The UK James Bond fans will probably know that Sky channel 303 is showing all the films over and over again to celebrate purchasing the rights after ITV's long tenure. Amongst the screen movies is a TV version of Casino Royale from 1954 which, as far as I'm aware, hasn't been screened in the UK before - the blurb runs:
- Before Connery, Moore, Brosnan et al, the legendary super-spy made his screen debut in this black and white TV special with Barry Nelson (who would later appear in The Shining) as an American Bond. He's assigned to clean out the villainous Le Chiffre (Peter Lorre, star of Fritz Lang's M) in a high-stakes game of baccarat. But when Bond's old flame Valier Mathis (Linda Christian) show up things get more complicated. A surprisingly accurate film adaptation of Ian Fleming's original novel and a compelling oddity.
It's on Thursday October 18th at 4.35PM, runs for just under an hour.
