| Major Cast | |
|---|---|
| Peter Sellers | as Evelyn Tremble (James Bond 007) |
| Ursula Andress | as Vesper Lynd (007) |
| David Niven | as Sir James Bond |
| Orson Welles | as Le Chiffre |
| Joanna Pettet | as Mata Bond |
| Daliah Lavi | as The Detainer (007) |
| Woody Allen | as Jimmy Bond (Dr. Noah) |
| Deborah Kerr | as Agent Mimi (Alias Lady Fiona) |
| William Holden | as Ransome |
| Charles Boyer | as Le Grande |
| John Huston | as McTarry (M) |
| Kurt Kaznar | as Smernov |
| George Raft | as George Raft |
| Jean-Paul Belmondo | as French Legionnaire |
| Terence Cooper | as Cooper (James Bond 007) |
| MPAA Rating: | NR |
| Production Companies: | Famous Artists Productions |
| Distributors (USA): | Columbia Pictures Corp. (theatrical) CBS (TV) Columbia Pictures Home Video (VHS) Columbia TriStar Home Video (VHS) BCI Eclipse (VHS) Sony Video (VHS) MGM Home Entertainment (DVD & Blu-ray) RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (VHS & Laserdisc) |
| Release Date (USA): | 4/28/1967 |
| Running Time: | 131 minutes |
| Languages: | English; French; Scots Gaelic; German; Japanese |
| Production Budget: | $12,000,000 (Est.) |
| Domestic Box Office: | $22,744,718 (12/31/1967) |
| Foreign Box Office: | $41,744,718 (12/31/1967) |
The formidable Sir James Bond is now happily retired and mourning the death of his wife. He spends all his time at his estate near the Scottish border. Now, to defeat a new campaign by SMERSH, British Intelligence wants him back. When he will not agree, they blow up his house.
Once recruited, Sir James comes up with a bold plan: Every agent will become James Bond. Essential facets of the plan include James Bond (Evelyn Tremble) winning all Le Chiffre's money at baccarat and training James Bond (Ransome) to resist the advances of the most beautiful women.1 However, no one takes into account the abilities and evil intentions of Jimmy Bond (Dr. Noah) who develops a timed-release atomic fission capsule as the means to rule the world — and mistakenly swallows it.
If all this sounds goofy, it should. Unlike Daniel Craig's version, this Casino Royale is a spoof of the long-running 007 movie franchise (which is now producing its twenty-seventh entry.) It adds up to an expensively mounted and energentically acted cascade of absurdities and sight gags that moves along swiftly, accompanied by one of the catchiest musical scores going.2 It succeeds very well at what it sets out to do: being a spoof that is just good fun, with nothing elevated about it (except that baroque flying saucer.)
My Rating:
8 out of 10
Capsule review: Casino Royale is a classic spoof, with plenty of absurdities sold by its all-star cast and one of the catchiest musical scores going.
| IMDB Rating: 5.2 | Raters: 24,229 |
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