These often lavishly
produced glossy colour brochures were on sale at the World
Charity Premiere of each James Bond film starting with Goldfinger
in 1964. The first two James Bond films did not have World Premieres in
the sense we know them today. Dr. No (1962) opened at the London
Pavilion cinema Piccadilly Circus on October 5, 1962 where it had four
public performances that day. The stars and invited guests attended a gala
screening of the film in the evening. Similarly From Russia With Love
opened at the ODEON Leicester Square on October 10, 1963; where once again
it
had already played to paying customers three times before the evening gala
performance.
No souvenir brochures were produced for these events.
|
 |
Diamonds Are Forever
(1971) was the only James Bond film not to have a premiere in London,
first screening to the public at the 10.45am performance at the ODEON
Leicester Square on December 30, 1971. The Press screening held at the
cinema on December 29th had been attended by Sean Connery, who brought
along friend Roger Moore as his guest. The
film did have a Gala Scottish Premiere at the ODEON Theatre,
Clerk Street, Edinburgh on Friday January 14, 1972 with Sean Connery in
attendance. Although several James Bond films had opened first in
Japan or the USA, they all had Charity ‘premieres’ in London [*indicated
below] with stars, crew members and other celebrities attending the
screening. Souvenir Brochures were also produced for these events. Usually
printed by the charity that would benefit from the event, brochures were
generally
only available at the premiere and therefore produced in very limited
numbers. In later years some charities did make spare copies available after the event in
order to raise more money for their cause. Souvenir Brochures were also
produced (with similar content) for some of the regional premieres of the
films and fewer copies of these appear to have survived. Premiere
Brochures still command high prices when they appear in auction,
especially those signed by the stars who attended.
Premiere Brochures
usually consisted of profiles of the cast and crew [often accompanied by
stills not seen in any other publication], along with congratulatory
messages and advertisements from many of the companies associated with the
production. Once again, many of these advertisements were unique to the
brochure.
|
 |
 |
 |
Goldfinger
17 September 1964
World Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square |
Thunderball
29 December 1965
Gala Premiere*
London Pavilion & Rialto Cinema |
Casino Royale
13 April 1967
Royal World Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square |
 |
 |
 |
You Only Live Twice
12 June 1967
Royal World Charity Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square |
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
18 December 1969
Royal World Charity Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square |
Diamonds Are Forever
14 January 1972
Gala Scottish Premiere
ODEON Theatre, Clerk Street, Edinburgh |
 |
 |
 |
Live And Let Die
5 July 1973
Royal World Charity Premiere*
ODEON Leicester Square |
The Man With The Golden Gun
19 December 1974
Royal Charity Premiere*
ODEON Leicester Square |
The Spy Who Loved Me
7 July 1977
Royal Charity Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square |
 |
 |
 |
Moonraker
26 June 1979
Royal World Charity Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square |
For Your Eyes Only
24 June 1981
Royal World Charity Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square |
Octopussy
6 June 1983
Royal World Charity Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square |
 |
 |
 |
Never
Say Never Again
14 December 1983
Royal Charity Premiere*
Warner Theatre Leicester Square |
A View To A Kill
12 June 1985
Royal Charity Premiere*
ODEON Leicester Square |
The Living Daylights
29 June 1987
Royal World Charity Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square |
 |
 |
 |
Licence To Kill
13 June 1989
Royal World Charity Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square |
GoldenEye (1995)
21 November 1995
Royal European Charity Premiere*
ODEON Leicester Square |
Tomorrow Never Dies
9 December 1997
World Charity Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square |
 |
 |
Die
Another Day (2002), Casino Royale (2006) and
Spectre (2015) were also chosen as the Royal Film
Performance. The event has been held annually since 1946 in
aid of the Film & Television Charity, formerly the Cinema &
Television Benevolent Fund. The event is used to showcase a
major film premiere and is attended by members of the British
Royal Family. The proceeds from the event enable the charity
to offer financial support to people associated with the
screen industries.
The Royal Film Performances for Die Another Day
(2002) and Spectre (2015) were held at the Royal Albert
Hall instead of London's ODEON Leicester Square. 2002 also
marked the 40th anniversary of James Bond in the cinema. The
premiere of Die Another Day was
attended by Pierce Brosnan and three former James Bond's
George Lazenby, Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton along with
other actors and celebrities associated with the series over
its 40 year history. |
|
|
The
World Is Not Enough
22 November 1999
European Charity Premiere*
ODEON Leicester Square |
Die
Another Day
18 November 2002
The Royal Film Performance
The Royal Albert Hall |
|
 |
 |
Casino
Royale
14 November 2006
The Sixtieth Royal Film Performance
ODEON Leicester Square, and simultaneously at the Empire & ODEON
West End |
Quantum of Solace
29 October 2008
The
Royal World Premiere
ODEON Leicester Square |
|
 |
 |
 |
Skyfall
23 October 2012
The
Royal World Premiere
The Royal Albert Hall |
Spectre
26 October 2015
The CTBF Royal Film Performance
The Royal Albert Hall |
No Time To Die
28 September 2021
The
Royal World Premiere
The Royal Albert Hall |
|
Selected UK Regional Premiere Brochures |
|
Several James
Bond films also had regional charity premieres but not all of
these had souvenir brochures produced. Although Thunderball
had opened in London on December 29, 1965 and in major cities
across the UK in January 1966, it did not have its general release until
mid-February. The Midlands premiere of Thunderball took
place at the ODEON cinema, New Street in Birmingham on Saturday
February 5, 1966. 2,400 people attended the midnight premiere
which raised over £2,000 for the Birmingham and District
Committees of the Drapers Cottage Homes charity. A 28-page
souvenir brochure was on sale at the premiere with a cover price
of at least 2s/6d (the equivalent of 30p today), which indicates
that most people paid far more than the suggested amount for their copy. A
rare surviving copy of the brochure sold for £500 at auction in
2015. |
 |
The Northern Charity Premiere of Thunderball
was held at the ODEON Theatre on The Headrow in Leeds on Saturday
February 19, 1966. 40-page individually numbered souvenir brochures
were produced featuring similar content to the
London and Dublin premieres. Actress Mollie Peters (who played
Nurse Patricia Fearing in Thunderball) attended this event
as part of a promotional tour she undertook throughout early 1966.
Staying the weekend in Leeds, she then attended a press call and
reception at the Arnold G. Wilson Ltd. Aston Martin showroom on
Monday February 21, 1966. The showroom also had the B.S.A. Rocket-Firing Motor
Cycle on display following its appearance at the
Thomas Wallis department store in
London's Oxford Street. Department stores took the opportunity to
advertise in the regional premiere brochures with James Bond
related tie-ins. You Only Live Twice
did not have its general release in the UK until long after its
London Premiere on June 12, 1967. Several cities held special
midnight premieres in September 1967, including the ODEON Glasgow
on the last day of the month.
By the time Pierce Brosnan took over
as James Bond in 1995, UK cinema release patterns had been
standardised, and new films generally opened countrywide on the
Friday following the London premiere. Several cities did hold
regional premieres in aid of charity on the day after the London
openings of GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World
Is Not Enough with generic souvenir programmes produced and tailored to the specific charity named as the
beneficiary. With new films now opening at the same time across the
country, the appeal of a regional premiere has been somewhat
diminished. |
|
|