CASINO ROYALE
UK, 1967, 131 minutes, Colour.
Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, David Niven, Orson Welles, Joanna Pettet, Daliah Lavi, Woody Allen, Deborah Kerr, William Holden, Charles Boyer, John Huston, Kurt Kasznar, Jean- Paul Belmondo, Terence Cooper, Barbara Bouchet, Angela Scoular, Jacqueline Bisset, Anna Quayle, Derek Nimmo, Ronnie Corbett, Bernard Cribbins, John Bluthal, Geoffrey Bayldon, Duncan Macrae, Graham Stark, Richard Wattis, Percy Herbert and, uncredited, Anjelica Huston, Burt Kwouk, John Le Mesurier, David Lodge, Stirling Moss, Caroline Munro, Peter O’ Toole, David Prowse.
Directed by Ken Hughes, John Huston, Joseph Mc Grath, Robert Parrish, Val Guest, Richard Talmadge.
Casino Royale was the one title that the Cubby Broccoli Company did not have the copyright for. It was decided then that this film would be a send-up of the Sean Connery Bond films of the 1960s. It had many writers including Wolf Mankowitz and uncredited and additional dialogue by Woody Allen, Val Guest, Ben Hecht, Joseph Heller (Catch 22), Terry Southern (Candy), Billy Wilder and Peter Sellers. And it had the listed number of directors.
Peter Sellers is James Bond and sends up the character very well. However, David Niven appears as Sir James Bond in the very dapper British style. Woody Allen appears as young Jimmy Bond (perhaps some anticipation of Mini- Me and Mike Myers in the Austin Powers series). Ursula Andress, who had appeared in the first James Bond film, Doctor No, is Vesper Lynd.
The film does follow something of the outline of Ian Fleming’s novel with Orson Welles as Le Chiffre. However, there is an enormous number of cast, many prominent actors doing cameos – with Deborah Kerr either dressed in disguised as a nun or hanging from a Scottish castle wall.
The film echoes the Swinging 60s in London and can be seen as something of a historical reflection of the period.
The film was, in fact, nominated for an Oscar for best song by Hal David and Burt Bacharach, the well-known ‘The Look of Love’. Herb Albert and his Tijuana Brass contributed a title song.
With the copyright recovered, Casino Royale was filmed very seriously in 2006, bringing in Daniel Craig as James Bond, a much more serious, down-to-earth interpretation of the character with Eva Green as Vesper Lynd.
1. The film was a spoof of James Bond films. It was also a satire on them and on the spy films. How successful was it? Why was it made?
2. Was the story of any importance? Did it retain the interest? Was the style of the story to the films advantage or disadvantage? Why?
3. The irony of David Niven portraying the real Sir James Bond and the implication that Sean Connery was a substitute prepared by the secret service? Was this humorous and satirical idea well used in the film? The preparation of other James Bonds, especially Peter Sellers?
4. The mock heroics of the film were emphasised. How funny were these? What were the best examples? Especially heroics of David Niven and Peter Sellers?
5. Where was the satire in the character of Sir James Bond as portrayed by David Niven? In the bumbling spy as portrayed by Peter Sellers? How did Ursula Andress satirise the 'Bond' girl? Was Dalia Lavi more convincing as a Bond girl? The satire in Mata Hari as portrayed by Joanna Pettit? Orson Wells as Le Chiffre? His magic? Le Chiffre as the typical Bond villain? The satire on gadgets, persons, on situations (e.g. the lion park and Born Free, Ronnie Corbett and the German impressionist room etc.)? The explosions of the finale? was this all overdone? And the fact that everybody finished up dead? The satire of having Woody Allen as the arch villain?
6. The use of the music to enhance the film - Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass with the theme? The Bond Street theme of Burt Bacharach? The use of the song ‘The Look of Love’ with Peter Sellers and Ursula Andress?
7. How entertaining was the film in itself? Could it only be entertaining if the audience was aware of the real James Bond films? Why?
