James Bond is defined more by luck than any of the other Fates. "Card Sense" Jimmy Bond (as he is known here) is a master at the Fates, most particularly Fortuna. I was lucky enough to recently watch the 1954 made-for-television version of Casino Royale, starring Barry Nelson.
This is Bond before the myth, before the glamour and before the girls. Yet, this proto-Bond embodies the very best traits of Bond - suave class, elegant style, and dashing derring-do. Barry Nelson may not have worn the mantle long enough, or publicly enough, to be known as well as the other Bonds, yet just like Marion Trelawney, the 12th Phantom, he has as much right to the name, and it's attendant fame.
In light of the recent version of Casino Royale, which reboots the Bond storyline, it is instructive to look at what made the first celluloid version a Bond "film" in it's own right.
Here, James Bond is a very American agent, working for "Combined Intelligence," and supported by Clarence Leiter of Station S. He has authority over Leiter, and seems to carries 00-status, although this is not referred to.
Miss Valerie Mathis, the Vesper Lynd stand-in, appears early in this made-for, giving the role a greater gravitas, and the Le Chiffre story takes primary stage. There are few subplots, and less of worldwide intrigue, save the fight against global Communism. James Bond enters the scene as a card sharp, but soon enough he is shown to be someone who lives "more dangerously." He identifies Miss Mathis as a Le Chiffre pawn almost instantly, displaying none of the naiveté exhibited by the newer incarnation. She is evidently a long-time love, or at very least familiar.
Much like an old-time mystery, we know the bad guys and the villains even before the second act of the plot commences. This might be simplistic in one sense, but given our foreknowledge of the later Bond, it gives us a sense of foreboding and sinister danger. Make no mistake, this is not a great telefilm, or even a very good telefilm. Barry Nelson is much too wooden, and the action staged, but the characters are all fell creatures, the events follow on each other with breathless rapidity, and the threat never eases.
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