James Bond’s introduction to the world came in 1953 with the Ian Fleming novel Casino Royale. Fourteen years later, that introduction would be turned on its head in the 1967 film adaptation starring virtually every actor in the world.

After Fleming adapted the work for television in 1954, Michael Garrison and Gregory Ratoff bought the rights for six grand. Ratoff’s scheme for a successful James Bond franchise would prove prophetic, but not with Ratoff producing. Spurned by 20th Century Fox, the rights were sold to Charles K. Feldman who - after the “spymania” craze began with the launch of the James Bond franchise - approached Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman about an adaptation starring then-Bond, Sean Connery. Once again rejected, Feldman decided to borrow a page from his successful comedy What’s New, Pussycat? and turn the film into a spoof.

The film features seven variations on the character of Bond, the most notable being Sir James Bond (David Niven), a World War I hero who retired after the death of his lover, Mata Hari. M (John Huston) accompanies members of various intelligence agencies to Sir James back into service, revealing that his name and number have been passed on to other agents in order to perpetuate the legend. Charged with investigating the deaths of several agents, Bond begins by tracking down one of the widows, only to discover that she and her many false daughters are agents, too: a plant by the mysterious Dr. Noah intended to kill Bond. Upon his return to headquarters, Sir James (now the new M) issues two orders: First, that every agent be names James Bond (including the females) in order to confuse the enemy, and second, that an irresistible agent be found who has the ability to resist all women.

After the main villain Le Chiffre (Orson Welles) discovers that his attempts to make the money to pay back his Soviet counterintelligence debts has been stolen, he decides to win it by gambling at the Casino Royale. At this, Sir James has his own debtor, Vesper Lynd (original Bond girl Ursula Andress) seduce card shark Evelyn Tremble (Peter Sellers) into joining the secret service in order to foil Le Chiffre. After a hasty indoctrination, Tremble succeeds in winning all of Le Chiffre’s money, only to find himself and Vesper tortured by bagpipers. Meanwhile, Sir James and the surviving 007s storm the casino and uncover the true villain behind the plot: Dr. Noah, or rather, Sir James’s diminutive nephew Jimmy (Woody Allen) who plans to have all men over four and a half feet tall killed so that he’ll be the tallest man in the world and get all the girls.

Regardless of its respectable financial numbers and an overall profit for the studio, critics labeled Casino Royale a flop, and the misperception has stuck. With a budget that bloated to twice its original six million dollar figure, it under performed at the theaters compared to its legitimate Bond rival, You Only Live Twice, even though it would still pull down the third highest take of the year. Despite the spoof stigma, Casino Royale finally received its dramatic treatment in the 2006 production starring Daniel Craig as 007.