Casino Royale, TV Version
Originally aired on CBS's Climax, October 1954
It is a little known fact that in 1954, Ian Fleming sold rights to his then little known book, Casino Royale. CBS television bought up the rights and made an hour long version of the book. It was featured in the show Climax which was a weekly live show that featured tales of action and adventure. Once the script was in the hands of CBS they did a chop job on it to make it more appealing to American audiences of the 50s.
Perhaps the most major change was that James Bond, sophisticated British secret agent, was an American. Also, Vesper Lynd and Felix Leiter's names were slightly changed for some unknown reason. Vesper became Valerie Mathis while only Leiter's first name was changed. As in the book, Bond's mission was to bankrupt LeChiffre so the he would be killed by the people he stole the money from. That is just about all that is consistent with the book.
The episode starts out with James Bond being fired at by an unknown assailant. Then, once inside the casino Bond teams up with Leiter who gives him his instructions. Perhaps the biggest difference is that Valerie [the character based on Vesper] was Bond's former lover. She was still in love with him and never gave into LeChiffre. The action was not too climactic, still, it was a good start
Barry Nelson played James Bond, quite poorly I might add. He brought a different look to 007, mainly because he was an American. Peter Lorre was LeChiffre and did a magnificent job. He was a great villain by today's Bond standards. You really believed he was an evil little man. Actually, he was far closer to Fleming's LeChiffre than most villains were in MGM/UA's 17 movies. There were also a plethora of extras for the casino scenes. All in all, it was not too bad.
To rate it on the same scale I rate the movies would be pointless because A: it wasn't a movie, B: it was in black and white, C: it was made in 1954, and D: it was a live broadcast. My recommendation is to see it if you can. While it is not a stunning, well made hour of television, it a piece of Bond's history and far better than the Casino Royale spoof. This was not a bad way to start a legend.
I would like to deeply thank William Pennell for sending me the Casino Royale video tape. Out of the kindness of his heart he offered to send it to me. Thanks again!
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