Casino Royale (1967)
Ian Fleming's Casino Royale retained nothing but
its title in this free-for-all spoof of the successful James Bond
industry.
 Though the book was the first of the Bond thrillers to
appear in print, the film chose to feature 007 as an ageing agent
who comes out of retirement when asked to help curtail the deadly
activities of SMERSH.
Frankly, the film was a self-indulgent mess - an inferior Monty
Python sketch stretched way beyond its limits.
It featured a
record number of loopy spy film clichés skewering the James Bond
mythos - all wrapped up in candy-coloured, 'swinging-sixties'
psychedelic wrapping.
A Sixties who's who of old-and-new hip stars appeared in the
movie, including Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, David Niven, Woody
Allen, Deborah Kerr, Orson Welles, William Holden, John Huston and
too many others to mention. The film also boasted almost as many
directors as cast members.
Burt Bacharach provided arguably his loveliest score ever,
highlighted by Dusty Springfield's heavenly The Look of Love.
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