CLIMAX!: CASINO ROYALE (TV)
Summary
One in this dramatic anthology series hosted by William Lundigan. This installment features an adaptation of Ian Fleming's tale of espionage and gambling, "Casino Royale." In introduction, Lundigan tosses cards from the mouth of a casino's "dealing shoe" as he ruminates on the intricacies of what he calls "the ultimate card game": Baccarat. As Lundigan begins to address the camera, he lists the cast of the program and sets up the story, explaining that it takes place in a high-stakes French casino. The story itself begins as a well dressed man dodges bullets from a mystery shooter outside an elaborate gambling palace. When the man goes inside, he plays a few rounds of cards before being approached by a stranger who offers to buy him a drink. The man agrees, and the pair sit down. After a moment, it becomes clear that the two men have not met by chance. The man who was shot at is Special Agent 007 of the British Secret Service, James Bond. The stranger is another British Secret Service agent named Leiter. Leiter explains to Bond that he has a mission for him: Bond is to compete with an extremely dangerous Russian terrorist named Le Chiffre in a baccarat tournament. If Bond wins, Le Chiffre will be fired from his Russian agency for blowing the agency's money. If Le Chiffre wins, however, he will be more powerful than ever. "This toad-like creature," Leiter tells Bond, "is the most dangerous man in the world." Bond appears fairly confident that he can get the job done. "You can," Leiter deadpans, "if you play your cards right." When a beautiful former flame of Bond shows up out of the blue, 007 suspects that he is being set up. Bond quickly figures out that his ex-girlfriend is now romantically involved with Le Chiffre, and he tries to get her to spill information about her evil paramour-- but she won't talk. During the baccarat match, Bond quickly finds himself losing badly. Just as he runs out of money, however, a casino employee delivers a mysterious envelope containing 35,000,000 francs; it seems that Bond's old flame has undergone a change of heart. Bond uses the extra funds to stage a dramatic comeback that breaks the bank and puts Le Chiffre out of the game. When Le Chiffre finds out that his girlfriend arranged Bond's comeback, his thugs abduct both Bond and the woman and hold them hostage. The two are hung up by their wrists and prepared for torture, and it is up to 007 to get them out of their fix. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: October 21, 1954 8:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:51:46
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: T:58044
- GENRE: Drama, action/adventure
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, action/adventure; Spies
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1954-1958
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Bretaigne Windust … Producer
- Elliott Lewis … Associate Producer
- William H. Brown … Director
- Ian Fleming … Based on the book by
- Antony Ellis … Adapted by
- Charles Bennett … Adapted by
- William Lundigan … Host
- Barry Nelson … Cast, James Bond
- Peter Lorre … Cast, Le Chiffre
- Linda Christian … Cast, Valerie Mathis
- Michael Pate … Cast, Leiter
- Eugene Borden … Cast, the Chef de Partie
- Del Val, Jean … Cast, the Croupier
- Gene Roth … Cast, Basil
- Kurt Katch … Cast, Zoltan