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James Bond US Lobby Cards

Usually printed on a card stock paper in a set of eight for display purposes in theatre lobbies, these Front of House Lobby Cards (11" X 14") were generally produced in colour, although the colour was achieved using garish photo dyes that a studio retoucher would apply by brush to a black & white photograph to create the artwork from which the Lobby Card would eventually be printed. The majority of magazines in the 1960s were printed in monochrome, hence why the majority of the still photographers on the Bond films shot in black & white up until 1983. It wasn’t unusual for studio retouchers not to have seen the film or to be supplied with colour transparencies to use as colour matches, therefore the retoucher was left to choose his own colour palette when colouring up the original black & white images. These US Lobby Cards have long become very desirable collectibles – and nowadays sets are often broken up and individual cards sold separately to maximise their monetary value. The promotional photographs chosen (mostly shot during scene rehearsals) usually gave a varied overview of the film story; later titles in the Bond series utilised carefully chosen key images seen throughout the whole integrated advertising campaign.

Pictures below are examples of Lobby Cards from each release and re-release set of the James Bond films in the USA from 1963 to 2012. Sets relating to the double-bill reissues had four stills from each film, and the studio usually chose images seen as part of the original release lobby set, although some releases did include new stills. The characters of Felix Leiter (played by Jack Lord) and Quarrel (played by John Kitzmiller) did not appear in any of the eight Lobby Cards for the original US release of Dr. No in 1963. A new lobby card was therefore introduced into the 1965 set when the film was reissued with From Russia With Love. Similarly, the character of Doctor No (played by Joseph Wiseman in the first James Bond film) first appeared as part of the set issued for the 1965 re-release with From Russia With Love, and the same card re-used for the 1966 re-release when Dr. No was paired with Goldfinger. Curiously, of the eight cards issued to promote On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) two were specially posed publicity stills featuring stuntmen at Piz Gloria; another showed the director Peter Hunt and crew members at the Swiss location, and a behind-the-scenes shot of Telly Savalas having his costume brushed down by member of the Costume Department at Pinewood Studios. It is also perhaps not surprising the then new James Bond, George Lazenby, only features in two of the stills, with his face only fully visible in one of them. Lazenby had already quit the role of 007 by the time the film was released in December 1969, so the better-known American actor Telly Savalas is featured on three of the eight Lobby Cards.

Lobby cards ceased to be produced for most releases in the mid-2000s, although some countries still continued to issue sets for the promotion of the Daniel Craig films overseas.


Dr. No (1963) NSS 62/410	From Russia With Love (1964) NSS 64/39

Goldfinger (1964) NSS 64/359	Dr. No/From Russia With Love (1965) & (1971) NSS R 65/163

Thunderball (1965) NSS 65/372	Goldfinger/Dr. No (1966) & (1969) NSS R 66/297

Casino Royale (1967) NSS 67/72	You Only Live Twice (1967) NSS 67/115

Thunderball/From Russia With Love (1968) NSS R 68/324	On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) NSS 70/9
	Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Live And Let Die (1973) and The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) had two sets of identical 11" X 14" Lobby Cards issued for use in the Eastern and Western Hemisphere - but with the usual contractual reversal of the Producer credits. The Eastern Hemisphere versions had the Motion Picture Association of America ratings removed [‘GP’ in the case of Diamonds Are Forever, and ‘PG’ for the first two Roger Moore James Bond films], and no National Screen Service codes printed on the cards. The code denoted the release year and a unique number seen on all advertising material for that film. Corresponding smaller 10" X 8" mini Lobby Cards were also issued with the same variations, but in all cases the images used on the cards were identical to their larger counterpart. The same approach was also adopted for the various different sized posters issued to promote the three films upon their original release in both territories.
Thunderball/You Only Live Twice (1970/71) & (1972) NSS R 71/53

Diamonds Are Forever (1971) Eastern Hemisphere No NSS code or MPAA rating	Diamonds Are Forever (1971) Western Hemisphere NSS 71/303

Live And Let Die (1973) Eastern Hemisphere No NSS code or MPAA rating	Live And Let Die (1973) Western Hemisphere NSS 73/35

The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) Eastern Hemisphere No NSS code or MPAA rating	The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) Western Hemisphere NSS 74/251

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) NSS 77/42	Moonraker (1979) NSS 790012

For Your Eyes Only (1981) NSS 810014	For Your Eyes Only (1981) International Lobby Card

Octopussy (1983) NSS 83011	Never Say Never Again (1983) NSS 830102
For Your Eyes Only (1981) had an alternate set of eight 11" X 14" colour Lobby Cards that were primarily used outside the USA and featured different images. The set was only advertised in the International version of the United Artists Pressbook. To promote the 1985 release of A View To A Kill there were also two different styles of 11" X 14" Lobby Cards issued. The US set featured a full-width colour still and simple logo beneath; whilst the International variation showcased Daniel Gouzee's poster artwork of Roger Moore and Grace Jones, with a smaller colour still and more detailed credits, with a space below for the cinema details to be inserted or overprinted. Only the US version had an NSS code. From The Living Daylights (1987) onwards there was only one set of Lobby Cards issued, and these were used internationally, although there were also country-specific variations with the credits translated as required.

*A View To A Kill* (1985) NSS 850004	*A View To A Kill* (1985) International Style No NSS code

The Living Daylights (1987) International Lobby card	Licence To Kill (1989) International Lobby card

GoldenEye (1995) [Set of nine] International Lobby card	GoldenEye (1995) [Set of nine] International Lobby card

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) International Lobby card	The World Is Not Enough (1999) [Set of 12] International Lobby card

Die Another Day (2002) [Set of 10] International Lobby card	Casino Royale (2006) [Set of 12] International Lobby card

Quantum of Solace (2008) [Set of 12] International Lobby card	Skyfall (2012) [Set of 14] International Lobby card

Pierce Brosnan's debut as James Bond in GoldenEye (1995) was unique in that its Lobby set contained nine cards, including one featuring the poster artwork with the text ‘COMING SOON’ printed in red at the bottom so it could be used in advance of the actual release; whereas the standard eight 11" X 14" cards featured a publicity still of Pierce Brosnan flanked by Famke Janssen and Izabella Scorupco as part of the border artwork. The World Is Not Enough (1999) had a set of twelve Lobby Cards, with Die Another Day (2002) issued as a ten-card set. Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008) were also issued as twelve-card sets, although now some cards had two or three images, with other cards presented in the portrait orientation. The last James Bond film to have an International Lobby set was Skyfall (2012). The images now selected are the familiar frequently-seen key publicity stills of the stars seen throughout the campaign, rather than the somewhat arbitrary images used for earlier films in the series. For more recent James Bond films most promotion has been relegated to online content, rather than physical media in cinema foyers. The advent of digital marketing marked the end of printed media as we used to know it.

James Bond US Mini Lobby Cards

From the mid-1960s the James Bond films also had smaller mini Lobby Card sets issued by the National Screen Service. The 10" X 8" cards matched the size of the standard UK Front of House sets. The first EON Productions James Bond film to have a mini Lobby Card set issued was On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). In all cases images were identical to the 11" X 14" Lobby Cards, but without the border artwork. The double-bill reissues did not have corresponding mini Lobby Cards issued, and this style ceased to be produced in the United States from the late 1980s. In recent years Lobby Card sets have often broken up when sold at auction in order to maximise their value on the collectors’ market, although original full sets still command the highest prices.
	Casino Royale (1967)

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)	Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Live And Let Die (1973)	The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)	Moonraker (1979)

For Your Eyes Only (1981)	Octopussy (1983)

Never Say Never Again (1983)	*A View To A Kill* (1985)

VIVA JAMES BOND! 1970 International reissue series

In 1970 United Artists initiated a reissue of the five Sean Connery James Bond films following the relatively disappointing box-office returns of On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) starring George Lazenby in his only performance as 007. At this stage his replacement had yet to be cast and the distributor felt this was the perfect time to capitalize on the success of the original James Bond.

A series of stock posters in standard US sizes (1-sheet, 3-sheet, half-sheet & insert) were printed in the USA, although this design was never used to accompany American reissues in 1970. The ‘VIVA JAMES BOND!’ campaign was only used for reissues of the films in Europe (predominantly in France) as the artwork [by French poster artist Yves Thos with a semi-nude figure of a girl at Sean Connery's feet was too provocative to be seen on US posters, where advertising had to be approved by the Motion Picture Association of America. The posters all had a blank box where the credits were pasted locally depending on the film being screened. United Artists also issued five new sets of eight 11" X 14" Lobby Cards (some with the same images as seen on the original release versions) to accompany the reissues. There was no mention of Sean Connery as the star, and only the title of the film appeared on the cards.

James Bond US Lobby Cards 1984 MGM/UA re-issue series

1982 James Bond Festival poster illustrated by Glenn Harrington

1984 United Airlines James Bond Festival poster illustrated by Glenn Harrington

In 1981 the near bankrupt United Artists was acquired by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and the merged studios became known as the MGM/UA Entertainment Company. Octopussy (1983) was the first James Bond film to be distributed by the new company and their new logo featured on lobby cards for the first time. MGM/UA then packaged the first twelve films in the EON Productions series as ‘A James Bond Festival’. A new poster (18" X 27") illustrated by Glenn Harrington (1959- ) was produced to accompany the screenings at several repertory cinemas in 1981-1983. Distributor United Artists had earlier presented a similar festival in London during October/November 1980, and again in January/February 1981. In March 1984 United Airlines chose to screen the thirteen James Bond films as in-flight entertainment and a similar poster featuring the Glenn Harrington artwork was used in promotion. A new series of 11" X 14" Lobby Cards were issued by MGM/UA in 1984 as the festival was still being booked in selected venues in the USA and Canada. As had been the case with the original release Lobby Cards there were some unusual choices of stills, with one of the Dr. No cards featuring Sean Connery with James Bond author Ian Fleming on the reactor set at Pinewood Studios.

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