The film listed five directors, notably the great John Huston ( The Maltese Falcon), with a sixth uncredited. Indeed, Casino Royale featured an absurd number of chefs in the kitchen. Yet so many writers toiled on the film that none of these five icons would be among the three screenwriters actually credited for it. Strangelove screenwriter Terry Southern, and Woody Allen.
He would be one of the brilliant writers to work on this project, a murderers’ row that also included Catch-22 author Joseph Heller, Sunset Boulevard co-writer/director Billy Wilder, Dr. Legendary screenwriter Ben Hecht, dubbed the “Shakespeare of Hollywood,” wrote up a faithful version of Fleming’s novel. Granted, the initial approach sounded downright sane.
A film adaptation was inevitable to cash in on Bond’s popularity, yet it would have to be outside the established canon. Broccoli, however, did not have the rights to that first Bond novel. (It’s actually based on Fleming’s sixth 007 novel.) Starring Sean Connery and co-produced by Albert Broccoli, it established a pattern to be followed for many films to come.
