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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