Casino Royale (1967 film)

Casino Royale
UK theatrical release poster by Robert McGinnis
Directed by	John Huston Ken Hughes Val Guest Robert Parrish Joe McGrath
Screenplay by	Wolf Mankowitz John Law Michael Sayers
Based on	Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
Produced by	Charles K. Feldman Jerry Bresler
Starring	Peter Sellers Ursula Andress David Niven Woody Allen Joanna Pettet Orson Welles Daliah Lavi Deborah Kerr William Holden Charles Boyer Jean-Paul Belmondo George Raft John Huston Terence Cooper Barbara Bouchet Gabriella Licudi Graham Stark Tracy Reed Tracey Crisp Kurt Kasznar Elaine Taylor Angela Scoular
Cinematography	Jack Hildyard John Wilcox Nicolas Roeg
Edited by	Bill Lenny
Music by	Burt Bacharach
Production company	Famous Artists Productions[1]
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	13 April 1967 (1967-04-13) (London) 28 April 1967 (1967-04-28) (United States)
Running time	131 minutes
Countries	United Kingdom United States
Languages	English French
Budget	$12 million
Box office	$41.7 million

Casino Royale is a 1967 spy parody film originally distributed by Columbia Pictures. It is loosely based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming; the first novel to feature the character James Bond.

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.