Casino Royale

The first ever witty Bond one-liner in a James Bond movie occurs at the beginning of this television movie when Bond's ally Clarence Leiter asks, "Aren't you the fellow who was shot?" and Bond replies, "No, I'm the fellow who was missed."

This "Casino Royale" television movie was lost for twenty-seven years until it resurfaced in 1981 when movie collector and airlines executive Jim Shoenberger discovered a 16mm kinescope print of it amongst some old cans of film. The copies were labelled "Casino Royale" and he thought they were the Casino Royale (1967) James Bond parody. When he realized they were black-and-white prints, he played the reels out of curiosity as the 1967 spoof was a color movie. The 1954 television movie was thence rediscovered and it was screened in a theater, shown on TBS, and released on videocassette. It is now available on DVD.

Barry Nelson is the first actor, and only American, to play James Bond in an authorized production, although American Richard Conte was the drawing model for the British paperback cover of "Casino Royale" 1955 reprint. Linda Christian played the first Bond Girl, Valerie Mathis (combining two book characters, Vesper Lynd and Rene Mathis). Peter Lorre played Le Chiffre, the first Bond villain in film.

Barry Nelson has said that his main impetus for taking the role was the opportunity to work with legendary actor Peter Lorre. Nelson had been a fan of the actor's great body of work and believed that if he didn't take this opportunity to work with him here it may not present itself again.

Ian Fleming received three offers for the movie rights to his "Casino Royale" novel during 1954. The producer and director Gregory Ratoff bought the rights to the novel in May 1954 for six hundred dollars. It was a six month option, and Ratoff took this to CBS who produced and broadcast this one hour episode for Climax! (1954). CBS purchased the rights to the Ian Fleming novel for one thousand dollars. John Shepridge negotiated the sale of the movie and television rights in 1954. Before the sale, the "Casino Royale" novel had not been successful, and was even re-titled and Americanized for its paperback issue. Fleming also needed money. Twelve months later, and after the television screening, Ratoff bought "Casino Royale" outright in perpetuity for an additional six thousand dollars. Both sales, including the option and the buy-out, are considered to have been sold too cheaply, and were two sales that Ian Fleming regretted. With the money from the larger sale, Ian Fleming bought a Ford Thunderbird at the cost of three thousand pounds sterling. Gregory Ratoff died on December 14, 1960. His widow sold the rights to Charles K. Feldman for seventy-five thousand dollars in 1961. Feldman went on to make the James Bond parody, Casino Royale (1967) and it would not be made as an EON Productions movie until Casino Royale (2006).