Having seen that, I have now viewed all three adaptations of the story, and the latest one really does capture the essence best.
The 1954 Climax! episode, like I said, took a lot of dramatic license with the story, fit it to only an hour, and in some ways missed the point of the character. On the other hand, Peter Lorre as La Chiffre was charming, and the black and white of the television enhanced a noir sentiment.
The Second version, 1967's Casino Royale, was a farce, a spoof, but with a fantastic cast, and while it too played loose with the details, the comedic essence is bold and schizophrenic, and it's worth seeing once.
The most recent in 2006, Daniel Craig's entry into the James Bond family, is mostly a straightforward adaptation of the novel, captures the original Fleming character better than any Bond before save possibly George Lazenby, and though the game is changed from Baccarat to Poker, it helps the audience embrace the tension at the table because so many are now familiar with Stud Poker through it's recent popularity - They understand what's going on better, and they can identify with the possibilities of how the game could resolve itself.
It's rare that I take a modern version of something over a classic, but in this case Hollywood has finally brought a definitive version of this classic to screen.
