Thoughts on "Casino Royale" (1954)

JamesBondJunior

I find it a great watch. Too bad they didn't produce more 1950s James Bond episodes. The actor who plays Leiter is phenomenal and the actress who portrays Valerie Mathis is just as great an actress and beautiful to boot. I think Barry Nelson is the coolest Bond next to Sean Connery. The slick hair and relaxed demeanor are great, even if he plays Bond as sort of an unpolished guy. Peter Lorre is excellent as well, even though his Le Chiffre would have been awesome had he played him when he was younger.

As a television episode dealing with espionage, cards and romance, its pretty great. Compared with most Bond films its still a respectable light entertainment that works well on its meager budget.

I'm sure the director of the recent "official" Casino Royale watched this version. I wonder if the black and white Pre-title sequence was inspired by the great black and white cinematography of this version.

Denzil2222

I dont know because i never saw it, about 10/12 years ago when it was released on vhs i was planning to pick up a copy but i never did.

JamesBondJunior

Denzil2222 wrote:

I dont know because i never saw it, about 10/12 years ago when it was released on vhs i was planning to pick up a copy but i never did.

I found a copy years ago at a Wal-mart. It was in the $1 DVD bin hilariously sporting a rugged, hairy faced Bond on the cover (trying to cash in on the rugged Daniel Craig?)

Napoleon Plural

Surely it's on youtube or something?

It's a film you see once, and that's it imo. Peter Lorre is a notable villain mind you, if a bit benign. It's a curiosity.

Fatsnbul

It is streamimg on Netflix if you are a subscriber.