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In the latest issue, Cinema Retro magazine looks
back to the 1967 "spoof" production of Casino Royale.
MI6 has a sneak peek.. |
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Cinema Retro Remembers Casino Royale '67
16th October 2006
Cinema
Retro magazine, which is published by James Bond
experts and authors Lee Pfeiffer and Dave Worrall, have
examined the fascinating history of Casino Royale in their
latest issue (#6). The magazine, which is dedicated to
the classic and cult movies of the 1960s and 1970s, boasts
a rare glamour cover photo of Jacqueline Bisset, who played
Miss Goodthighs in the film. Highlights of the issue include:
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Exclusive interview with American actor
Barry Nelson, who played Bond for the first time
on screen in the 1954 CBS TV adaptation of the
novel.
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An in-depth look at the controversial
1967 big screen comedy version of the story which
became legendary for it’s out-of-control
budget and an eclectic, all-star cast
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Deleted sequences from the film and
never-before-published photos
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Exclusive columns by Barbara Bouchet
and Caroline Munro, who recall working on the film.
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A listing of actors who appeared in
the 1967 version of Casino Royale as well as in
official Eon Productions Bond movies
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Much of the research and writing for the Casino Royale piece
was due to the efforts of authors Gareth Owen (The Pinewood Story)
and Tim Greaves (The Bond Women: 007 Style and contributing editor
to Bond Girls Are Forever) According to Dave Worrall, he and
Lee Pfeiffer have always been interested in presenting the fascinating
stories behind the Casino Royale legend but were not able to
incorporate them into their best-selling book, The Essential
James Bond. Worrall explains, “There had been legal concerns
at the time that prohibited us from covering Casino Royale and
the other “renegade” Bond production Never Say Never
Again because they had been produced outside the Eon banner.
Thus, we could only cover them in a superficial way at the time,
although Eon ultimately got the rights to these films as well.
With this issue of Cinema Retro, we’ve tried to put the
1967 production of Casino Royale in its proper context within
the world of James Bond.”
Above: Pete Sellers in the 1967 "spoof" production of Casino
Royale |
For most fans, the film represents a wasted opportunity to transfer
Fleming’s first Bond novel to the screen in proper fashion.
It was the one Fleming novel that Eon did not control the screen
rights for. Producer Charles K. Feldman, who had the screen rights,
decided he couldn’t compete by making a “serious” Bond
film, so he decided to turn the story into a madcap, mega-budget
spy spoof incorporating the talents of everyone from Orson Welles
to Woody Allen. By the time it went into production, Casino Royale
was already over-budget and in big trouble. Multiple directors
were filming but not in conjunction with each other. As the film
spiraled out of control, Feldman used stages on most of the major
British studios. Cast members quit the production, as no end
had been in sight and in one major gaffe, Feldman fired the movie’s
star Peter Sellers despite the fact that Sellers still had
to film pivotal sequences.
Above: Ursual Andress played Vesper
Lynd/007
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Still, Casino Royale its defenders - among them,
Lee Pfeiffer who says, “Worrall and I have long argued
over the merits of this film. He thinks it’s a colossal
waste of time and talent. God knows how many pints went
down in futile debates in pubs over this admittedly crazy
movie."
"I freely admit it’s a tragic treatment
of a great Fleming novel, but there is much to recommend.
The film has magnificent production design, a great score
by Burt Bacharach and some wonderful comedic vignettes
by legendary stars. The fact that none of it makes sense
doesn’t bother me much because it’s glorious
eye candy. I suspect that if the day ever comes when it
does make sense, it’s time to enter a mental health
facility.”
According to Pfeiffer, the most surprising aspect of putting
the issue together was the revelation that Oscar-winning
actor Cliff Robertson had been asked by Charles K. Feldman
to direct one of the segments of Casino Royale. “I
had been interviewing Cliff for another article in our
magazine when he told me this anecdote he had never related
before. I almost fell over.” Robertson relates the
surprising details in an interview excerpt in this issue
of Cinema Retro. |
Above: Joanna Pettet played
Mata Bond
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Cinema Retro is entering its third year of publication. For
Worrall and Pfeiffer, the experience has been a rewarding one. “Many
prominent people in the film world now subscribe and contribute”,
says Worrall. “It’s an honour to have the participation
of so man legendary actors and filmmakers.” The duo also
manages to juggle other ventures in between issues. They were
contributing writers to the newly-released The Art of James
Bond book, which had been in production for a number of years. “The
author, Laurent Bouzereau, did a fine job with getting insights
and comments from prominent filmmakers about the legend of
James Bond”, says Worrall. “Lee and I were engaged
to provide the extensive photo captions for the book. It looks
great and
I think even hard-core Bond fans will find many photos they
haven’t
seen before.”
Issue #6 of Cinema Retro also features:
- Exclusive interviews with William Shatner, Michael
York and Jeremy Slate
- A look at the history of ITC, which made
Danger Man and The Persuaders among other classics
- Raymond Benson’s top ten films of 1965
- Part IV of the film diary of famed stunt director
Vic Armstrong
- Eli Wallach’s tribute at the National Film Theatre
- Tributes to Norman Wisdom, Elvis Presley and Superman
star George Reeves
- The snafu that has prevented The Man From UNCLE from
being released on DVD
- Actor Joseph Sirola recalls filming Clint Eastwood’s Hang ‘Em
High
To order the magazine or to subscribe, visit www.cinemaretro.com
All images and text courtesy CinemaRetro.
Casino Royale (1967) stills copyright Columbia Pictures Corporation |
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