Filmbrain's Screen Capture Quiz: Week 5

The most wonderful thing about last week's quiz wasn't that SO many of you (close to 250!) correctly identified Ursula Andress as the piper from a dream sequence in 1967's Casino Royale, but in learning that this site exists: a definitive database of films that feature bagpipes. (Thanks to Krista for finding it.) Casino Royale is one of Filmbrain's earliest film memories. His father worked for Columbia pictures at the time, and it seemed for a while the whole house was wall to wall Casino Royale. (Filmbrain can still hum you the entire soundtrack.) Though it's a mess of a film (not one, but five directors) it's actually Filmbrain's favorite James Bond film. What other film can boast the talents of Orson Welles, Peter Sellers, David Niven, Woody Allen, William Holden, John Huston, Jean-Paul Belmondo, and Jacqeuline Bisset (as the lovely Miss Goodthighs)? Even more impressive -- the writers on the film include Terry Southern, Billy Wilder, Ben Hecht, and Joseph Heller! If you haven't seen it, you owe it to yourself -- if only for the Sellers and Allen segments. Congratulations to Bill H for 'piping' in with the first correct answer, and a special mention to Jerry K who identified the director of that sequence (Joseph McGrath). This week -- hard or easy? Filmbrain can't decide. He will say that there is an indirect clue in the list of names above. Name the sailor and the film. As usual, send your guesses to this address. Good luck!

Comments

[Aaron]

I think it's a bit absurd to call Casino Royale a "James Bond film." It's a spy-film spoof with a bunch of characters named James Bond, but that's about as far as one can get.

And yeah, I've definitely got a bit of Casino Royale on the brain (mine, not yours) right now.

[Filmbrain]

Casino Royale is based on an Ian Fleming novel, so that makes it as legit as any of the early Bond films, no?

[Filmbrain]

Ok, ok -- after receiving 3 angry emails from James Bond purists I concede that Casino Royale is not a true James Bond film.

It still is my favorite film that has a character named James Bond in it.

[Aaron]

Right, and just for the record ... "no." It is not as legit as any of the early James Bond films. It's relationship to the novel on which it's based is about as much as I, Robot's connection to the book of Asimov stories, i.e., virtually nil.

[Filmbrain]

Yeah....something tells me the Fleming novel wasn't as anarchic.

The DVD of Casino Royale includes an early televised version with (if memory serves) Peter Lorre. Very different from the film, to say the least. Worth seeing.

[IA]

I'm assuming Casino Royale is Filmbrain's favorite Bond for sentimental reasons--I've always thought that "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" had the best heroine, editing, music, direction, and by far the best ending. I think in future years its reputation will rise further.

The film of Casino Royale always seemed to me like a case of, to paraphrase von Sternberg, too many cooks inserting various parts of their anatomy in the pot. Fleming's original novel was dark, claustrophobic, featured a philosophical discussion about the nature of evil, and had a unique ending.
It has never been truly adapted for the movies and probably never will, since it contains it's too downbeat and has too little action for modern audiences. Unless Tarantino gets his grubby mits on the rights (unlikely) it'll likely remain as the only unfilmed James Bond story--and perhaps it should remain that way.

[jim]

Filmbrain, don't knuckle under to these chowderheads. Casino Royale is a Bond film and the best, bar none, of the group. Of course, it's also a mess, but it's a glorious one. It's also one of my earliest filmgoing experiences and the first film I saw twice (on consecutive nights) in the theater. It follows Fleming's first novel a whole hell of a lot better than most of the Broccoli flicks do. A friend gave me the DVD a while back as a birthday present and I was pleased to find that the early TV drama was included as an extra.

[FIlmbrain]

IA is correct -- it is a sentimental reason (plus, I'm a sucker for Bacharach.) I also agree about On Her Majesty's Secret Service -- but clearly we are in the minority.

Jim -- by calling it the best Bond film you are setting yourself up for a whole lot of wrath from the hardcore Bond fans. (But I'm glad you said it!)

[jim]

Filmbrain, I've been saying it for years. I'm used to the opprobrium.

Piper: Are you Richard Burton?
Evelyn Tremble: No, I'm Peter O'Toole.
Piper: Then you're the finest man that ever breathed.

[IA]

Jim's reasons for liking the film also appear to be sentimental, so my wrath has somewhat abated. Casino Royale has an undeniably terrific score, a great Berlin sequence directed by McGrath, and a definite swinging 60s feel, but it's otherwise a dull mess, not a glorious one.

How on earth could anyone conclude that it's the best Bond movie when there are plainly superior contenders like From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, OHMSS, The Spy Who Loved Me and (I'm serious) Licence To Kill? CR follows the Fleming novel about as well as most of Roger Moore's films followed their sources, and that's not a compliment.

[cjk]

It's loosely based on the PLOT of Fleming's CASINO ROYALE, not just the title. The central episode - the cardgame showdown between Bond and "Le Chifre" (Welles in the film version, Lorre in the TV version) - comes straight out of the book. Also, the abduction of the heroine.

That, IMHO, makes it a true James Bond film.

The parodic elements don't make it not-a-James-Bond-film any more than parodic elements make STARSHIP TROOPERS not-a-Robert-Heinlein-film.

[FIlmbrain]

Evelyn Tremble (as Bond): What are you going to do to me?
Le Chiffre: I'm not going to do anything to you Mr. Bond.
Evelyn: Ah, you're going to nothing me to death.

[Jokes]

The CIA had an opening for an assassin. After all of the background checks, interviews, and testing were done there were three finalists - two men and one woman. For the final test, the CIA agents took one of the men to a large metal door and handed him a gun.

"We must know that you will follow your instructions, no matter what the circumstances. Inside this room you will find your wife sitting in a chair. You have to kill her." The first man said. "You cant be serious. I could never shoot my wife!"The agent replies, "Then you?re not the right man for this job."

The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun and went into the room. All was quiet for about five minutes. Then the agent came out with tears in his eyes. "I tried, but I cant kill my wife." The agent replies, "You dont have what it takes. Take your wife and go home."

Finally, it was the womans turn. Only she was told to kill her husband. She took the gun and went into the room. Shots were heard, one shot after another. They heard screaming, crashing, banging on the walls. After a few minutes, all was quiet. The door opened slowly and there stood the woman. She wiped the sweat from her brow and said, "You guys didnt tell me the gun was loaded with blanks. So I had to beat him to death with the chair."