Then, in 1960, Garrison sold the rights to Charles K. Feldman, a powerful Hollywood agent turned producer. Feldman had no idea what to do with them either—until 1962, when Dr. No exploded at the box office.
If you’ve never heard the name, imagine a heavier-set, chain-smoking version of Peter Sellers. Ratoff was a character. A former actor and theatrical producer from St. Petersburg, he fled the Russian Revolution, landed in New York, and eventually became a reliable director in 1930s and 40s Hollywood. His credits include The Sound of Fury and the original The Man Who Understood Women .
Ratoff's vision for the James Bond film was to star David Niven as Bond, with a focus on humor and satire. He assembled a team, including writer Anthony H. Davis, to develop a screenplay. However, Ratoff's production faced significant challenges, including: gregory ratoff james bond film rights
Instead, Gregory Ratoff is a footnote. A brilliant, blustering, forgotten fixer who held 007’s golden gun for a moment—and then watched it slip through his fingers.
Do you know any other "what if" stories from early Bond history? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Then, in 1960, Garrison sold the rights to Charles K
Suddenly, Feldman was sitting on a goldmine. But he couldn’t make a "real" Bond film (Eon Productions owned the rest of Fleming’s library). So he made the insane, glorious, star-studded 1967 spoof Casino Royale —a movie so chaotic it features five directors, David Niven as an aging Bond, and a closing credits song by Herb Alpert.
Gregory Ratoff never saw the Bond franchise explode. He died of leukemia in 1960, just two years before Dr. No premiered. He was 63. No exploded at the box office
Long before James Bond became a global cinematic icon, the rights to his first adventure, Casino Royale , were at the center of a series of deals that would keep the story outside the "official" franchise for nearly half a century. The key figure in this early history was , a Russian-born actor and director who purchased the film rights to Ian Fleming's debut novel in the mid-1950s. The Initial Acquisition and the $6,000 Deal
Following Ratoff's death, the rights were acquired by his former agent and friend, producer , who purchased them from Ratoff's widow and Michael Garrison for $75,000 in 1961. HeinOnline Everything or Nothing: The Copyright History of James Bond