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'''''Casino Royale''''' is a 1967 spy movie starring Peter Sellers as Ian Fleming's superspy James Bond, and Orson Welle as his nemesis, Le Chiffre. It is the first non-EON produced James Bond film.
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'''''Casino Royale''''' is a 1967 spy movie starring Peter Sellers as Ian Fleming's fictional superspy, James Bond. Directed by John Huston with a score by Burt Bacharach, ''Casino Royale'' is the first James Bond film not to be produced by Albert R. Broccoli's EON Productions, the "official" producers of the Bond films. As such, ''Casino Royale'' has come to be labelled as an "unofficial" Bond film.
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==Plot==
==Plot==
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<p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Back in London, M is seen trying, unsuccessfully, to locate Bond and assign him his next mission, while in France, Bond and Valerie share a romantic moment.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Back in London, M is seen trying, unsuccessfully, to locate Bond and assign him his next mission, while in France, Bond and Valerie share a romantic moment.</p>
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==Cast==
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<li style="margin-bottom:0cm">Peter Sellers as James Bond 007, British spy and baccarat master.
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<li style="margin-bottom:0cm">Ursula Andress as Valerie Mathis, an old flame of Bond's and undercover agent of the Deuxieme Bureau.
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<li style="margin-bottom:0cm">Orson Welles as Le Chiffre, a SMERSH operative who lost a great deal of Soviet-owned money and tries to reclaim the funds by winning them in a high-stakes game of baccarat.
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<li style="margin-bottom:0cm">Charles Gray as M (McTarry), the head of MI6.
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<li style="margin-bottom:0cm">Barbara Bouchet as Miss Moneypenny, M's secretary.
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<li style="margin-bottom:0cm">Ronnie Corbett as Q (Coop), the MI6 quartermaster.
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<li style="margin-bottom:0cm">Vladek Sheybal as Adolph Gettler, Le Chiffre's go-between at Sotheby's.
==Production==
==Production==
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====Development====
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<p style="margin-bottom:0cm">In 1955, Ian Fleming sold the rights his first James Bond novel, ''Casino Royale'', to producer Gregory Ratoff. However Ratoff struggled to come up with funding to make the novel into a film before his death in December 1960. Ratoff's widow passed the rights on to Charles K. Feldman, another producer and friend of Ratoff's. Feldman and a friend of his, director Howard Hawks, planned to adapt ''Casino Royale'' into a film starring David Niven, who had been Ian Fleming's personal first choice for Bond. However, the project dissolved when Hawks lost interest following the release of 1962's ''Dr. No'' by EON Productions. Despite this, Feldman continued trying to make the film.</p>
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<p style="margin-bottom:0cm">In 1964, having invested a lot of his money in the project, Feldman approached Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, the official Bond producers, and offered to work with them to make an official Bond film based on ''Casino Royale''. However, the producers failed to come to terms regarding profit divisions and, as such, no collobration ever came to fruition. Feldman then took the rights to Columbia Pictures, who agreed to finish financing the film. Feldman recruited respected British filmmaker John Huston to direct the picture.</p>
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====Writing====
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<p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Oscar-winning screenwriter Ben Hecht signed on to write the script, and went through several scripts, with various evolutions of the story incorporating different scenes and characters. A noticeable addition to the screenplay by Hecht is that the organization Le Chiffre originally worked for was SPECTRE, not SMERSH, but he was prevented from using SPECTRE in the final film due to a legal intervention by EON Productions.</p>
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<p style="margin-bottom:0cm"><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;">Charles K. Feldman, the producer, had acquired the film rights and had attempted to get Casino Royale made as an Eon Productions Bond film; however, Feldman and the producers of the Eon series, Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, failed to come to terms. Feldman then went to MGM to produce his independent Bond film, releasing it in 1967.</span></p>
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====Casting====
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<p style="margin-bottom:0cm">
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<p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Initially, David Niven was the top contender to play James Bond, as Ian Fleming had said that he was the actor who would most like to see play Bond. However Niven was tied down by other commitments and was unable to sign on as Bond. In his place, Niven's ''The Pink Panther'' co-star Peter Sellers was cast as Bond. Sellers, traditionally recognized as a comedy actor, took the role because he wanted to flex his muscles as a serious actor by playing a more serious character, and because he was a fan of the novels.</p>
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</p>
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<p style="margin-bottom:0cm">James Bond is played by Peter Sellers, well known for his comedic roles, who was a fan of the novels. His previous comic roles allowed to be a more comic Bond, while still mantaining the character's more serious traits. For the role of Le Chiffre, the producers immediately wanted Orson Welles, who had been tipped to play Blofeld in the official EON series, but ultimately did not. Ursula Andress, who played Honey Ryder, the first Bond girl in 1959's Dr. No, portrayed Bond's main love interest, Valerie Mathis.</p>
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<p style="margin-bottom:0cm">The main "Bond girl" character from the novel, Vesper Lynd, was merged with Bond's ally, Rene Mathis of the Deuxieme Bureau, into a single new character, Valerie Mathis. Sellers' then wife Britt Ekland was reportedly among those considered for the role. However, the part ultimately went to Swiss-American actress Ursula Andress. Andress had previously found fame as Bond girl Honey Ryder in ''Dr. No'', widely considered to be "the quintessetial Bond girl." Andress was chosen because of her fame, and was cast immediately after she expressed interest in working with Peter Sellers.</p>
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<p style="margin-bottom:0cm">
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<p style="margin-bottom:0cm">For the role of the main villain of the piece, the terrorist banker Le Chiffre, Feldman specifically sought out Orson Welles. A good chunk (sources differ as to exactly how much) of the film's $6 million budget went toward Welles' paycheck. Welles has been considered to play the major villain Blofeld in the official film series, which was what prompted Feldman to nab him for ''Casino Royale''</p>
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</p>
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<p style="margin-bottom:0cm">
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<p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Aside from Andress, the film features a number of actors who had previously appeared, or would go on to appear, in official EON Bond films. Vladek Sheybal, who appeared in 1963's ''From Russia, with Love'' as Kronsteen, has a brief but important role as Adolph Gettler's, Le Chiffre's man at Sotheby's. Caroline Munro, who appears briefly as a glamourous woman at Casino Royale, would later play Naomi in ''The Spy Who Loved Me''. Burt Kwouk, who played small roles in both ''Goldfinger'' and ''You Only Live Twice'' also appears as an auctioneer at Sotheby's. Charles Gray, the actor who portrayed Dikko Henderson in ''You Only Live Twice'', plays M in this film and would later play Blofeld in ''Diamonds Are Forever''.</p>
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</p>
[[Category:Films]]
[[Category:Films]]
[[Category:James Bond films]]
[[Category:James Bond films]]