By the late 1950s, Gregory Ratoff had exhausted his options. He had held the rights for nearly five years without being able to greenlight a film. Frustrated and perhaps realizing the project was beyond his reach, he made the decision that would change cinema history: he sold the rights.
Feldman’s ownership eventually led to the 1967 spoof film Casino Royale , produced after Saltzman and Broccoli rejected his proposal for a co-production. The rights to the title only fully returned to the main franchise family after a complex series of deals involving Sony and MGM in the late 1990s, finally allowing for the "official" 2006 reboot starring Daniel Craig.
The Forgotten Mogul: How Gregory Ratoff Relinquished the Crown Jewels of Spy Cinema gregory ratoff james bond rights relinquished
The history of James Bond 's cinematic journey began not with a high-budget blockbuster, but with a series of low-cost deals that nearly changed 007's identity forever. Central to this saga is , a Russian-born actor and director whose initial purchase of the rights to Casino Royale created a decades-long legal rift in the franchise. The Initial Acquisition: A Bargain for Bond
Fleming, desperate to get his hero on screen, agreed. He then sold the rights to all future Bond books to a pair of producers you might have heard of: Broccoli and Saltzman. By the late 1950s, Gregory Ratoff had exhausted his options
Ratoff spent years trying to secure funding for a feature film. At various points, he considered unconventional ideas, such as casting a woman (Susan Hayward) as Bond or casting Peter Finch in the role.
Following the TV broadcast, Ratoff bought the film rights "in perpetuity" for an additional $6,000 . Fleming famously used this money to buy a Ford Thunderbird. Feldman’s ownership eventually led to the 1967 spoof
Why isn't Ratoff’s name on the Dr. No poster? Because when he relinquished the general rights, he only kept Casino Royale .
In the pantheon of James Bond history, names like Cubby Broccoli, Harry Saltzman, and Sean Connery are etched in gold. However, a pivotal, often overlooked chapter belongs to Gregory Ratoff—a Russian-born actor and director who, for a brief window in the 1950s, held the fate of James Bond in his hands.
This split eventually allowed producer Charles K. Feldman (who later acquired the Casino Royale rights) to produce the 1967 satirical version of Casino Royale starring David Niven—a chaotic spoof that served as a stark contrast to the "official" Sean Connery films. It wasn't until 2006 that the rights were finally reunited under the Broccoli family (EON), allowing for Daniel Craig’s gritty reboot in Casino Royale .
Upon Ratoff's death, the rights did not return to Ian Fleming. Instead, they were held by Ratoff's estate, specifically his widow Eugenie Leontovich and his former partner Michael Garrison. In 1961, they sold the rights to Ratoff's former agent and friend, , for $75,000—a significant increase from the original $6,000 purchase price.