James Bond's Black Rose
Monday, May 9, 2011 at 12:41PM Andreas here with today's May Flowers.
Look at my garden. Out there, there is a b-b-black rose. Not dark red, but black—as a raven's wing at midnight.
David Niven, as the first of many James Bonds in the mega-spoof Casino Royale (1967), manages a surprisingly sentimental moment as he gushes over his beloved, unique flower. It's his proudest possession, and a symbol of his self-imposed isolation. Unfortunately, the flower (and his home) are about to be destroyed, forcing him out into this frantic, incomprehensible mess of a movie.
Are you acquainted with the old Casino Royale and its bizarre sense of humor? Trying to describe it is like recounting a fever dream: Well, Orson Welles was there doing card tricks, and Peter O'Toole plays the bagpipe, and Woody Allen has a flying saucer, and most of the characters are 007. Now I'm not even sure it exists anymore...
David Niven, May Flowers
Reader Comments (3)
I saw it on TV twice years ago - the first time I wasn't even a teenager, and I thought something was missing, or I missed something, like I had walked out of the room for long stretches of time. The second time I was in my late teens (I think?) and realized no, it is the film, it is that bad - and that badly edited throughout. (Apparently the chaos of making the thing more than matched the chaos that ends up onscreen.) The moment you remember here is the ONLY one worth remembering (David Niven was entirely too awesome for this garbage.)
I've seen this film sooooo many times. More than the superior remake, actually. It's impossibly bad, but my goodness, what a curiosity piece!
Didn't Barry Nelson play Bond first in Casino Royale on TV in 1954? Not sure if that really counts or not. What do y'all think?