Casino Royale
About Casino Royale
American Combined Intelligence agent James Bond dodges an assassin and is told by Clarence Leiter to ruin Le Chiffre at baccarat. After Bond wins, Le Chiffre tortures him for the check while holding Valerie Mathis, a Deuxième Bureau agent and Bond's former lover. When she breaks from a razor at her throat, Bond shoots Le Chiffre.
Cast & crew
More about Casino Royale
William H. Brown Jr. directed the live Climax! episode, Martin Manulis produced it, and Antony Ellis and Charles Bennett adapted Ian Fleming's 1953 novel, though Wikidata lists Bennett alone. CBS paid Fleming $1,000, and the hour aired October 21, 1954. Wikidata lists 48 minutes and credits Jerry Goldsmith.
Themes
Music
Wikidata credits Jerry Goldsmith with the music.
Preservation
Kinescopes survive. A restored edit is on Wikimedia Commons. The original color broadcast is not what those copies show.
Notes
- Barry Nelson plays Bond as an American, not an MI6 agent. Peter Lorre plays Le Chiffre. Linda Christian plays Valerie Mathis, a composite of Vesper Lynd and René Mathis. Michael Pate plays Clarence Leiter.
- The live show was in color. Surviving copies are black-and-white kinescopes. Jim Schoenberger found a mostly complete copy in 1981. The ending and credits turned up later.
- The United States copyright was not renewed, so the episode is in the public domain there.
- William Lundigan hosts. The catalog calls the crime boss LeChiffre.
Scenes
- Bond explains baccarat to Leiter.
- Le Chiffre holds Mathis with a razor and Bond shoots him.
Influenced by
- Ian Fleming's Casino Royale (1953)
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (CASINO ROYALE (1954) RESTORED EDIT.webm)
Quotes
Card Sense Jimmy Bond