Clearly, the film does not follow its source material, aside from carrying the same character names and featuring baccarat in one scene. The various “Bonds” in the film move from setting to setting with no cohesion. The narrative thread of Casino Royale is disastrous. It also pokes fun at the flirtatious relationship between Bond and the MI6 secretary Moneypenny (Barbara Bouchet, in this film), references that only Bond fans would understand. Other digs at the Bond name are too subtle for audiences that aren’t die-hard fans, such as Bond’s nephew Jimmy Bond (Woody Allen) using an impractical gadget–an exploding cigarette–that actually makes an appearance in the EON film You Only Live Twice. But, upon Bond’s victory, the widow instantly falls for Bond, and even scales down a building to save him in a later scene. The scene itself carries on for far too long with little comedic payoff from men stumbling around with heavy cement balls. In one early scene, Bond is challenged to “wrestle” the widow’s guards after he angers her. To fans of the 1960s Bond films or the novels, this opposing characterization is humorous, but it also leads to sexual gags that grow tired before they even get off the ground.Ĭasino Royale does parody certain tropes of the straight Bond films with more subtlety, particularly the absurd level to which women fall for the super spy. He stumbles through his sentences, lacking any suave coolness, and he is put off by sex, despite it being pressed upon him tirelessly. Niven’s Bond is the foil to the EON Bond portrayed by Sean Connery. In one instance, a dead man’s toupee is presented to his widow (Deborah Kerr) by a stuttering Bond, who asks if she would like it properly buried, to which she replies that it is simply an “hair-loom.” However, as the movie progresses, we get little in the way of smart comedy. We must destroy that image.” This, a direct attack at the Fleming and EON image of Bond, is a good place to start a parody of such a character.

The shadowy leader of the organization states boldly that “Sir James Bond is back with his morals, his vows, and his celibate image.

In it, Bond (David Niven) is long retired, and is approached by an international array of spy organization leaders–including John Huston as Fleming’s MI6 head M–who attempt to goad him out of retirement.Īll the while, global terrorist organization SMERSH vie to ruin Bond. The film is a spoof of the genre that its lead character helped to popularize. Casino Royale is the first of two films to adapt Ian Fleming’s character James Bond under a production company other than EON Productions.

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