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James Bond UK general release posters
WRITTEN & COMPILED BY KEVIN HARPER

For every official general release or re-release of the James Bond films in the UK, quad-crown posters (30" X 40") were produced by The National Screen Service for use in cinema displays and advertising hoardings across the country. These colourful and highly stylised posters are now collectors items and command high prices when sold at auction. Quad-crown posters were primarily displayed in light-boxes outside cinemas in conjunction with front-of-house stills (which came in sets of eight), but would also be seen up and down the country on advertising hoardings, or displayed on the London Underground during the release of each new film in the series. At half the size of a quad-crown poster, double-crowns were also available from the NSS for most films up to and including The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Front-of-house stills (10" X 8") were produced for cinema displays, and several films had larger jumbo lobby cards (11" X 14") available from the NSS. Usually in sets of four, these had the same stills seen on the smaller front-of-house version, but with no text or border, and usually displayed outside larger cinemas in custom display cases.

James Bond posters & accessories size chart

Sixteen-Sheet posters (80" X 120") would be produced in much smaller quantities for display on billboards in larger towns and cities where the film was playing. Very few of these survive nowadays as most would be pasted over with another poster. 48-sheet posters (120" X 240") were designed to be displayed in the London Underground on the wall opposite the platform, but were also seen in prime locations such as the junction of Shaftesbury Avenue and Piccadilly Circus in London. These huge posters also appeared in bus stations and on advertising hoardings across the country.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service & The Spy Who Loved Me billbboard posters

ABOVE: (left) Shaftesbury Avenue, London December 1969 - a huge 48-sheet (120" X 240") poster announcing the World Premiere of On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) at the ODEON Leicester Square. (right) A large 16-sheet billboard poster (120" X 80") at a North London bus station advertising The Spy Who Loved Me in the summer of 1977.

The original issue double-crown posters with minimal text/artwork and a space for the opening date to be overprinted at the bottom, were intended for use on the front and back of London's iconic Routemaster double-decker buses, but also often used in cinema lobby displays or to create bespoke double-bill advertising for revivals where a quad-crown poster was not produced by the National Screen Service. Alternate double-crown posters were produced for display on London's Underground.

Double-crown posters displayed on London's iconic Routemaster double-decker buses

Many of James Bond films have also been promoted with an advance poster (often called a teaser poster) which appeared in cinema lobbies long before the actual release to remind audiences that a new film was coming soon. More recent films in the series have also adopted the character teaser poster campaign, all in the same style but each depicting an image of one of the principal stars.

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. These sets of five posters (one quad-crown and four double-crowns) were intended to be displayed in cinema foyers on a custom-made stand alongside the general release posters pictured below.

Displayed here for the first time are all UK posters in release date order.^*

*There were some double-bills which did not have quad-crown posters produced by The National Screen Service, but composite advert blocks for use by newspapers were made available. The dates shown after each title refer to the year the film or double-bill was first shown. Later revivals often re-used earlier advertising materials.

Read the definitive history of the release of the James Bond films in London's West End - London Calling!

Quad-crown posters (30" X 40")


Dr. No (1962) Artwork Mitchell Hooks / Designed by David Chasman	From Russia With Love (1963) Artwork Renato Fratini / Designed by Eric Pulford

Goldfinger [Style A] (1964) Designed by Robert Brownjohn	Goldfinger [Style B] (1964) Designed by Robert Brownjohn

Dr. No/From Russia With Love (1965) Designed by David Chasman	Dr. No/From Russia With Love [alternate style] (1965) Designed by David Chasman

Thunderball (1965) Artwork Robert McGinnis	Casino Royale (1967) Artwork Robert McGinnis

You Only Live Twice [Style A] (1967) Artwork Frank McCarthy (Bond with space helmet R. McGinnis)	You Only Live Twice [Style B] (1967) Artwork Frank McCarthy (Bond with space helmet R. McGinnis)

You Only Live Twice [Style C] (1967) Artwork Robert McGinnis	Thunderbird 6 + Goldfinger/Thunderball (1968) Artwork Frank Bellamy / Robert Brownjohn & Robert McGinnis

Goldfinger/Thunderball (1968)	Dr. No/You Only Live Twice (1969) Artwork Mitchell Hooks / Frank McCarthy & Robert McGinnis

You Only Live Twice/From Russia With Love (1969) Artwork Frank McCarthy & Robert McGinnis / Renato Fratini	On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) Artwork Frank McCarthy & Robert McGinnis

You Only Live Twice/A Fistful of Dollars (1971) Artwork Robert McGinnis / Fred Otnes	Goldfinger/For A Few Dollars More (1971) Artwork Robert Brownjohn / David Blossom

From Russia With Love/Hang 'Em High (1971) Artwork Renato Fratini / Sandy Kossin	Diamonds Are Forever (1971) Artwork Robert McGinnis

Dr. No/Thunderball (1972) Artwork Mitchell Hooks / Renato Fratini / Robert McGinnis	Live And Let Die (1973) Artwork Robert McGinnis

Diamonds Are Forever/From Russia With Love (1973) Artwork Robert McGinnis / Renato Fratini	Thunderball/You Only Live Twice (1974) Artwork Robert McGinnis / Frank McCarthy & Robert McGinnis

Live And Let Die/On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1974) Artwork Robert McGinnis / Frank McCarthy & Robert McGinnis	The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) Artwork Robert McGinnis [Kung Fu girls by Basil Gogos]

A Season of James Bond 007 (1975) [London Pavilion*] Artwork based on Maurice Binder's gun barrel design	The Man With The Golden Gun/Live And Let Die (1975) Artwork Robert McGinnis

Diamonds Are Forever/Gold (1976) Designed by FEREF [Artist unidentified]	The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) Artwork Robert Peak

The Man With The Golden Gun/Live And Let Die (1978) Artwork Robert McGinnis	Diamonds Are Forever/On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1978)

The Spy Who Loved Me/Live And Let Die (1979) Artwork Robert McGinnis	Moonraker (1979) Artwork Daniel Goozee

Moonraker (1979) [alternate credits style] Artwork Daniel Goozee	The Spy Who Loved Me/The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1980) Artwork Robert Peak [adapted] / Tony White

Moonraker/The Man With The Golden Gun (1980) Artwork Daniel Goozee / Robert McGinnis	Moonraker/The Spy Who Loved Me (1981) Artwork Daniel Goozee / Robert Peak

For Your Eyes Only (1981) Artwork Brian Bysouth / Designed by Eric Pulford	For Your Eyes Only/Moonraker (1982) Artwork Brian Bysouth / Daniel Goozee

Octopussy (1983) Artwork Daniel Goozee [Background action and figures Renato Casaro]	Never Say Never Again (1983) Advance West End Teaser Photographer Bob Penn

Never Say Never Again (1983) Artwork Michel Landi	Octopussy/For Your Eyes Only (1984) Artwork Brian Bysouth

*A View To A Kill* (1985) Artwork Daniel Goozee	The Living Daylights [Style A] (1987) Artwork Brian Bysouth

The Living Daylights [Style B] (1987) Art Director Jeffrey Bacon / Designed by David Reneric Photographer Jim McCrary / Model Kathy Stangel	Licence To Kill (1989) Design by Robin Behling Photographers Keith Hamshere & Douglas Kirkland

GoldenEye (1995) Art Directors Randi Braun & Earl Klasky Photographers Terry O'Neill, Keith Hamshere & George Whitear	Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) Art Director Randi Braun Photographers Keith Hamshere & George Whitear

The World Is Not Enough (1999) Art Director Brian Bysouth / Creative Director Robin Behling Photographers Nigel Parry, Keith Hamshere & Jay Maidment	Die Another Day (2002) Art Director Diane Reynolds / Creative Director Steve Miller Photographers Keith Hamshere & Ron Slenzak

Casino Royale (2006) Designed by Empire Design	Quantum of Solace (2008) Designed by Empire Design

Skyfall (2012) Designed by Empire Design	*Spectre* (2015) Designed by Empire Design
	No Time To Die, the 25th official James Bond film, had a troubled production and suffered numerous delays to its release; due to a change in director and the effects of the global Coronavirus pandemic which closed cinemas. Originally slated for an October 2019 release, this was changed to February 2020, and then moved to April 2020 when new director Cary Joji Fukunaga began revising the script following the departure of Danny Boyle from the project. The World Premiere at the Royal Albert Hall was announced for 31 March 2020. On 3 March 2020 with the world now in the grip of the Coronavirus pandemic, the release of No Time To Die was postponed until 12 November 2020 with worldwide release dates to follow, including the US launch on November 25, 2020. MGM reputedly rejected a $600-million offer to release the film via streaming platforms. On October 2nd the release was delayed once again and rescheduled for 2 April 2021. No Time To Die was eventually released on September 30, 2021 following the World Premiere at London's Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday September 28th. With ever-changing release dates, a series of advance teaser posters were issued to cinemas and then subsequently revised several times to reflect the anticipated debut of Daniel Craig's swansong as James Bond.
No Time To Die (2021) Advance teaser Designed by Empire Design

Selected re-issue quad-crown posters (30" X 40")


From Russia With Love (Re-issue 1965) & Exclusive three-week double-bill with Diamonds Are Forever at the London Pavilion May 31-June 20, 1973.	Dr. No (Re-issue late 1960s)

You Only Live Twice (1968)	A Season of James Bond 007 (1975) [Provincial release]**
The season of six Sean Connery James Bond films shown at the London Pavilion from 18 May - 14 June 1975 consisted of three double-bills screened on different days which were then repeated across the four weeks: Dr. No/Diamonds Are Forever* (Sundays & Mondays), Goldfinger/Thunderball (Tuesdays & Wednesdays), From Russia With Love/You Only Live Twice (Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays). *When the season played in provincial cinemas from May to December 1975, each cinema had a different pairing of films on different days of the week. On Her Majesty's Secret Service* (1969) and Live And Let Die (1973) replaced some Sean Connery films and formed part of the season in certain locations; whilst other cinemas chose to play one film per day instead of double-bills. There was therefore no set pattern to the programming of the films when they played provincially.

Octopussy/For Your Eyes Only/Thunderball (1983) [Shown only in London at the Empire 1, Leicester Square 9th - 22nd December 1983***]	Octopussy/Diamonds Are Forever/For Your Eyes Only (1983) [Shown only in London at the ODEON Marble Arch 9th - 23rd December 1983]
***Octopussy/For Your Eyes Only/Thunderball was only screened in London at the Empire 1, Leicester Square for two weeks in December 1983 to coincide with the UK opening of Never Say Never Again. As only one print of Thunderball was available at the time, an alternate triple-bill which included Diamonds Are Forever was shown simultaneously at the ODEON Marble Arch accompanied by a custom-made quad-crown poster.

Original release promotional quad-crown posters (30" X 40")
In addition to the standard quad-crown posters usually displayed outside cinemas, two alternate versions were printed for use in stores and cinema foyers as part of promotional tie-ins with Seiko Watches. A competition to win a Seiko Quartz watch ran in the weeks leading up to the UK release of The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979). The Seiko Style quad-crown poster for Moonraker used the original version of the lettering which was later revised following complaints from the Ian Fleming estate who did not want the author's name linked to the story. The film version of Moonraker was written by Christopher Wood whose novelization of his screenplay was published in hardback in the UK under the title JAMES BOND AND MOONRAKER to avoid confusion with Ian Fleming's 1955 novel. The book was published in paperback under the same title just before the release of Moonraker and serialized in some regional newspapers in the weeks leading up to the release of the film. Even though Maurice Binder's main titles and all publicity for the film did state “...in Ian Fleming's Moonraker” this was somewhat misleading as the story contained very little material from the source novel. Later printings of the quad-crown poster displayed at second-run cinemas had the revised text “Roger Moore as Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 in Moonraker”. Future publicity for Moonraker in the UK starting with the 1980 double-bill with The Man With The Golden Gun also carried the new credit. Curiously Ian Fleming's name was also attached to The Spy Who Loved Me when it was paired on a double-bill with Live And Let Die in early 1979. The screenplay for The Spy Who Loved Me was an original story by Christopher Wood in collaboration with Richard Maibaum (and many other uncredited writers), and is the only time this credit appears in any publicity for the film. Christopher Wood's 1977 novelization of the screenplay was also re-titled JAMES BOND, THE SPY WHO LOVED ME to distinguish it from the 1962 Ian Fleming novel.

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

Additional digital re-releases in selected cinemas

The Spy Who Loved Me Park Circus re-release (2008)

Goldfinger Park Circus re-release (2007)

The Spy Who Loved Me Park Circus re-release (2008)

Spend Sundays With James Bond Park Circus re-releases (2009)

From Russia With Love Park Circus re-release (2009)

Spend Sundays With James Bond Park Circus re-releases (2009)

During June 2009, restored versions of four classic James Bond films Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger and On Her Majesty's Secret Service were screened on consecutive Sundays at over 60 cinemas around the UK.

Everything Or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007 (2012)

Artwork James Hart Dyke

To commemorate fifty years since Dr. No premiered in London, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Passion Pictures and Red Box Films released a James Bond documentary Everything Or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007 on October 5, 2012 as part of ‘Global James Bond Day’.

The 98-minute documentary focussed on author Ian Fleming and James Bond producers Albert R. Broccoli & Harry Saltzman was released in the UK through Sony on an exclusive basis with ODEON Cinemas in selected locations. A special quad-crown poster was produced for the release. The documentary was also released on DVD and later exclusively as a Blu-ray edition as part of the James Bond collection boxed set.

The film includes exclusive new interviews with Bond actors George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig as well as unprecedented access to EON Productions’ extensive archive of behind-the-scenes material. Sean Connery appears via archival interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from his James Bond films.

Exclusive Q&A with Director Stevan Riley

Original release double-crown posters (20" X 30")



Dr. No (1962)	Dr. No (1962)	From Russia With Love (1963)


From Russia With Love (1963)	Goldfinger (1964)	Goldfinger (1964)

Casino Royale (1967)	London Routemaster bus 1967	You Only Live Twice (1967)

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

Diamonds Are Forever (1971)	Live And Let Die (1973)	Live And Let Die (1973)

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)	The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)	London Routemaster bus 1977

Re-issue double-crown posters (20" X 30")


*Dr. No* Re-issue 1970s	*Dr. No* Re-issue 1970s	*From Russia With Love* Re-issue 1960s

*Goldfinger* Re-issue 1970s	*Thunderball* Re-issue 1970s	*You Only Live Twice* Re-issue 1970s

*You Only Live Twice* Re-issue 1970s	*On Her Majesty's Secret Service* Re-issue 1970s	*On Her Majesty's Secret Service* Re-issue 1980s

*Diamonds Are Forever* Re-issue 1970s	*Diamonds Are Forever* Re-issue 1970s

Selected double-bill double-crown posters (20" X 30")


Thunderbird 6 + Goldfinger/Thunderball (1968)	You Only Live Twice/A Fistful of Dollars (1971)