jvs@iwu1d.UUCP (06/24/83)
Wrongo, David Niven never really played "the" James Bond. The "three"
actors who have played Bond are:
Sean Connery (original and occasional)
George Lezenby (one movie - IHMSS)
Roger Morre (need I say more)
Now I said David Niven never played "the" James Bond. He did play a
character called James Bond however. I saw this movie but I don't recall
the title. It was a mid-sixties spy spoof film. Niven's character played
a retired spy (the real James Bond) who had allowed the Secret Spy Service
to continue using his name after his retirement. So all the characters we
see in the movies are supposed to be imitations (get it).
Anyway, some special case has come up that no imitation can handle. So they
want the "real" James Bond (David Niven) to come out of retirement to handle
it. Naturally he does, otherwise they wouldn't have a movie.
I remember seeing this movie on TV in the late sixties (1969 I think).
But don't look for it. It was a very unfunny comedy. In other words,
a real stinkeroo.
John V. Smithtim@unc.UUCP (06/24/83)
Wrongo! David Niven played James Bond in "Casino Royale". This
was a loose adaptation of the Ian Fleming novel, so there can be no
justification for saying that he wasn't playing the "real" Bond.
I didn't think the movie was unfunny, just insufficiently edited.
Tim Maroneyhal@cornell.UUCP (06/25/83)
The fellows who produce the movies in the Bond series acquired rights to
all the original Bond books except for Casino Royale, which had previously
been acquired by someone else. That's why Casino Royale is not a "regular"
Bond flick. It was done as a put-on, but it is certainly no further removed
from the Fleming original than many of the later Bond flicks (which doesn't
say much).
Hal Perkins uucp: {decvax|vax135|...}!cornell!hal
Cornell Computer Science arpa: hal@cornell
bitnet: hal@crnlcsmcg@tekecs.UUCP (06/27/83)
Larry Niven played the altogether un-Bond-like retired spy in the movie "Casino Royale", a spoof on the Bond series, which included Spike Milligan (of the Goon Show Gang), and Woody Allen, among numerous others. It is a very funny movie if you like insane Goon-show style humor.
kevenb@tekid.UUCP (06/28/83)
The "not real" James Bond movie was Casino Royal. It was a satire of the spy movies of the time. If you catch this one on the late late show, you will see David Niven quite out of character.
bernie@watarts.UUCP (07/06/83)
Close, but no cigar. It was *David* Niven (the actor), not *Larry* Niven (the brilliant and innovative science-fiction writer) who played James Bond in Casino Royale. To the best of my knowledge, Larry Niven's film career is hardly worth talking about. --Bernie Roehl ...decvax!watmath!watarts!bernie