1935) has a walk-on as the Frankenstein monster. Here are some cast members that you may not know. The cameo appearances speak for themselves, but I think I may have to watch it again, as I missed Charles Boyer and Richard Burton! It is impossible to miss George Raft who shoots himself with a trick gun, and Peter O'Toole who is 'the finest man who ever breathed.' All in their twenties, and they all went on to successful acting careers. 1943) as Miss Moneypenny, and a young Jacqueline Bisset (b. 1942) as Bond's daughter, Barbara Bouchet (b. As my wife pointed out, the use of these girls is just a bit on the sexist side, but consider the era. The film is also filled with incredibly beautiful women, dressed (or rather almost dressed) in sixties style. Need I mention Ursula Andress and Deborah Kerr? Orson Welles is ominous as Le Chiffre, Peter Sellers has a few wonderful (probably ad libbed) moments, Woody Allen is Woody Allen, and David Niven is as suave as I have ever seen him. As I try not to focus on the main stars in my blog, they will speak for themselves.

Casino Royale is not a bad film, as some have said in other reviews, it is simply not a typical James Bond film.

They are a statement of the times and the changing mores of the sixties, and I would suggest that they may have inspired Mel Brooks to make Blazing Saddles in 1974. This movie is, in my opinion, one of the best satires made in the 1960s, and belongs on the shelf with movies like Barbarella (1968). The 1967 release of Casino Royale is somewhat less than true to the novel. The rights eventually came to Columbia Pictures and it was decided that a satire would be the best way to produce a money maker. In 1955 Fleming sold the film rights for $6,000 to producers Michael Garrison and Gregory Ratoff, and they had a few failed attempts to sell the idea.

The rights to the novel were bought by CBS for $1,000 and the 'Climax!' offering was presented the next year starring Barry Nelson (1917 - 2007) as the very first James Bond. Ian Fleming wrote the novel in 1953, introducing James Bond to the world. (I still haven't, but I will get around to it!) I recently purchased it because the DVD also includes 'Casino Royale' from the TV series 'Climax!' and I have never seen that one. I don't think I have seen it in full since that time, when I was just 17 years old. I saw Casino Royale (1967) when it first came out, once again at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside, PA.

Cast of casino royale