JAMES BOND
FACT FILES

From 1971-1987 the Wellingborough based marketing company Marler Haley supplied special posters exclusively to ODEON cinemas across the UK for promotion of the James Bond films coming soon (or then playing) at a particular venue. The company produced a simple two-colour quad-crown (30" X 40") and four double-crown (20" X 30") posters for every film from Diamonds Are Forever (1971) up to and including The Living Daylights (1987). The company also provided similar sets of posters for many other high-profile films that played in ODEON cinemas including Star Wars (1977) and Alien (1979).

Marler Haley also supplied a custom-made display stand to house the set of five special posters alongside the full-colour general release quad-crown poster produced by the National Screen Service. Later posters had white spaces where cinemas would display a selection of Front of House stills (10" X 8") that were also issued by The National Screen Service, the company that controlled the distribution of theatrical advertising materials to cinemas in the UK. Selected Front of House stills were sometimes displayed alongside the general release quad-crown poster in light boxes outside cinemas. Marler Haley posters were produced in much smaller numbers than the general release posters and were only available during the original theatrical run of each film they were promoting. Typically only displayed in larger ODEON cinemas, these special posters are very hard to find on the collectors’ market today. Marler Haley posters were not advertised in the Exhibitors’ Campaign Books for each film, although the displays did feature in separate marketing manuals supplied to ODEON cinemas by the distributor The Rank Organisation, and later, United International Pictures.

Pictured below are surviving examples of the Marler Haley quad-crown and double-crown sets from the James Bond films 1971-1987.

By the late 1980s with many cinemas converted to multi-screen venues advertising space was at a premium, and it was not always practical to promote individual forthcoming attractions with large foyer displays. With release patterns now standardized across the UK, many ODEON cinemas produced a free monthly magazine to alert cinemagoers to upcoming releases.

Movie Goer was a generic A5-sized 18-page publication that would be customized by managers to include advertisements for local traders, and available in cinema foyers alongside confectionery, popcorn and the long-running commercially produced magazine Film Review.

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