# 1954 Version of Casino Royale **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 15, 2013, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1954-version-of-casino-royale/647268 "2013-01-15T09:55:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rich\_Mann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@Rich\_Mann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_Mann)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1954-version-of-casino-royale/647268/1 "2013-01-15T09:55:54Z")
I’m currently watching this on a preview of the EPIX channel on DISH. It stars Barry Nelson as Bond (I recognize the face, but I’ve never heard the name) and _ **Peter fucking Lorre** _ as Le Chifre. Why have I never heard of this? I thought I knew everything about the Bond franchise. BTW: Bond is an American and Leiter is ‘Letter’. Despite the early date it appears to be a Teleplay in three acts. It would be forgettable except for _ **Peter fucking Lorre!** _ ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1954-version-of-casino-royale/647268/2 "2013-01-15T11:03:21Z")
I heard of it thirty years ago, so if you don’t know about it, it just means that you’re not quite the James Bond expert you thought you were. It’s not made by the same people who made nearly all the other James Bond films. It was intended for American television and greatly changed from the book. The character of James Bond was little known, so the producers only had to pay $1,000 to Ian Fleming for the rights to the book: > **[Casino Royale (Climax!)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casino_Royale_(Climax!))** > > "Casino Royale" is a live 1954 television adaptation of the 1953 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. An episode of the American dramatic anthology series Climax!, the show was the first screen adaptation of a James Bond novel, and stars Barry Nelson, Peter Lorre, and Linda Christian. Though this marks the first onscreen appearance of the secret agent, Nelson's Bond is played as an American spy working for the "Combined Intelligence Agency". > Most of the largely forgotten show was uncovered ... ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1954-version-of-casino-royale/647268/3 "2013-01-15T13:11:47Z")
I’ve known about it for years, and bought my VHS copy 20 years ago (which I’ve since transferred to DVD). It was big news when they found it, and had Barry Nelson attend a screening. It’s in the Bond reference books and websites. As a friend of mine (a huge Bond fan), you could argue that this adaptation did have an effect on Bond. In the novel _Casino Royale_ and those immediately following, Bond is ice-cold in his manner and style and utterly humorless. (Sean Connery managed to convey this when he first appears onscreen in his first Bond appearance as the first cinemsatic bond in _Dr. No_, where someone asks his name as he replies (while lighting his cigarette) with his now-iconib “Bond. James Bond.” As Robert Benson points out, he says this with _absolutely no warmth_, unlike the way he later delivered the line. But Barry Nelson’s American “Jimmy” Bond\* cracks cynical jokes. “Are you the buy who was shot?” asks the doorman at the Casino when Bond narrowly avoids assassination. “No, I’m the guy who was missed,” he neatly responds. The _Climax_ adaptation gave Bond his first use of what were to become trademark wisecracks. \*I suspect the producers thought that American audiences would relate better to an American spy, so they changed his nationality (and accent). They also switcbhed Felix Leiter from American to British, to make up for it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1954-version-of-casino-royale/647268/4 "2013-01-15T15:56:22Z")
An interesting film. I have it on DVD, and watch it occasionally. James Bond as an American is a bit jarring. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1954-version-of-casino-royale/647268/5 "2013-01-15T20:55:48Z")
It appears as a bonus on at least one DVD edition of the 1967 _Casino Royale_, as I saw it when I Netflixed that movie. Apparently this version is edited, which explains why the story seemed so rushed. ---
**Author:** ![SirGalahad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@SirGalahad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirGalahad)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1954-version-of-casino-royale/647268/6 "2013-01-15T22:11:33Z")
I believe the opening credits initiated the “Look through the barrel of a pistol” shot, used thereafter in Bond intros. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1954-version-of-casino-royale/647268/7 "2013-01-15T22:14:25Z")
> [@SirGalahad](#): > > I believe the opening credits initiated the “Look through the barrel of a pistol” shot, used thereafter in Bond intros. Actually, in all the Daniel Craig movies, they’ve moved the gun-barrel effect to the end of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1954-version-of-casino-royale/647268/8 "2013-01-15T22:38:51Z")
> [@SirGalahad](#): > > I believe the opening credits initiated the “Look through the barrel of a pistol” shot, used thereafter in Bond intros. I don’t think that was a gun barrel, or that it’s unique to this adaptation. I think this is the general opening used for the dramatic series _Climax!_. Like some other thibngs from the 1950s, it used relatively simple camera tricks (Ernie Kovacs’ show did something similar). The “rifled barrel” opening looks different, and Robert Benson gives a history of it in his book on James Bond, even naming the guy responsible. But I don’t recall the details. It’s possible he was influenvced by this show, but I really have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1954-version-of-casino-royale/647268/9 "2013-01-15T23:03:39Z")
The Wikipedia page on this\* says it was Maurice Binder, designer of most of the Bond title sequences until his death, who came up with the gun-barrel logo > **[Gun barrel sequence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bond_gun_barrel_sequence)** > > The gun barrel sequence is a signature device featured in nearly every James Bond film. Shot from the point of view of a presumed assassin, it features James Bond walking, turning, and then shooting directly at camera, causing blood to run down the screen. The visuals are usually accompanied by the "James Bond Theme", written by Monty Norman. > Originally designed by Maurice Binder, the sequence has featured in every James Bond film produced by Eon Productions. While it has retained the same basic... Funny – I could’ve sworn it was suggested by someone else. - of _course_ there’s a Wiki page devoted to this alone. In exhaustive detail. ---
**Author:** ![SirGalahad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@SirGalahad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirGalahad)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1954-version-of-casino-royale/647268/10 "2013-01-17T16:11:03Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I don’t think that was a gun barrel, or that it’s unique to this adaptation. I think this is the general opening used for the dramatic series _Climax!_. Like some other thibngs from the 1950s, it used relatively simple camera tricks (Ernie Kovacs’ show did something similar). > The “rifled barrel” opening looks different, and Robert Benson gives a history of it in his book on James Bond, even naming the guy responsible. But I don’t recall the details. It’s possible he was influenvced by this show, but I really have no idea. Yup, it was a gun barrel, just watched it on Epix a couple nights ago. Of course it wasn’t shot through a real barrel, but the tube with rifling was emulated in full 50s semi-effective special effects, probably a matte painting. You can argue it’s some vague circular graphic, but it’s a gun barrel, clear as day. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1954-version-of-casino-royale/647268/11 "2013-01-17T19:18:15Z")
Nope – it’s not. Compare the image on YouTube with a spiral rifled barrel: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhVebRzRKGY) [http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;\_ylt=A0PDoQ5rTvhQFQIAVVCJzbkF;\_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F\_adv\_prop%3Dimage%26va%3DJames%2BBond%2BOpening%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D15&w=320&h=240&imgurl=hellinahandbasket.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F08%2Fjames-bond-opening-shot.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fhellinahandbasket.net%2F%3Fattachment\_id%3D8244&size=12.1+KB&name=hellinahandbasket.net+»+Blog+Archive+»+\james+bond+opening+\<%2Fb\>shot&p=James+Bond+Opening&oid=3906626225cb68d1928aa3aa685ced8e&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-701&tt=hellinahandbasket.net%2B%25C2%25BB%2BBlog%2BArchive%2B%25C2%25BB%2B%253Cb%253Ejames%2Bbond%2Bopening%2B%253C%252Fb%253Eshot&b=0&ni=21&no=15&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11gmfsbs5&sigb=13hs92kn7&sigi=12csgprgj&.crumb=G.kSrW0OssH](http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoQ5rTvhQFQIAVVCJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3DJames%2BBond%2BOpening%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D15&w=320&h=240&imgurl=hellinahandbasket.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F08%2Fjames-bond-opening-shot.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fhellinahandbasket.net%2F%3Fattachment_id%3D8244&size=12.1+KB&name=hellinahandbasket.net+%C2%BB+Blog+Archive+%C2%BB+%3Cb%3Ejames+bond+opening+%3C%2Fb%3Eshot&p=James+Bond+Opening&oid=3906626225cb68d1928aa3aa685ced8e&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-701&tt=hellinahandbasket.net%2B%25C2%25BB%2BBlog%2BArchive%2B%25C2%25BB%2B%253Cb%253Ejames%2Bbond%2Bopening%2B%253C%252Fb%253Eshot&b=0&ni=21&no=15&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11gmfsbs5&sigb=13hs92kn7&sigi=12csgprgj&.crumb=G.kSrW0OssH) ---
**Author:** ![SirGalahad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@SirGalahad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirGalahad)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1954-version-of-casino-royale/647268/12 "2013-01-17T23:36:32Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Nope – it’s not. Compare the image on YouTube with a spiral rifled barrel: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhVebRzRKGY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhVebRzRKGY) > > [http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;\_ylt=A0PDoQ5rTvhQFQIAVVCJzbkF;\_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F\_adv\_prop%3Dimage%26va%3DJames%2BBond%2BOpening%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D15&w=320&h=240&imgurl=hellinahandbasket.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F08%2Fjames-bond-opening-shot.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fhellinahandbasket.net%2F%3Fattachment\_id%3D8244&size=12.1+KB&name=hellinahandbasket.net+»+Blog+Archive+»+\james+bond+opening+\<%2Fb\>shot&p=James+Bond+Opening&oid=3906626225cb68d1928aa3aa685ced8e&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-701&tt=hellinahandbasket.net%2B%25C2%25BB%2BBlog%2BArchive%2B%25C2%25BB%2B%253Cb%253Ejames%2Bbond%2Bopening%2B%253C%252Fb%253Eshot&b=0&ni=21&no=15&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11gmfsbs5&sigb=13hs92kn7&sigi=12csgprgj&.crumb=G.kSrW0OssH](http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoQ5rTvhQFQIAVVCJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3DJames%2BBond%2BOpening%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D15&w=320&h=240&imgurl=hellinahandbasket.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F08%2Fjames-bond-opening-shot.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fhellinahandbasket.net%2F%3Fattachment_id%3D8244&size=12.1+KB&name=hellinahandbasket.net+%C2%BB+Blog+Archive+%C2%BB+%3Cb%3Ejames+bond+opening+%3C%2Fb%3Eshot&p=James+Bond+Opening&oid=3906626225cb68d1928aa3aa685ced8e&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-701&tt=hellinahandbasket.net%2B%25C2%25BB%2BBlog%2BArchive%2B%25C2%25BB%2B%253Cb%253Ejames%2Bbond%2Bopening%2B%253C%252Fb%253Eshot&b=0&ni=21&no=15&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11gmfsbs5&sigb=13hs92kn7&sigi=12csgprgj&.crumb=G.kSrW0OssH) Like I said, it’s not filmed through a barrel, it’s an artist’s rendering of one. I don’t expect the rifling to appear accurate, since hardly any movie viewer will have ever bore-scoped a pistol barrel. That image is what I’d consider to be a recognizable popular concept of what a pistol barrel looks like from the breach. Until someone comes up with a cite from the art or effects department of the studio which produced the movie, I remain unconvinced. If the studio had produced non-crime, non-spy type movie credits with an identical “view through a tube” graphic, prior to this, that might go a long way as evidence contrary to my observation. I see a gun barrel.