Better is the final act set in a hotel room – events turn surprisingly nasty, though it’s a shame that Bond wins by simply nabbing a gun and killing the bad guy. Sadly, the stakes don’t feel especially high. We don’t get to the crucial card game until about 25 minutes in, and when it arrives it’s a drab seven minutes, lacking any tension.
It’s melodrama, essentially, and not especially engaging. The episode is entirely shot on interior sets, a necessity because it was broadcast live, while the script is dialogue-heavy. We’re then into an abbreviated version of the book’s plot.
It’s nice of him, but I’m not sure why we need an intro. Without its advert breaks, the surviving copy runs for about 50 minutes – so let’s see how it measures up… It begins with a short introduction by host William Lundigan, who explains what a shoe is in a game of baccarat. “From Television City in Hollywood!” This adaptation of Ian Fleming’s first novel was the third episode of Climax!, an anthology series shown on American TV network CBS. “Live!” a dramatic voiceover declares at the start. SPOILER WARNING: These reviews reveal plot twists.
