For completeness’ sake, I watched the 1967 spy spoof Casino Royale, which features several James Bond type characters and more than one director. It’s stuffed with familiar actors: Orson Welles, David Niven, Peter Sellars, and Woody Allen. To call this film bizarre is an understatement (it’s a “psychedelic comedy”). I found it particularly surreal to watch after the recent, way serious, Casino Royale starring Daniel Craig as Bond.

 Read the rest of this entry (673 words await you)

My quest to watch all the James Bond films continues, and Dr. No was the first, starring a young Sean Connery who is a bit rough around the edges and looks almost thuggish. But the main elements are in place and it’s a bit stunning to see that much of what people expect from a Bond film today, was present right out of the gate back in 1962.

 Read the rest of this entry (739 words await you)