JAMES BOND 007 MAGAZINE | Dr. No Interactive Exhibitors’ Campaign Book

Dr. No (1962) Theatrical trailer designed by Maurice Binder

In 1962 graphic designer Maurice Binder (1918-1991) was hired by producers Harry Saltzman & Albert R. Broccoli to create the main titles for their first James Bond film Dr. No. Binder first assembled a trailer for Dr. No that played in UK cinemas to entice audiences ahead of release. The trailer is actually the first time the gun barrel sequence (and fragments of the titles) would be seen in cinemas. The three-and-a-half-minute trailer narrated by Sean Connery [and British film & television actor and voice-over artiste Tim Turner (1924-1987)] uses a reducing optical circle into a shot of Bond kissing Sylvia Trench and pulls back out to reveal the stark black & white gun barrel; then the whole screen bleeds red revealing introductory text announcing the new film from the book by Ian Fleming. However, the figure that crosses the screen and fires a gun directly at the camera was not Sean Connery, but stunt arranger Bob Simmons (1923-1987). This footage was re-used at the start of the next two films in the series, although the titles themselves would be designed by Robert Brownjohn. Maurice Binder had no involvement with From Russia With Love (1963) and Goldfinger (1964) following a dispute with the producers over money. It was editor Peter Hunt who came up with the notion of placing the gun barrel at the start of each film and opening up into the teaser pre-credit sequence - an idea that would be repeated until the series re-invented itself in 2006 with Casino Royale starring Daniel Craig as James Bond.

The first James Bond film premiered at the 1,186-seat London Pavilion, Piccadilly Circus on Friday October 5, 1962 – the same day as The Beatles released their first single ‘Love Me Do’. The London Pavilion was operated by United Artists as their flagship venue to premiere films distributed by the company in the UK until its closure in 1981.

The event was attended by Sean Connery, accompanied by Zena Marshall (Miss Taro in the film), director Terence Young and producers Harry Saltzman & Albert R. Broccoli. Composer Monty Norman was also one of the invited guests. James Bond author Ian Fleming also attended the Dr. No screening and brought as his special guest the noted playwright and novelist Somerset Maugham (1874-1965). In reality the event was not a ‘premiere’ in the sense that we know it today. Dr. No had five showings at the London Pavilion that day starting at 10.45am, with the cast and crew attending a Gala Screening of the film which began at 8.50pm. A party was then held at The Milroy Nightclub, housed within Les Ambassadeurs club in London's Mayfair. The Le Cercle gaming club for members of Les Ambassadeurs was established at the venue in May 1961, and served as the backdrop for James Bond's introduction at the Chemin de fer table opposite Sylvia Trench (Eunice Gayson) in Dr. No (1962). The scene was filmed at Pinewood Studios on March 2, 1962 on a set designed by Ken Adam based on Les Ambassadeurs Club, and where Sean Connery delivers the immortal line “Bond. James Bond.” for the first time.

ABOVE: (top left) Sean Connery and Zena Marshall attend the Gala Screening of Dr. No at the London Pavilion on the evening of Friday October 5, 1962. (top right) Newspaper advertisement announcing the release of Dr. No across the United Kingdom. (bottom left) James Bond author Ian Fleming attended the Dr. No opening and brought as his special guest the noted novelist W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965). (bottom right) Swedish actress Anita Ekberg (in London to film the Saltzman/Broccoli produced comedy Call Me Bwana), director Terence Young and producer Harry Saltzman at the London Pavilion. The poster for Call Me Bwana features prominently in the next James Bond film From Russia With Love. Anita Ekberg is often mistakenly identified as Ursula Andress by press agencies when captioning photographs from the London Pavilion opening, and after screening party. Ursula Andress did not attend the Dr. No Gala Screening as she was filming Fun In Acapulco (1963) in the USA with Elvis Presley at the time.
BELOW: (left) Dr. No opened in North West London cinemas from October 7th; North East London cinemas from October 14th, and South London a week later (right) Queues outside the London Pavilion on October 6, 1962.

Dr. No newspaper advertisement/London Pavilion

ABOVE: An extract from LONDON CALLING! - 007 MAGAZINE's exclusive two-part overview of the release schedules of the James Bond films in London's West End.