Casino Royale was Ian Fleming's first novel and in it he introduced James Bond, who since publication in 1953, has become a worldwide phenomenon largely thanks to the success of the film series. It's bizarre then to believe that this book, the first of the James Bond books, was only adapted correctly for the big screen in 2006 in the critically and commercially successful flick staring Daniel Craig.
Ian Fleming had originally sold the rights to the story, which was made into a 1954 television adaption staring Barry Nelson. The film rights went first to Gregory Ratoff and later on on his dying, to Charles K Feldman who brought the story to the big-screen in 1967 as a comedy that featured everybody from David Niven to Peter Sellers and Woody Allen (and incidentally featured Ursela Andress, the very first Bond girl).
Therefore, when Fleming sold what's left of the film rights to Harry Saltzman and Cubby Broccoli it was without Casino Royale. Eon Productions eventually got the rights to the film after a court battle with Sony in 1999 and decided to utilize the story following Die Another Day in 2002. But more than 50 years had passed since the novel was first published and the producers felt it required some updating.
In the book the tale is straightforward. Bond has been sent to a spa city in Northern France where he's to beat Le Chiffre, who is under the pay of the KGB and has lost the funds of his Russian paymasters. If Le Chiffre wins at the baccarat tables he can pay down the funds; if he loses then the British hope the Russians will kill him instead and therefore send 007 to help them achieve this goal.
While the film does remain dependable to this element of the plot it is considerably expanded. In the film version James Bond becomes instrumental in Le Chiffre losing the money. And instead of being paid by the KGB, Le Chiffre is working for a shadowy criminal organisation which is laundering cash for African guerrillas and Le Chiffre is involved in his own scheme to make some extra money on the deal by "borrowing" the cash and investing it in a short term sure bet that, if it were not for the intervention of 007, would be a dead cert.
Ian Fleming had originally sold the rights to the story, which was made into a 1954 television adaption staring Barry Nelson. The film rights went first to Gregory Ratoff and later on on his dying, to Charles K Feldman who brought the story to the big-screen in 1967 as a comedy that featured everybody from David Niven to Peter Sellers and Woody Allen (and incidentally featured Ursela Andress, the very first Bond girl).
Therefore, when Fleming sold what's left of the film rights to Harry Saltzman and Cubby Broccoli it was without Casino Royale. Eon Productions eventually got the rights to the film after a court battle with Sony in 1999 and decided to utilize the story following Die Another Day in 2002. But more than 50 years had passed since the novel was first published and the producers felt it required some updating.
In the book the tale is straightforward. Bond has been sent to a spa city in Northern France where he's to beat Le Chiffre, who is under the pay of the KGB and has lost the funds of his Russian paymasters. If Le Chiffre wins at the baccarat tables he can pay down the funds; if he loses then the British hope the Russians will kill him instead and therefore send 007 to help them achieve this goal.
While the film does remain dependable to this element of the plot it is considerably expanded. In the film version James Bond becomes instrumental in Le Chiffre losing the money. And instead of being paid by the KGB, Le Chiffre is working for a shadowy criminal organisation which is laundering cash for African guerrillas and Le Chiffre is involved in his own scheme to make some extra money on the deal by "borrowing" the cash and investing it in a short term sure bet that, if it were not for the intervention of 007, would be a dead cert.
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