When Charles Feldman bought the screen rights for 'Casino Royale' from Ian Fleming back in 1953, nobody had heard of James Bond, or Sean Connery for that matter.
How could they lose? They had bundles of money, because this film was blessed with the magic name of James Bond. One imagines the directors (there were five, all working independently) waking in the morning and wondering what they'd shoot today. Consistency and planning must have seemed the merest whimsy. This is possibly the most indulgent film ever made.
