JAMES BOND
FACT FILES

From the earliest days of cinema the stars and their films have been promoted in numerous magazines published throughout the world. In more recent years specialist publications have focussed on other aspects of filmmaking including cinematography and special effects. Pictured below is a comprehensive selection of UK publications with significant material publicising the James Bond films during production, and on their original release. Selected special features (and restored double-page spreads often with photographs unique to that particular publication), interviews, portraits and articles are also presented wherever possible. Before the advent of the generic studio press kit, which saw all printed media and online platforms publish the same carefully chosen key images, take a nostalgic look back at a golden age of cinema-going courtesy of the 007 MAGAZINE Archive!

Photoplay was a monthly magazine first published in the UK in 1950, featuring reviews of new films and articles on the stars of the day, with the emphasis on their private lives and interests. By the 1960s Photoplay also included articles on pop stars and current television programmes (and later videotapes from the early 1980s), although its main focus continued to be the cinema. Ironically, it was Photoplay magazine that predicted Sean Connery would become a big star as early as April 1958. Editor Ken Ferguson interviewed the up-and-coming actor as he signed a contract with Twentieth-Century-Fox, opening his feature article ‘What a hunk of he-man’ with the words: “I'm going to predict that by the end of the year a young, burly, rugged Scots-man who grunts to the name of Sean Connery will be a BIG star.” However, it would be another four years before Connery got his first starring role in Dr. No (1962).

The first coverage of Dr. No was in Photoplay's July 1962 edition, which featured an article on Ursula Andress. The November 1962 issue was available as Dr. No went on release across the UK, although editor Ken Ferguson's interview with Ian Fleming was not advertised on the cover, which instead showcased Elvis Presley (1935-1977). A year later coverage of From Russia With Love began in the November 1963 issue, which focussed on British pop groups, this time featuring The Beatles on the cover. The December 1963 issue included a full-page colour portrait of Sean Connery as James Bond to promote From Russia With Love (1963), then enjoying its record-breaking UK general release, however, it was popular English Pop Singer Craig Douglas (1941– ) [birth name Terence Perkins] who was featured on the cover of this issue. Craig Douglas recorded a cover version of Lionel Bart's ‘From Russia With Love’, and was photographed with gypsy fighting girls Martine Beswicke and Aliza Gur to promote the single, which was released in October 1963.

The James Bond films were then all promoted heavily upon their original release (and frequently during production), with at least one cover each year from 1964 onwards devoted to the stars of the latest 007 blockbuster (with the exception of A View To A Kill). Photoplay ceased publication in 1989 and was incorporated into a new magazine called Film Monthly; which was still edited by Ken Ferguson, assisted by his wife Sylvia. However, unable to compete with new publications such as EMPIRE (launched in 1989) with its more modern style of journalism, Film Monthly eventually folded in 1992.

Released in late 1983 to take advantage of the so-called ‘Battle of the Bonds’ (which never really materialised other than in the minds of the Media on the lookout for a good story), Argus Specialist Publications [who also published Photoplay] issued two 32-page pictorial souvenirs dedicated to the James Bond films of Roger Moore and Sean Connery. Both magazines are full of textual and pictorial errors throughout, and were ostensibly published to promote Octopussy and Never Say Never Again, both released in 1983. The Sean Connery issue “My Name is BOND” also published stills and background information from the six EON Productions films in which the actor starred from 1962-1971. Both magazines had an identical back cover promoting the UK release of Never Say Never Again on December 15, 1983.

The film magazine Showtime was first published in January 1964 as the Rank Organisation's competitor to the ABC Film Review, which was the rival publication for cinemas on the ABC (Associated British Cinemas) distribution circuit. Showtime only gave publicity and praise to those films showing in Rank cinemas, and whilst similar to ABC Film Review it also contained articles on fashion, pop music and interviews with stars of the day, as well as film reviews and advance publicity of forthcoming films.

SHOWTIME featured some unique and interesting articles throughout its short history, including a 1965 interview with James Bond composer John Barry, and a 1967 feature on stuntman Bob Simmons. Published at the height of ‘Bondmania’ in the mid-1960s, hardly a month went by without Showtime featuring some exclusive James Bond content. SHOWTIME ceased publication with the December 1967 issue, and was superseded by Showguide - a pocket-sized free magazine available in cinemas on the Rank Distribution circuit from February 1968. 

In addition to their release on the ODEON chain, from 1995 the James Bond films starring Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig were also exhibited in Cineworld cinemas. The privately operated company is currently the world's second-largest cinema chain, with over 9,000 screens across 751 sites in 10 countries. The two cinema brands in the United Kingdom and Ireland are Cineworld and Picturehouse - both of which published their own free booklets advertising the films on offer at specific venues. An example of the Cineworld booklet announcing the release of Die Another Day in November 2002 is pictured above.

Never Say Never Again (1983) was the only James Bond film to be released exclusively on the ABC circuit in the UK. At the time ABC cinemas were part of the Thorn EMI Group, and new releases were promoted in a free monthly booklet (similar to the one available in ODEON and other Rank cinemas) simply titled PREVIEW. The December 1983/January 1984 edition featured Sean Connery's comeback film as James Bond on the cover and a double-page poster spread to coincide its nationwide release from Friday December 16, 1983 - two days after its West End Charity premiere at the Warner Theatre in London's Leicester Square.

Thursday December 15, 1983 (the day after its London premiere and a day before its general release): Never Say Never Again had its Regional and Northern Charity Premiere at the ABC Cinema in York – organised by the city's Lord Mayor, Councillor Steve Galloway; with the help of this author and the support of Graham Rye, then President of the James Bond British Fan Club. Copies of the Club magazine ‘007’ sold well at the premiere, and Sean Connery recorded a special message that was played in the auditorium before the screening. The sell-out event raised £600 for The British Heart Foundation and gave a much-needed boost to the local economy at the end of a year that saw the lowest cinema attendance on record. There were 66-million admissions in 1983 – half the number recorded 10 years earlier. The home video market continued to make a significant dent in cinema box-office takings in the ensuing decade, and Never Say Never Again was released onto the rental market in July 1984, by which time its cinematic lifecycle had almost ended. The film continued to play at London's Warner West End until late September, and received its television premiere on BBC1 on Christmas Day 1986 – the shortest window yet for any James Bond film.

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FACT FILES INDEX

US Magazines from the height of ‘Bondmania’

007 MAGAZINE AVAILABLE ISSUES