It wasn't until 2006, and Daniel Craig's spectacular debut as 007, that 'the Fleming cut' became a viable option for Bond fans. Two previous adaptions of the novel complicated matters further: a 1954 made-for-television special (starring Barry Nelson as 'Jimmy Bond') and a 1967 movie that plays it all as farce. The first one - Casino Royale, written in 1953 - remained off the boards for decades owing to complicated IP issues. Surprisingly, only about half of the Bond movies are directly based on the original novels by Ian Fleming.
