Is Climax! Casino Royale a good movie? Who is the main actor?

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History of the Casino Theatre Aluva – Onlinegamblingindi

Climax! Casino Royale is a live television movie/show. It was premiered in 1954 as an adaptation of the 1953 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. If you are a fan of a casino movie and the question arises “Is Casino Royale a good movie?”, don’t be so quick to yell out because you will find all of the answers in this article of onlinegamblingindi.com.

Overview Climax! Casino Royale

Climax! Casino Royale is an episode of the American dramatic anthology series Climax! The show was the first screen adaptation of a James Bond novel along with the stars Barry Nelson, Linda Christian, Peter Lorre… This is the first time that Nelson’s Bond played as an American spy working for the “Combined Intelligence Agency ”.

The Casino Royale was lost for 24 years until it returned in 1981 when movie collector Jim Shoerberger discovered a 16mm kinescope print amongst some old cans of film. The Casino Royale episode aired on TBS as part of a Bond film marathon. The original 1954 broadcast had been in color, and the VHS release and TBS presentation did not include the last two minutes, which were at that point still lost.

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Eventually, the missing footage (minus the last seconds of the end credits) was found and included on a Spy Guise & Cara Entertainment VHS release. MGM subsequently included the incomplete version on its first DVD release of the 1967 film Casino Royale. The 1954 Climax! Casino Royale was rediscovered and shown in a theatre, screened on TBS and released on videocassette. Now, it is available on DVD.

>> Related: Who is the main Casino Royale cast and supporting cast?

Plot of Climax! Casino Royale

The Climax! Casino Royale movie took place at the start of James Bond, an agent of “Combined Intelligence”, must deal with fire from an assassin. He dodges the bullets and comes into the casino Royale. In this casino, he meets Clarence Leiter who is his British contact. Clarence Leiter also remembers “Card Sense Jimmy Bond” since he played the Maharajah at Deauville. 

Bond explains the rules of baccarat game, Leiter explains Bond’s duty that is to defeat Le Chiffre at baccarat. When Le Chiffre loses, he will be forced to retire. Then Bond meets again his former lover, Valerie Mathis. She is also Le Chiffre’s current girlfriend.

Finally, Bond wins against Le Chiffre at baccarat, but when he comes back to his hotel room, he is confronted by Le Chiffre and Mathis, who is an agent of the Deuxième Bureau, France’s external military intelligence agency at the time. Apart from two people, there are Le Chiffre’s bodyguards. Le Chiffre tortures Bond to find out where Bond has hidden the check for his winnings but he still does not reveal where is it. 

After a battle between Bond and Le Chiffre’s guards, Bond wounds and saves Valerie in the process. Bond then sits in a chair opposite Le Chiffre to talk and Mathis gets in between them. Le Chiffre grabs her from behind and threatens her with a concealed razor blade. At the end of The Climax! Casino Royale movie, Le Chiffre moves towards the door and uses Mathis as a shield, she struggles and Bond can shoot Le Chiffre successfully. 

Cast of Climax! Casino Royale

The main cast at Climax! Casino Royale is one of the most highlights in the movies. With talented actors, this producer has created a great movie for the world cinema. Barry Nelson plays Sir James Bond. The role of Le Chiffre is played by Peter Lorre and Linda Christian as Valerie Mathis as well as a character of Vesper Lynd.

Besides, William Lundigan in the role of Host, Michael Pate as Clarence Leiter. While Eugene Borden plays as Chef De Partie. Moreover, Jean Del Val plays Croupier, Gene Roth as Basil, Kurt Katch as Zoltan, Juergen Tarrach as Schultz, Herman Belmonte as Doorman…

At the first time release, Climax! Casino Royale is the only film in the official series to have a significant sequence filmed in black-and-white.

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Production of Climax! Casino Royale movie

In 1954, CBS paid Fleming $1000 to adapt the Casino Royale into a one-hour television adventure as a part of the dramatic anthology series Climax!. Climax! Casino Royale was adapted for the screen by Charles Bennett and Antony Ellis. Because there is the restriction of a one-hour play, the adapted version lost many of the details in the novel, but it maintained its main content like violence, especially in Act III.

The Climax! Casino Royale episode premiered on October 21, 1954 as a live television show that is hour-long. The James Bond character from Casino Royale was known as an American agent, who was described as working for “Combined Intelligence”. He is supported by British agent Clarence Leiter. Hence, the relationship between Anglo and American depicted in the book reversed for American consumption. While Clarence Leiter was an agent for Station S with being a combination of Rene Mathis and Felix Leither.

Conclusion

Climax! Casino Royale is a tight narrative with fast-paced action, interesting stunts, and its cinematography is beautiful. It got a high IMDb rating of 8/10, and a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score. Therefore, there is no surprise Casino Royale regularly tops many James Bond ranking lists worldwide as the franchise’s arguable masterpiece.

>> See more: History of the Casino Theatre Aluva

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