It was the first time we heard the distinctive opening theme music...of a timpani fanfare. It was the first time we saw him order...a Scotch and water. The first time we heard a woman moan: "Oh...Jimmy."<br /><br />Um, okay, so there were still a few kinks to work out. But it was October, 1954, just one year after Ian Fleming's first novel was published. So what if James Bond didn't hit the ground running? To see the man, okay, played by Norwegian-American Barry Nelson, offer a casual quip after a brush with death, tuxedo unruffled, will stir the heart of any true Bondophile.<br /><br />Bond (Nelson) is on the case for Combined Intelligence. His mission: Break the bank on Le Chiffre (Peter Lorre), a top Soviet operative in France. To do so, he needs to beat Le Chiffre at baccarat, and not lose his head in the process when his old flame Valerie Mathis (Linda Christian) is threatened with death.<br /><br />I had to give this TV movie a ranking here in order to review it, though it's no fair using the same metric as with the theatrical Bonds. There was no "Take 2" for the cast of 1954's "Casino Royale", working live and without a net. Shadows are cast over actors' faces. A pasty, bloated Lorre stumbles over many of his lines. Nelson crams his shoulder into a lampshade. Someone can be overheard coughing behind the camera during a tense interrogation scene.<br /><br />Nelson, an amiably solid journeyman actor, comports himself well under the circumstances. Once you get used to his accent and flattop haircut, a slight twitchiness in his manner, and people calling him "Card Sense Jimmy Bond", he's easy and interesting to watch, managing to look both cool and concerned while still pulling off a nice Roger Moore-ish quip or two.<br /><br />"So it was you those men were shooting at! Why?"<br /><br />"Maybe they needed the practice."<br /><br />Christian is a terrific inaugural Bond girl, even if the flat black-and-white camera image does little justice to her face and form. Lorre, oddly, is the weak sister in this acting trio, but despite some obvious discomfort he does use his famous screen presence to some good effect, especially in a card-table sequence which is the best part of this short movie where he smirks and glowers to cold effect.<br /><br />There's also a surprisingly gritty torture sequence at the end, with the bad guys using a pair of pliers on Bond's toes. The producers of "Climax!" and director William H. Brown couldn't copy the Fleming novel too closely; it had Bond getting nailed in a more tender part of his anatomy. But they do get much of the nub of the story, not a bad feat considering the time limit and production code.<br /><br />The movie I saw ran just 48 minutes. Apparently there was more to the ending that I missed, though it seemed to have run its course well enough. The last line in my version has Bond saying "Call the police". I don't think you'll hear Bond say that in any other of his movies.<br /><br />Despite or because of such incongruities, "Casino Royale" is a fascinating glimpse at giving birth to a 1960s icon a decade too soon. As a spy story, it only works in fits and starts, but what matters is its place as the somewhat-neglected beginning of a screen legend.