Le Chiffre for American television. Jimmy, not James Bond, is used in this Americanized version of the story of the "Combined Intelligence " organization, not difficult to recognize as CIA. Other persons and roles have been adapted to American tastes. From James Bond's American ally Felix Leiter of the English Clarence became head. The female lead is now called Valerie Mathis, instead of in the Book of Vesper Lynd, the male role Rene Mathis omitted.
Development and production
Producer and director Gregory Ratoff bought the rights to Ian Fleming's novel Casino Royale for $ 1,000 in May 1954. It was a six-month running option, and Ratoff so went to CBS, the one-hour episode of the television series Climax! it made . The novel had previously enjoyed only slight attention and was even renamed and Americanized for its paperback edition.
Twelve months later bought Ratoff the meantime abgelaufenden rights again - this time forever. He paid $ 6,000, and even at this second, more expensive purchase price for the rights is regarded today as being too low. Fleming later regretted both sales.
He was offered in the late 1950s, writing for one based on the character James Bond TV show over a period of two years, 32 more episodes. Fleming agreed and began to write summaries of the individual stories. As, however, it became clear that it would be nothing, Fleming took some of his designs together and adapted three of his historical ideas about short stories and published in 1960 the anthology 007 James Bond intervenes along with two other short stories.
The book Casino Royale episode aired on October 21, 1954 Barry Nelson as an American secret agent Bond and Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre opponent.
The film was the first screen adaptation of a James Bond story, long before Eon Productions Ltd.. the film rights were granted to Bond. When Metro -Goldwyn -Mayer finally acquired the rights for Casino Royale adaptation from 1967, the studio also got the rights to the television episode. Some sources speculated that this was done with the intention of James Bond ultimately adapt into a potential TV series with Nelson in the lead role.
Find out more
- Ian Fleming's novel was made into a film in each case once again in 1967 and 2006.
- The TV movie was for years disappeared. Only in the late 1980s, he reappeared and was released on videotape and broadcast on cable channel TBS. Today the film is available on DVD and is in addition to the U.S. DVD of "Casino Royale " version of 1967.
- Of this film, there are a number of different versions. Some contain parts of the finale, others the whole finale. Other releases are past their part no credits. The version that aired on October 21, 1954 at the TV, containing the entire finale and showed how televised usual, no credits.
- On February 2, 1998, a complete version of the film was released on VHS, this also provides further information on the James Bond series. However, this is obtainable only in NTSC format on import routes from the USA or Canada.
- For 37 years, this should be the only TV incarnation of James Bond. Only in 1991 summed up the 65 -part American television series James Bond Jr. up this theme - the main role here takes on Bonds nephew. There are still the only two TV - reactions which take up the fictional character Ian Fleming. Ultimately, all failed attempts at the latest on Eons strict policy to own the exclusive rights to the James Bond novels.