JAMES BOND
FACT FILES

From the mid-1960s PLAYBOY photographers were often present during the shooting of the James Bond films, including 1967's unofficial spoof version of Casino Royale. This allowed for special photo-shoots to take place on the sets after filming ended. The February 1967 issue of PLAYBOY showcased the girls of Casino Royale in by a 13-page pictorial with text by Woody Allen. Photographed by Larry Shaw and Terry O'Neill, the images reproduced in the magazine showed many scenes and characters not seen in the finished film. Geraldine Chaplin (daughter of Charlie) was shown in a Keystone Kop outfit with Richard Talmadge, who was also a second unit director on the film; and Barbara Bouchet (Miss Moneypenny in the film) is seen in a spoof version of the Goldfinger pre-credit sequence, and as an angel from the end credits (although she does not feature prominently in the finished segment of the film). Terry O'Neill also photographed Ursula Andress on set at Shepperton Studios (presumably dead amongst the remains of the destroyed casino at the end of the film), and Joanna Pettet when she filmed her fabulous dance sequence as Mata Bond.

Screenwriter Roald Dahl provided the essay for the June 1967 issue of PLAYBOY when the magazine showcased the oriental actresses featured in You Only Live Twice. Mie Hama became the first Asian woman to feature in the magazine, when she posed nude along with co-star Akiko Wakabayashi and many of the other actresses in the film. Unusually PLAYBOY didn't run a pictorial to tie in with the release of On Her Majesty's Secret Service in 1969 - perhaps the coverage they got in the film itself (with Bond reading the February issue he finds in Gumbold's office in Bern) was enough to keep their relationship with EON, and interest in the magazine alive until Sean Connery returned to the role of James Bond in 1971. PLAYBOY reviewed On Her Majesty's Secret Service in the March 1970 issue and was one of the few American publications to give the film a thumbs-up:

“.. On Her Majesty's Secret Service  - which first appeared in the pages of PLAYBOY -  is in every way a genuine James Bond film adventure, and newcomer George Lazenby as the new James Bond does very well at it, thank you... The producers of Secret Service have, indeed, pulled off a double-barrelled coup. Not only is the film one of the best in the series, it's so visually appealing and well written that by the end you've ceased to notice that Lazenby isn't Connery. It's superlative Bond - by George!”.

A pictorial entitled ‘Vegas comes up 007’ appeared in the December 1971 issue to coincide with the release of Diamonds Are Forever. Sean Connery was photographed with Las Vegas showgirls; Lana Wood (herself a PLAYBOY model in the April issue which led to her being cast as Plenty O'Toole), and Jill St John. The pictorial showcased some of the more risqué scenes from the film. The July 1973 issue focussed on Roger Moore's debut as 007 and featured a pictorial with Jane Seymour and Gloria Hendry.

There was no coverage devoted to The Man With The Golden Gun in 1974, but Maud Adams who played Andrea in the film, would later have her own pictorial in the October 1981 issue to accompany the release of her new film Tattoo. Unused photos from this session would feature in later issues when a Bond connection was required. Barbara Bach was the next Bond girl to bare all in the June 1977 issue of PLAYBOY, in a pictorial photographed by David Bailey.

The next significant James Bond related issue of PLAYBOY appeared in July 1979, with a pictorial featuring Corinne Clery and the girls of Moonraker. The magazine also ran a contest in conjunction with United Artists to find a girl who would appear in the next James Bond film.

From the early 1970s PLAYBOY published international editions of the magazine, so by the time the James Bond 25th anniversary special appeared in 1987 it had a different cover (and inside content) depending where in the world it was purchased. Alternate shots of Maryam d'Abo from the same photo-session, and others featuring more nudity were used on the covers of different international editions.

Never ones to pass up the opportunity for a James Bond connection, the August 1989 issue of PLAYBOY informed readers that for the first time the title of the latest James Bond film was not taken directly from any of the stories by the late Ian Fleming. However, screenwriters Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum, did utilise elements from several Fleming works including the novella THE HILDEBRAND RARITY, which first appeared in PLAYBOY in 1960. Another first is that Licence To Kill also features a PLAYBOY Playmate - Diana Lee, who billed as Diana Lee-Hsu, plays undercover Hong Kong narcotics agent Loti in the film. The American model was also used by Maurice Binder as the dancer in the main titles for Licence To Kill. The August 1989 issue of PLAYBOY also published some behind-the-scenes photos from the filming of the Licence To Kill main titles, which turned out to be Maurice Binder's last for the series before his death in 1991.

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