Casino Royale is an oddity matched against the other James Bond films because of the way in which it was eventually brought to the screen in 2006. Though it was the first book in the series, penned by Ian Fleming, the producers of the official James Bond series had been unable to secure the rights to it.
The cause of this was simply because Fleming had sold the television and film rights to the book back in 1954 and when what's left of the film rights were sold, they did not include Casino Royale.
In fact it was first produced as a CBS TV play, when Barry Nelson played the role of "Jimmy" Bond, a CIA agent. Later on when the film series had begun to attain success, the rights to Casino Royale were picked up by Charles K. Feldman. He attempted to persuade Sean Connery to star in a screen version, and when Connery's income demands scuppered that concept, Feldman made a decision to make it as a comedy instead.
The result was released in 1967, the same year as You Only Live Twice; while it stars many big name actors, the film is rather a mess.
In the meantime there continued a disagreement between Eon, the producers of the Bond films, and Kevin McClory, who had produced Thunderball and whose work on that story is recognized on the novels after he took Fleming to court.
McClory claimed the privilege to produce a rival James Bond series, with the backing of Sony, who by this point owned the Casino Royale rights. He went to the court on 1 or 2 occasions, the final time was in the late 1990s; nevertheless the lawsuit was thrown out and the rights to Casino Royale were sold to MGM, the studio that backed Eon financially.
When Casino Royale made it to the big screen in 2006, the entire world went Bond funny again. With Daniel Craig as 007 and Eva Green as Algerian love knot wearing Vesper Lynd, the film proved to be a phenomenal success.
The cause of this was simply because Fleming had sold the television and film rights to the book back in 1954 and when what's left of the film rights were sold, they did not include Casino Royale.
In fact it was first produced as a CBS TV play, when Barry Nelson played the role of "Jimmy" Bond, a CIA agent. Later on when the film series had begun to attain success, the rights to Casino Royale were picked up by Charles K. Feldman. He attempted to persuade Sean Connery to star in a screen version, and when Connery's income demands scuppered that concept, Feldman made a decision to make it as a comedy instead.
The result was released in 1967, the same year as You Only Live Twice; while it stars many big name actors, the film is rather a mess.
In the meantime there continued a disagreement between Eon, the producers of the Bond films, and Kevin McClory, who had produced Thunderball and whose work on that story is recognized on the novels after he took Fleming to court.
McClory claimed the privilege to produce a rival James Bond series, with the backing of Sony, who by this point owned the Casino Royale rights. He went to the court on 1 or 2 occasions, the final time was in the late 1990s; nevertheless the lawsuit was thrown out and the rights to Casino Royale were sold to MGM, the studio that backed Eon financially.
When Casino Royale made it to the big screen in 2006, the entire world went Bond funny again. With Daniel Craig as 007 and Eva Green as Algerian love knot wearing Vesper Lynd, the film proved to be a phenomenal success.
About the Author:
Vesper Lynd was the best Bond girl for years. In Casino Royale she wears an Algerian Love Knot given to her by her lover. You can read more articles about the Algerian love knot on my website.
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