Movie · 1967 · Adventure, Action, Comedy · 2h 11m · PG · English
Curator score: 0.6/10 (28K ratings)
Casino Royale is too much for one James Bond!
Overview
Sir James Bond is called back out of retirement to stop SMERSH. In order to trick SMERSH, James thinks up the ultimate plan - that every agent will be named 'James Bond'. One of the Bonds, whose real name is Evelyn Tremble is sent to take on Le Chiffre in a game of baccarat, but all the Bonds get more than they can handle.
Ratings
Curator score: 0.6/10
Letterboxd: 2.40/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 26%
TMDB: 5.3/10
Director
Val Guest, Ken Hughes, John Huston, Joseph McGrath
Production
Famous Artists Productions, Columbia Pictures
Cast
David Niven, Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, Orson Welles, Joanna Pettet, Daliah Lavi, Woody Allen, Deborah Kerr, William Holden, Charles Boyer, John Huston, Jean-Paul Belmondo, George Raft, Terence Cooper, Barbara Bouchet, Gabriella Licudi, Tracy Reed, Tracey Crisp, Kurt Kasznar, Elaine Taylor
Curator Review
Verdict
A wildly uneven spy spoof that swings between inspired 60s pop-art absurdity and total narrative chaos. It’s worth it mainly as a star-stuffed curiosity, a time capsule of swinging-sixties excess, and an early template for later parody comedy, but it’s not a smooth or consistently funny watch.
Best for
Bond completists
fans of 1960s pop-art kitsch
viewers who enjoy chaotic ensemble comedies
people curious about early spy spoofing
fans of campy, overstuffed studio curiosities
Skip if
you want a coherent plot
you dislike broad, uneven satire
you prefer sharp, consistently paced comedy
you’re expecting a normal Bond film
you’re not in the mood for a messy, experimental production
Overview
Casino Royale is less a James Bond movie than a delirious collision of spy parody, celebrity vanity project, and late-60s style overload. The premise is deliciously absurd: every agent is named James Bond, and the film treats that idea as a license to wander wherever it pleases. At its best, it feels like a relic from an alternate comedy timeline, full of visual flair, glamorous nonsense, and occasional flashes of genuine wit.
Worth noting
But the movie is also famously disjointed, with multiple directors and a structure that keeps dissolving under its own ambition. Scenes pile up without much momentum, jokes land inconsistently, and the whole thing can feel more like a fever dream than a story. That chaos is part of the appeal for some viewers, but it also makes the film exhausting if you’re looking for a clean narrative or sustained comic rhythm.
Bottom line
What remains is a fascinating artifact: a big-budget, all-star spoof that helped clear the path for later parody cinema while never quite becoming the classic it seems to want to be. If you’re drawn to camp, 60s design, and cinematic curiosities that are more interesting than they are successful, it has a strange, undeniable charm.
Top Letterboxd reviews
cait (1★) · 888 likes
thought this film couldn’t get any worse.... and then woody allen appeared
matt lynch (2★) · 265 likes
not without its charms but largely a baffling ordeal.
Steve P (2★) · 261 likes
Bond-a-thon - Bond B-Sides
A stellar cast including: Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, David Niven, Woody Allen, Joanna Pettet, Orson Welles, Daliah Lavi5 Directors4 Art directors3 Cinematographers3 Screenwriters Burt Bacharach and academy award nominated song "The Look of Love"And a preposterous runtime
The result?
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Where are the laughs?
Least it's a reasonably diverting piece of 60s kitsch but disappointing to say the least.
danielle ⚡ (1★) · 228 likes
james bond movies ranked
even back then they knew woody allen was going to hell
Calvin Dyson (2.5★) · 204 likes
I mean, I laugh a bit. I’m not proud of it, but I do.