The
one Fleming story EON didn't posses the rights to when they began
making the books into a film franchise was the very first Bond story,
Casino Royale. Instead, another company used the story as the base for a
wild spoof of James Bond and the spy genre in general, resulting in
1967's CASINO ROYALE. David Niven plays Sir James Bond, the greatest spy
to ever live. Sir James is a moral man, and none
too thrilled that his name and number have been passed on to the
promiscuous hero currently fighting the forces of evil. With the enemy
organization SMERSH on the verge of taking over the world, M and some of
his peers beg Sir James to come out of retirement and take charge. When
an explosion kills M, Sir James must take control of MI6. His first
move is to name all field agents James Bond 007, even the girls, in
order to confuse the enemy. An amazing cast is assembled, which includes
the likes of Peter Sellers, William Holden, Orson Wells, and Ursula
Andress. Multiple directors and a slew of writers parody every aspect of
international espionage and intrigue, but this gives the film great
unevenness. While there are a few amusing bits sprinkled throughout, the
bulk of the film is an unfunny mess. (An example of the film's humor
-and actually one of the more amusing bits- is that Sir James stutters
through the first few reels. When he takes control of MI6, he tells
Moneypenny that he doesn't have time to stutter anymore, and speaks
perfectly well for the rest of the picture.) The best the movie offers
are some amazing special effects and the marvelous sets for SMERSH's
underground headquarters. But it's all too random to really be very
entertaining. The film flopped. On the plus side, Barbara Bouchet played
Miss Moneypenny, as seen standing next to Sir James in the photo.
"CASINO ROYALE is too much for one James Bond!" screamed the ads,
parodied by OPERATION KID BROTHER's previews "Neil Connery is too much!
OPERATION KID BROTHER is too much, for one mother!" Because of the slew
of actors playing "James Bond" in CASINO ROYALE, ads for YOU ONLY LIVE
TWICE proudly screamed "Sean Connery IS James Bond!" Around the turn of
the century, EON finally secured the rights to the novel, and used a
much straighter version of CASINO ROYALE to introduce Daniel Craig as
the new 007.
Arguably,
the single most influential film of the 50's was GODZILLA, KING OF THE
MONSTERS. Most obviously, it kicked off a series (genre, really) that is
still being done to this very day -although it's becoming more sporadic as the attempts to update the franchise become more varied. More generally, the big blue
dinosaur is probably Japan's most visible contribution to world pop
culture. Not bad for a nation still a couple years away from really
finding it's feet, economically. One could easily credit Toho's films
being as vital to the reconstruction as were Big Mac and the industrious
resolve of the Japanese peoples (at the risk of going overboard). The plot was indicative of the era, with atomic testing reviving a prehistoric monster which proves invulnerable to modern weapons, and can only be stopped by a tormented scientist's dangerous secret. The film was a massive success State-side, too, when the film was re-edited to include Raymond Burr as American newsman Steve Martin getting swept into the events. The editing is truly skillful, and while critics like to carp about the supposed watering down of the original story, an argument can be made that the US cut is actually stronger in some respects. It was certainly an impressive task assembling a Japanese film into an American blockbuster, one provided a full A picture release by infamous producer Joseph E. Levine. The Japanese liked our version so much, they released it in Japan the next year! Much has been said about GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS in the decades since it's release. Not really sure what I can add to that, as it's place in world popular culture is very firmly established. It created a profitable new direction for one of Japan's most illustrious studios, and opened the doors for said fare to become staples of American entertainment as well. The title was even re-used when an American remake series was tried a couple years ago.
THE BIRDS heavily influenced the exploitation field, though the
imitations really didn't start coming until a decade later. In the early
70's, pollution was the menace of the week and it created a whole genre
of nature-strikes-back movies which basically took their cues from THE
BIRDS and substituted various other menaces in revolt because man has
been mistreating his planet. Though this may sound silly, the genre did
sire a couple of legitimate classics like KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS,
DOGS, and SOMETHING IS OUT THERE (more commonly known as DAY OF THE
ANIMALS). FROGS was an AIP offering in which the animals of a deep south
island begin to rebel against man's careless littering. Frogs spearhead
a rebellion of spiders, snakes, and it seems even plant life.
Photographer Sam Elliott begins to piece things together while the
unexpected house-guest of Ray Milland, the patriarch of a wealthy family
of spoiled brats. (For ladles of not-so-subtle subtext, the family name
is Crockett and all have gathered to celebrate Ray's birthday on the
4th of July.) There are some intriguing ideas explored here in spite of
the inherit goofiness, and the film is a slick enough production that it
doesn't come off as silly as it otherwise might. The climax could be a
little stronger, since the massing frogs seem more an irritation than a
menace, but all in all a fine little drive-in picture. That poster image
of a frog chewing on a human arm may be one of the most iconic images
of the decade. The film saw plenty of TV play, and was one of the films
released by MGM on disk. Said disk provided a gorgeous transfer.
A blessed and prosperous 2023 to you all!
