Casino Royale (1967)

Way before we ever saw Austin Powers, 1967 not only gave James Bond fans You Only Live Twice with Sean Connery but also Casino Royale. Two Bond films in one year? Sounds great right but this adaptation of Ian Fleming's first 007 adventure took the character for a ride with a spoof on the spy genre. 

The cast included many greats such as David Niven, Peter Sellers, Woody Allen, William Holden, John Huston and Orson Welles as the villainous Le Chiffre, while Ursula Andress even stars as a different Bond girl following her early work in Dr. No. The stage was set for a highly entertaining 1960s spoof on the popular character but the madhouse of a production (as Allen put it) spelled trouble for the film. 

Niven stars as an aging Bond in retirement who, through some absurdist plan by M., is brought back into the field to take on SMERSH and stop Le Chiffre. However, Niven isn't the only Bond as we also have Sellers playing another variation of 007 and Allen as Jimmy Bond. My head hurts as try to describe what happens in a film that is best compared to something of a fever dream or maybe a nightmare as it's safe to say that having six different directors isn't contusive to having a succinct cinematic experience. 

The film spends more time away from the plot with completely bonkers moments that feature a wide selection of cameos who are fun to spot but are otherwise my only real source of entertainment to be found here. With that said, if you grew up on this style of 1960s comedies and the stars here then I can see how there might be something to enjoy but this is a very hard sell for newcomers and younger audiences today. 

Such was the state of the production process, Sellers quit during filming and with little effort to hide his absence the film carries on from one strange scene to the next without providing much in the way of a resolution to any of the cast. Woody Allen probably comes out of this the best given the material he has and seeing Welles perform magic tricks mid-scene (as per his contact of course!), he would have made a great antagonist in a more serious Bond film. 

I can't deny it; I will never put myself through another two and a bit hours of this absurd film again. It is a complete mess that makes it an easy one to recommend avoiding and I am glad it didn't hinder the existing franchise which it could have so easily derailed if it found success. I would have still welcomed a spoof on the character from this period but even with the right cast, Casino Royale just didn't come together in the production when it needed to.