Casino Royale (1967)

James Bond 007 (David Niven) is forced out of retirement after "M" (John Huston) is killed to investigate a rash of disappearances and deaths of spies under SMERSH's directives. This spy spoof is all over the place, everything but the kitchen sink thrown in and never more so than in the film's bizarre big brawl finale at the casino with the U.S. Cavalry, the French foreign legion, seals and Indians parachuting through the roof. The film doesn't even try to make any narrative sense despite the effort of five directors (Huston, Val Guest, Robert Parrish, Ken Hughes, Joseph McGrath) . That said, the film plays better today than it did in 1967. Its surreal insanity allows for many splendid sight gags, tongue in cheek deliveries and puns. Erratic, yes, and parts of it are almost embarrassingly lame but its playful attempt to please become almost charming. The massive cast includes Peter Sellers, Deborah Kerr (wonderful to see her do physical comedy), Ursula Andress, Orson Welles, William Holden, Woody Allen (not at his best), Charles Boyer, Peter O'Toole, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean Paul Belmondo, George Raft, Joanna Pettet (whose dance number is a highlight), Daliah Lavi, Kurt Kasznar, Anna Quayle and Barbara Bouchet. The tuneful, witty score is by Burt Bacharach and introduced the seductive The Look Of Love sung by the great Dusty Springfield and the often inspired art direction by Michael Stringer.