Summary

• Casino Royale has been adapted multiple times, with various film and TV versions changing up the story with their own unique twists.
• The 1954 TV adaptation marked James Bond's first appearance on screen, creating a legacy that would continue for 70 years.
• The 1967 spoof version of Casino Royale was a hit at the box office, despite receiving poor critical reception for its bizarre take on the spy genre.

As one of the largest franchises in history, it’s unsurprising that James Bond has seen three screen adaptations of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale. James Bond has seen eight actors portray 007 in the movies, with the reimaginings of the mysterious spy also coming with multiple remakes of Ian Fleming’s original novel. While Daniel Craig’s 2006 franchise film gets all the glory, Ian Fleming’s first James Bond story, Casino Royale, has also been adapted a few times outside of Eon Production’s series. Considering Casino Royale is the very first James Bond work by Fleming, it makes sense that the agent’s official debut has been adapted more times than any of his other stories into movies.

The set-up from Fleming’s novel proves the basis for Casino Royale’s film and TV adaptations, but each adds its own flair to James Bond’s story depending on its production value, genre, and time. While the official James Bond film series has adapted nearly all of Fleming’s stories since 1962, the franchise’s timeline differs drastically from the book chronology. Before Daniel Craig’s critically acclaimed adaptation, two versions of Casino Royale had already been made, albeit outside the main film series.

Casino Royale (1954)

A Live Television Take On The Story

The first official adaptation of Casino Royale wasn’t on the big screen, but rather as a 50-minute television installment of the anthology series Climax! in 1954. The live television episode marked the first on-screen appearance of the iconic 007, following American agent James “Jimmy” Bond as he gambles against Soviet spy Le Chiffre in an attempt to make his leaders “retire” him. Rather than a SMERSH assassin killing Le Chiffre, 1954’s Casino Royale has Barry Nelson’s James Bond take out the villain himself. In the process, he saves his former lover, Valérie Mathis (a mix of Vesper Lynd and René Mathis), who was posing as Le Chiffre’s girlfriend, and the two escape–a much less grim ending than Fleming’s novel.

Casino Royale 1954 arrived only one year after the novel’s release, thus beginning the slew of James Bond actors and adaptations that would follow over the next 70 years. CBS had paid Ian Fleming $1,000 (about $10,000 today) in 1954 to adapt the book into a one-hour TV special, with its screenplay adaptation being written by Charles Bennett, who was known for his collaborations with thriller director Alfred Hitchcock. Due to its time restraints and live TV performance, many details from Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale novel were cut, but some of the violent action remained.

Casino Royale’s first adaptation, which originally aired in color, was lost for several decades

Although Climax!’s 1954 Casino Royale adaptation was critically panned for its cheap production value, slow pace, and inability to garner sufficient public attention, CBS still believed in Bond’s attraction and asked Fleming to write a TV series around the agent, but nothing ever came of this proposition. Casino Royale’s first adaptation, which originally aired in color, was lost for several decades after its initial broadcast until a black-and-white kinescope of the episode’s broadcast was found in 1981. Once rediscovered, James Bond’s first Casino Royale adaptation appeared in various VHS and DVD releases as well as a TBS James Bond marathon broadcast.

The 1954 version of Casino Royale is available for rent on Apple TV.

Casino Royale (1967)

A Spoof Of Spy Movies

The next on-screen adaptation of James Bond’s debut was Columbia Pictures’ 1967 film Casino Royale, which came five years after Eon had already launched the main franchise with Sean Connery’s Dr. No. While Casino Royale (1967) was loosely based on Fleming’s book of the same name, it had nothing to do with the official film series, serving as a spoof of the franchise and spy movies instead. With British actor David Niven playing the “original” Sir James Bond, the second Casino Royale screen adaptation follows 007 coming out of retirement to take down SMERSH, become head of M16, and defeat various Bond villains, including Le Chiffre.

Before there was Austin Powers, there was Casino Royale (1967)

Before there was Austin Powers, there was Casino Royale (1967), which very loosely takes Casino Royale’s story, combined with many other Bond journeys, to humorously parody the franchise. Including every agent being named James Bond, 007 teaching agents to ignore the seduction of women, and Bond dying and going to heaven, 1967’s Casino Royale adaptation isn’t a straightforward spy movie like the other versions. The adaptation came about when Charles K. Feldman bought the film rights to Casino Royale, who intended to make a serious adaptation until 1962’s Dr. No was released. Feldman had already invested a considerable amount of money into Casino Royale’s pre-production, so attempted to partner with Eon for an adaption, but the collaboration fell through. Instead, Feldman decided to change up the Bond business by making it a spoof and, in doing so, recruited an ensemble cast of stars to appear in his extravagant comedy.

Casino Royale (1967) performed exceptionally well at the box office, especially considering it was up against Eon’s Bond movie You Only Live Twice. The 1967 version opened to poor critical reception due to its vulgarity, indulgence, clichés, long runtime, and erratic structure, with the movie only holding a 25 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes today. After Casino Royale’s 1967 adaptation, the screen rights to the story remained with Columbia Pictures until it was taken over by Sony in 1989, where the rights would stay unused for another 10 years.

Casino Royale (2006)

The Start Of Daniel Craig's James Bond Era

In 1999, Sony and MGM made a deal in which Sony would trade MGM the rights to Casino Royale in exchange for the partial rights to Spider-Man. MGM’s deal also gave the rights to Eon, meaning Casino Royale could finally enter the official James Bond film series. The producers decided to adapt Casino Royale when launching their new and eventually highly successful James Bond, Daniel Craig, for a reboot of the 007 franchise. Casino Royale (2006) then served as the first venture of Daniel Craig’s Bond, which would ended in 2021 with No Time To Die. The 2006 Casino Royale, which became the 21st installment of the official film series, stays the closest to its source material out of all three adaptations, albeit with a slightly different ending.

stands as the fourth-highest-rated James Bond movie on Rotten Tomatoes at 94 percent

Casino Royale (2006) is the most successful and critically acclaimed adaptation of Ian Fleming’s same-titled novel, and stands as the fourth-highest-rated James Bond movie on Rotten Tomatoes at 94 percent. While the road to adapting Casino Royale in the official franchise took over 40 years, the long wait certainly paid off, as its action and suspense sealed Daniel Craig as one of the most compelling actors to don the 007 codename. The 2006 version of Casino Royale is regarded as one of the franchise’s best, with its success kicking off another 15 years of James Bond films.