ROTTEN TOMATOES: Bonding with Bond, Day 5: Casino Royale (1967)

Bonding with Bond, Day 5: Casino Royale (1967)

Community Manager Ryan Fujitani is watching all of the James Bond films in order.

by Ryan Fujitani | October 25, 2008

On Day 5, I watched the "original" Casino Royale, one of the unofficial Bond movies. Read below to see what I thought of the spoof.

Casino Royale (1967)

Even before I began watching Casino Royale, I wondered to myself how I would make it relevant to the Bond canon as a whole, being that it's not really a Bond movie in the traditional sense. At the same time, it suddenly occurred to me that, while I assumed most audiences were in awe of Bond's antics, I neglected to give them the credit to see the inherent absurdity of the movies that I now see as someone far removed from the era. Casino Royale showed me that even back then, there were a fair share of people who stopped to guffaw or scratch their heads during a Bond film, basically reducing the 007 stories to something akin to the delusional ramblings of Baron Munchausen.

I thought the way they set up the film was pretty clever. The "original" James Bond, played by David Niven, is retired and living in a sprawling mansion surrounded by lions. He is visited by M and three other international spy representatives who have come to pull him out of retirement, because their existing agents are either dead or missing. Bond's reply, at first, is simply to criticize the "current" 007 (i.e. Connery's interpretation) for being a shameless womanizer who relies on ridiculous gadgets and leaves mass destruction in his wake. I happened to notice that this telling scene takes place at the 0:07 mark. Coincidence or fate?

That's the only direct reference to the earlier Bond films that I can recall in Casino Royale, but the comedy is littered with subtle and not-so-subtle allusions to recurring Bond themes and plot conventions. The beautiful women (and yes, even here, they are all gorgeous), the amazing toys of Q branch, the nonsensical plot for world domination are all present, and stretched by hyperbole to an extent that only a spoof movie could pull off. It almost worked for me, but some of the scenes are just so loony that they feel forced and unnecessary. I mean, the movie actually starts off kind of intriguing, but in the end, everything devolves into an orgy of cowboys, seals, bubbles, Frankenstein's monster, and Woody Allen belching animated clouds of gas. When a UFO looking like something out of Centipede showed up, I decided it was too much, even for me.

Speaking of which, another thing I noticed about Casino Royale was the caliber of the actors involved. David Niven, of course, is the original James Bond who trains up a handful of new 007s, one of whom is Peter Sellers. Throw in a young Woody Allen, Orson Welles, Deborah Kerr, John Huston as M, and cameos from the likes of Peter O'Toole and Jean Paul Belmondo, among others, and all I have to say is wow! Part of me felt like their involvement in the project could have been their way of saying, "I can't believe you people buy into this crap." Even Ursula Andress shows up in a prominent role as a smarter, less Nell-like Bond girl, so to speak, almost as if she wanted to prove she wasn't really the idiot she portrayed as Honey Ryder in Dr. No.

I've never really been a huge fan of parodies like this, but there's something a little classier about the older ones. Yes, Casino Royale did occasionally stumble into "unwatchable" territory for me, but when the jokes were based in clever, witty dialogue, as opposed to ineffective slapstick, I thought they worked pretty well. It was never bladder-busting, but it wasn't terrible either. Frankly, I was enjoying the normal Bond films so much that I'm actually looking forward to leaving this behind and moving on to You Only Live Twice.

My favorite line: "I'm beginning to think you're a trifle neurotic." Peter Sellers, master of the obvious, says this to Woody Allen.

My favorite moment: At one point, a lackey standing in a telephone booth located on the western side of the Berlin Wall is blown to bits, taking a portion of the wall with him. Immediately dozens of East German refugees come pouring through the gap.

Other Articles:

Day 1: Dr. No (1962)
Day 2: From Russia With Love (1963)
Day 3: Goldfinger (1964)
Day 4: Thunderball (1965)
Day 5: Casino Royale (1967)
Day 6: You Only Live Twice (1967)
Day 7: On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Day 8: Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Day 9: Live and Let Die (1973)
Day 10: The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Day 11: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Day 12: Moonraker (1979)
Day 13: For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Day 14: Octopussy (1983)
Day 15: Never Say Never Again (1983)
Day 16: A View to a Kill (1985)
Day 17: The Living Daylights (1987)
Day 18: Licence to Kill (1989)
Day 19: GoldenEye (1995)
Day 20: Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Day 21: The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Day 22: Die Another Day (2002)
Day 23: Casino Royale (2006)
Day 24: Quantum of Solace (2008)

(1-20 of 21 posts) | Reply

ledawg1138 writes:
on Oct 25 2008 07:21 PM

This isn't a James Bond movie, just uses his name. Why not put Austin Powers on the list! I've never seen this, or will. Sorry, call me snob but it dosen't look funny.

(Reply to this)

RT-Ryan writes:
on Oct 25 2008 07:27 PM

Yeah, it wasn't a great movie, and I actually found that I got bored towards the end. But, I still think it was an interesting experience to give it a watch, now that I've seen a handful of legitimate Bond movies. Hopefully, ledawg, I'll win you back with my You Only Live Twice writeup. =)

(Reply to this)

isotonic writes:
on Oct 25 2008 08:21 PM

The irony is that David Niven was Flemming's original preference for the role of James Bond, and his early sketches of the character look exactly like him. Flemming had a fit when he learned the role had gone to a Scotsman!

(Reply to this)

richard v. writes:
on Oct 25 2008 08:40 PM

First off all, I want to say that i'm a little bit jealous off you, that you can experiance this nostalic trip threw bond history for the frist time. And second, i have to agree with LEDAWG that this isn't a bond flick so it does not haven anny real value to the series. But heej petter sellers is in so you know the movie is good for something.

(Reply to this)

Boyo writes:
on Oct 25 2008 08:47 PM

Im so glad you watched this - yes, it isn't a 'proper' Bond film, but it still has an important role to play in the history of the cinematic 007. It's intersting to note that the film is quite different to what was originally planned. If you read biographies of Peter Sellers (which, as a fan I have done!), it was sellers himself, through his paranoia and stubborness that made the film the mess that it is. The fact that it does have it's good moments is due to the other actors and directors. It's interesting that in your write up you are seem to be pointing out the two different sides to the movie. On the one side is the clever spoofery of the movie, and then the nonsense of Sellers on the other. Apperently the scene of him and Orson Welles was really difficult to shoot, because Sellers refused to speak to Welles. Welles, in turn, hated Sellers. It seems that not many people liked working on the set!

Anyway, keep up Ryan, I think this is brilliant, your writing is great - I can't wait untill the next instalment!

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Oct 25 2008 09:02 PM

I'm not knocking Peter Sellars. He's a great actor but even the best actors can't save bad movies. See Bringing Up Baby, lousy movie despite it has the great Cary Grant. But now I'm trolling, sorry. :P

(Reply to this)

sunsaz writes:
on Oct 25 2008 10:22 PM

This movie in a word: disappointment. My least favorite Bond movie of the bunch. Some great acting talents in this one. But just like the 007 brand discovered here, slapping a name on something doesn't automatically make it successful.

(Reply to this)

Makeshift Python writes:
on Oct 26 2008 01:27 AM

Never seen it, never will. Not that I think it will be a bad viewing, I'm just not interested, that's all. I do envy you because I never really got to watch the Bond films in release order. I watched each film at random. I wish I had this experience, of seeing the films evolve throughout the years and have it all brand new for me. It sounds like a very interesting perspective.

(Reply to this)

vashfanatic writes:
on Oct 26 2008 07:01 AM

In reply to this comment (#2095974)
Two intelligent and polite critique is not trolling. Multiple postings of the same inane and negative comment is. I don't want you to not post anything critical at all, just do so in a way that's respectful to other people, which this comment totally is. :)

But I have to say: why not include Austin Powers? Watching these gradually-worsening gross-out "parodies" again after seeing the originals is a different experience than coming in knowing nothing. "Odd Job" and "Random Task"...>_<

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Oct 26 2008 09:31 AM

I don't like Austin Powers. I was just using it as an example.

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Oct 26 2008 09:32 AM

There are 21 James Bond's movies. Soon to be 22. This and Never Say Never Again don't count.

(Reply to this)

a_loco writes:
on Oct 26 2008 10:39 AM

If you're going to do this film and Never Say Never Again, you should also do the Casino Royale TV Special with Barry Nelson.

Either stick with the officials, or do all of them.

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Oct 26 2008 11:03 AM

TV special? I never heard of that. When was it made?

(Reply to this)

Russ K. writes:
on Oct 26 2008 01:06 PM

The movie's end sort of reminded me of those napkins at cub scout dinners that are loaded with visual puns to keep young geek minds occupied and out of
trouble. For example the clapping seal....you have a problem with the "The Seal of Approval" :-) ?
Other useless trivia and opinions:
It seems the original vinyl soundtrack was/is sort of a holy grail for high end stereo buffs to test out their systems. I happen to have a copy, not because I am a high end stereo buff (I'm not), but because I love the music. It's the best of all the Bond movies.
The special effects are WAY better than "You Only live Twice"!
All those actors, but where is Michael Caine?
It's interesting to watch HBO's "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers"
as there is a bit about "Casino Royale" along with a pseudo-set that could
have fit right into the movie.
Finally about Ursula Undress's ( sorry, couldn't resist ) Honey Ryder character in "Dr. No.", all I can say is read the book! The movie Honey follows the book Honey very closely.

(Reply to this)

aconline writes:
on Oct 26 2008 02:18 PM

In reply to this comment (#2096666)
It was made in 1954. It is on the DVD of this spoof. It was made for a TV series called Climax. It was just a one episode thing. About 50 minutes long.

(Reply to this)

The Movie Rambler writes:
on Oct 26 2008 03:17 PM

I saw this movie on accident because I thought it was going to be good. What was I thinking...

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Oct 26 2008 03:46 PM

Oh,... well this dosent count! 22 Bond movies with QOS coming.

(Reply to this)

RT-Ryan writes:
on Oct 26 2008 07:00 PM

isotonic, that's really interesting. I had no idea that Niven was Fleming's original choice, or that the Bond Niven portrayed was closer to Fleming's vision of Bond than what see now.

Boyo, again you are a wealth of information. I also wasn't aware that Sellers and Welles disliked each other. I bet that made for a hellish time on set!

Russ K, I have to admit, I absolutely loved the music in Casino Royale, and though I haven't looked into it yet, I'm going to try to get my hands on a copy of the soundtrack. I noticed at the beginning of the movie that Burt Bacharach did the music, so there you go.

As for why we included this on the list, well, I think my RT colleagues wanted me to see all aspects of Bond, including some of the ridicule he inspired. We did talk about the TV version of Casino Royale, but I think it would have been difficult to get our hands on it, and it wasn't a proper "movie" either, so we left it out.

(Reply to this)

Mark H. writes:
on Oct 27 2008 07:46 AM

In reply to this comment (#2097364)
The TV version of CR from the CBS show "Climax Theater" is on both the DVD of CR from several years ago and the new DVD released earlier this month. It has two endings, but only the edited ending is on the DVD version. I have never seen the original ending, and I do not understand why it has not been released. In the TV version, James is "Jimmy" and an American, whereas his buddy is English. I envy you getting to watch the original Bonds for the first time, but I am not sure I would have wanted to watch them through the filter of Austin Powers. By the way, CR1967 was a pretty big hit in the spring of that year, and I believe it scared the Bond filmakers, who were about to release YOLT.

(Reply to this)

lestatthevampire writes:
on Oct 27 2008 12:42 PM

Hey RT-Ryan... I just put this on my Netflix queue. Nice writin'!

(Reply to this)

Casino Royale (1967)

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