Casino Royale is a 1967 spy parody film originally distributed by Columbia Pictures. It is loosely based on the 1953 novel Casino Royale, the first novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond book series.
The film stars David Niven as the "original" Bond, Sir James Bond 007. Forced out of retirement to investigate the deaths and disappearances of international spies, he soon battles the mysterious Dr. Noah and the ruthless counter-intelligence agency SMERSH, inspired by actual organizations in the USSR. The film's tagline: "Casino Royale is too much... for one James Bond!" refers to Bond's plan to mislead SMERSH in which six other agents are pretending to be "James Bond", namely, baccarat master Evelyn Tremble (Peter Sellers); millionaire spy Vesper Lynd (Ursula Andress); Bond's secretary Miss Moneypenny (Barbara Bouchet); Bond's daughter with Mata Hari, Mata Bond (Joanna Pettet); and British agents Cooper (Terence Cooper) and the Detainer (Daliah Lavi).
Charles K. Feldman, the producer, had acquired the film rights in 1960 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. Believing that he could not compete with the Eon series, Feldman resolved to produce the film as a satire. The budget escalated as various directors and writers became involved in the production, and actors expressed dissatisfaction with the project.
Released on 13 April 1967, two months prior to Eon's fifth Bond film, You Only Live Twice, Casino Royale was a financial success, grossing over $41.7 million worldwide, and Burt Bacharach's musical score was praised, earning him an Academy Award nomination for the song "The Look of Love", performed on the film's soundtrack by Dusty Springfield. Critical reaction, however, was generally negative, with many reviewers regarding it as a baffling, disorganised affair.
Since 1999, rights have been held by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributors of the Bond films by Eon Productions.
Plot Legendary British spy Sir James Bond 007, who has been retired for 20 years, is visited by M, the head of British MI6; CIA representative Ransome; KGB representative Smernov; and Deuxième Bureau representative Le Grand. They implore Bond to come out of retirement to deal with SMERSH, who have been eliminating their agents. Bond refuses, and chastises M for continuing to use his name for other field agents. M orders a mortar attack that destroys Bond's estate, but is himself killed in the process.
Bond returns M's remains (a toupée) to his widow, Lady Fiona McTarry, at M's Scottish estate. However, the real Lady Fiona has been replaced by SMERSH's Agent Mimi, and the household replaced with women in an attempt to destroy Bond's "celibate image". The women fail to seduce Bond, and Mimi is so impressed that she helps Bond foil the plot against him and joins a convent. Back in London, Bond is named head of MI6.
Bond is told that agents around the world are being killed by SMERSH due to their inability to refuse sex, and also that the "sex maniac", given the name "James Bond" when the real Bond retired, has gone to work in television. To confuse SMERSH and expose their masterplan, Bond orders that all remaining MI6 agents be codenamed "James Bond 007", and creates a programme to train male agents to ignore women's advances. Moneypenny recruits Cooper, a karate expert, who completes his training by successfully resisting a British agent known as the Detainer. Bond hires Vesper Lynd, a retired agent turned millionaire, to recruit baccarat expert Evelyn Tremble. Bond intends to use Tremble to beat SMERSH agent Le Chiffre, who has lost SMERSH funds gambling and is desperate to recover his losses before he is executed.
Following a clue from Agent Mimi, Bond instructs his estranged daughter, Mata Bond, to travel to West Berlin and infiltrate International Mothers' Help, an au pair service that is actually a SMERSH training centre. Mata uncovers a plan to sell compromising photographs of military leaders from the US, USSR, China, and Great Britain at an "art auction", another of Le Chiffre’s money-raising schemes. Mata destroys the photos, leaving baccarat as Le Chiffre's only option.
Evelyn arrives at the Casino Royale accompanied by Vesper, who foils an attempt by seductive SMERSH agent Miss Goodthighs to disable Tremble. Later that night at the casino, Evelyn realises that Le Chiffre is using infrared sunglasses to cheat. Vesper steals the sunglasses, allowing Evelyn to beat Le Chiffre. Vesper is apparently abducted outside the casino, and Evelyn is also kidnapped while pursuing her. Le Chiffre, desperate for the winning cheque, tortures Evelyn using hallucinogens. Vesper rescues Evelyn, only to subsequently kill him, while SMERSH agents kill Le Chiffre.
In London, Mata is kidnapped by SMERSH in a giant flying saucer, and Sir James and Moneypenny travel to Casino Royale to rescue her. They discover that the casino is located atop an underground headquarters run by SMERSH's evil Dr. Noah, who is revealed to be Sir James's nephew Jimmy Bond, a former MI6 agent believed to have been killed on a mission. Jimmy reveals his plan to use biological warfare to make all women beautiful and kill all men over tall, leaving him the "big man" who attracts all the women. He has also replaced various world leaders with look-alike robots and captured the Detainer in an attempt to persuade her to be his partner. She feigns agreement to dupe him into swallowing one of his “atomic time pills”, turning him into a walking atomic bomb.
Sir James, Moneypenny, Mata, and Cooper escape from their cell and fight their way back to the casino director's office, where Sir James establishes that Vesper is a double agent. The casino is overrun by secret agents and a battle ensues. American paratroopers and the French Foreign Legion arrive, adding to the chaos. Meanwhile, Jimmy counts down a series of hiccups, each bringing him closer to doom. The atomic pill eventually explodes, destroying Casino Royale and killing everyone inside. As Sir James and his agents appear in Heaven, Evelyn sees Jimmy and sends him descending to Hell.
Cast Peter Sellers as Evelyn Tremble / James Bond: A baccarat master recruited by Vesper Lynd to challenge Le Chiffre at Casino Royale. Ursula Andress as Vesper Lynd / James Bond: A retired British secret agent forced back into service in exchange for writing off her tax arrears. David Niven as Sir James Bond: A legendary British secret agent forced out of retirement to fight SMERSH. Orson Welles as Le Chiffre: SMERSH's financial agent, desperate to win at baccarat to repay the money he has embezzled from the organisation. Joanna Pettet as Mata Bond / James Bond: Bond's daughter, born of his love affair with Mata Hari. Daliah Lavi as the Detainer / James Bond: A British secret agent who successfully poisons Dr. Noah with his own atomic pill. Woody Allen as Jimmy Bond / Dr. Noah: Bond's nephew and head of SMERSH under his Dr. Noah alias. Because he is rendered mute in the presence of his uncle, he uses a pre-recorded voice (that of Valentine Dyall) in some scenes. Deborah Kerr as Agent Mimi / Lady Fiona McTarry: A SMERSH agent who masquerades as the widow of M but cannot help falling in love with Bond. William Holden as Ransome: A CIA executive who accompanies the cross-spy-agency team to persuade Bond out of retirement, then reappears in the final climactic fight scene. Charles Boyer as Le Grand: A Deuxième Bureau executive who accompanies the cross-spy-agency team to see Bond. John Huston as M / McTarry: Head of MI6 who dies from an explosion caused by his own bombardment of Bond's estate when the cross-spy-agency team visits. Kurt Kasznar as Smernov: A KGB executive who accompanies the cross-spy-agency team to see Bond. George Raft as Himself, flicking a coin as he did in Scarface. Jean-Paul Belmondo as French Legionnaire Terence Cooper as Cooper / James Bond: A British secret agent specifically chosen, and trained for this mission to resist the charms of women. Barbara Bouchet as Miss Moneypenny / James Bond 007: The daughter of Bond's original Moneypenny, who works for the service in the same position held by her mother years earlier.
Major stars, such as Raft and Belmondo, were given top billing in marketing and screen trailers despite only appearing for a few minutes in the final scene.
Supporting cast Angela Scoular, Gabriella Licudi, Tracey Crisp, Elaine Taylor and Alexandra Bastedo as Buttercup, Eliza, Heather, Peg and Meg: A quintet of SMERSH agents undercover as M/Lord McTarry's daughters. Jacqueline Bisset (credited as Jacky Bisset) as Miss Giovanna Goodthighs: A SMERSH agent who attempts to kill Evelyn at Casino Royale. She also appears as an extra who stands behind Le Chiffre at the casino. Anna Quayle as Frau Hoffner: Mata Hari's teacher, portrayed as a parody of Cesare in the German expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (her school is modelled on that film's expressionist decor). Derek Nimmo as Hadley: A British secret serviceman who briefs Mata Bond on her mission to Berlin. Ronnie Corbett as Polo: A SMERSH agent at the International Mothers' Help, in love with Mata Hari and expresses the same feelings for Mata Bond. Colin Gordon as Casino director Bernard Cribbins as Carlton Towers: A British Foreign Office official who drives Mata Bond all the way from London to Berlin in his taxi. Tracy Reed as Fang Leader John Bluthal as Casino doorman / MI5 man Geoffrey Bayldon as Q John Wells as Fordyce: Q's assistant. Duncan Macrae as Inspector Mathis: He shows Evelyn his "credentials" in the pre-title sequence. Graham Stark as cashier Chic Murray as Chic Jonathan Routh as John Richard Wattis as British Army Officer Vladek Sheybal as Le Chiffre's Representative Percy Herbert as First Piper Joe Cornelius as Cowboy Penny Riley as Control Girl Jeanne Roland as Captain of the Guards Fiona Lewis (uncredited) as Casino Girl Burt Kwouk (uncredited) as Chinese General Caroline Munro (uncredited) as Guard
Casino Royale also boasts the greatest number of actors in a Bond film either to have appeared or to go on to appear in the rest of the Eon series – besides Andress in Dr. No, Sheybal appears as Kronsteen in From Russia with Love, Kwouk features as Mr. Ling in Goldfinger and an unnamed SPECTRE operative in You Only Live Twice, Roland plays a masseuse in You Only Live Twice, and Scoular appears as Ruby Bartlett in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Jack Gwillim, who has a minor role as a British Army officer, plays a Royal Air Force officer in Thunderball. Peter Burton, who appears in the lineup of possible Bonds with Cooper, had previously played Q in Dr. No. Caroline Munro, seen very briefly as one of Dr Noah's gun-toting guards, went on to play Naomi in The Spy Who Loved Me, and also appears with other models on the cover of the 1969 Pan Books edition of On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Milton Reid, who appears in a bit part as the temple guard, opening the door to Mata Bond's hall, plays one of Dr. No's guards and Stromberg's underling, Sandor, in The Spy Who Loved Me. John Hollis, who plays the temple priest in Mata Bond's hall, went on to play the implied Ernst Stavro Blofeld character in the pre-credits sequence of For Your Eyes Only. John Wells, Q's assistant, appears in For Your Eyes Only as Denis Thatcher. Hal Galili, who appears briefly as a US Army officer at the auction, had earlier played gangster Jack Strap in Goldfinger.
Uncredited cast Well-established stars such as Peter O'Toole and sporting legends such as Stirling Moss took uncredited parts solely in order to work with the other cast members. Moss played Evelyn's driver. O'Toole supposedly took payment in a case of champagne.