A Dud of an Entry in My Watch Every James Bondathon

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MOVIE REVIEW
Casino Royale
Approved –

Genre: Comedy
Year Released: 1967
Runtime: 2h 11m
Director(s): Val Guest (scenes with Woody Allen and additional scenes with David Niven,) Ken Hughes (Berlin scenes,) John Huston (scenes at Sir James Bond's house and castle in Scotland scenes)
Writer(s): Wolf Mankowitz (screenplay,) John Law (screenplay,) Michael Sayers (screenplay), Ian Fleming (suggested by the novel "Casino Royale"), and misc. Others uncredited
Cast: Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, David Niven, Orson Welles, Joanna Pettet, Daliah Lavi, Woody Allen, Deborah Kerr
Where To Watch: Available to stream on most major streaming platforms

RAVING REVIEW: A total mess from start to finish, between behind the scene rights issues and on-set act/director issues, the film ends up as a complete cluster with no identity.

Never quite funny enough to be a good parody and too much of a caricature to be taken seriously. The issues behind the film's creation have been well documented, so if you’re interested in how the first unofficial Bond film came to be, Wikipedia will have you covered.

With a cast like this, I was expecting something incredible, and unfortunately, outside of a few moments, the film felt every minute of its two-plus hour runtime. You would think with a cast consisting of Peter Sellers (THE PINK PANTHER, BEING THERE,) David Niven (MURDER BY DEATH, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS,) Ursula Andress (DR. NO, CLASH OF THE TITANS,) Orson Welles (CITIZEN KANE, TOUCH OF EVIL,) Woody Allen (ANNIE HALL, MANHATTAN) and Deborah Kerr (FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER) that, you would be in for a non-stop joyride. Sadly, there was little rhyme or reason to most of the film’s story, causing a total mess of a movie in the end.

I’m well aware that the film was meant to parody; somehow, the name James Bond being attached to the film was apparently enough to get the movie to be a financial success, critically though the film was panned for being a “disorganized affair.” It’s a shame; had a film like this been made with a well-done script and solid direction, it could’ve been an absolute hit!

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