Casino Royale (Climax! episode)
| Casino Royale | |
|---|---|
Barry Nelson as James Bond.
|
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| Based on |
Casino Royale by Ian Fleming |
| Written by |
Charles Bennett Anthony Ellis |
| Directed by | William H. Brown Jr |
| Presented by | William Lundigan |
| Starring |
Barry Nelson Peter Lorre Linda Christian Michael Pate |
| Theme music composer | Leith Stevens |
| Composer(s) | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Bretaigne Windhurst |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Distributor |
CBS (TV airing) Metro-Goldwyn Mayer (DVD release) |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| First shown in |
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"Casino Royale" is a live 1954 television adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. An episode of the dramatic anthology series Climax!, the show is the first screen adaptation of a James Bond novel and stars Barry Nelson, Peter Lorre, and Linda Christian. Though this marks the first onscreen appearance of the secret agent, Nelson's Bond is played as an American spy with "Combined Intelligence Agency" and is referred to as "Jimmy" by several characters.
Most of the largely forgotten show was located in the 1980s by film historian Jim Schoenberger, with the ending (including credits) found afterward. Both copies are black and white kinescopes, but the original live broadcast was in color. The rights to the program were acquired by MGM at the same time as the rights for the 1967 film version of Casino Royale, clearing the legal pathway and enabling it to make the 2006 film of the same name.
Act I "Combined Intelligence" agent James Bond comes under fire from an assassin: he manages to dodge the bullets and enters Casino Royale. There he meets his British contact, Clarence Leiter, who remembers "Card Sense Jimmy Bond" from when he played the Maharajah at Deauville. While Bond explains the rules of baccarat, Leiter explains Bond's mission: to defeat Le Chiffre at baccarat and force his Soviet spymasters to "retire" him. Bond then encounters a former lover, Valerie Mathis who is Le Chiffre's current girlfriend; he also meets Le Chiffre himself.
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Wikipedia