EXCLUSIVE ARTICLE

As an appendix to London Calling! KEVIN HARPER takes a look at the studio responsible for bringing James Bond to the big screen, and examines some of the other films and spin-offs distributed by United Artists that screened with the 007 titles in London and across the UK.

The late 1950s saw United Artists have more critical and commercial hits with modest films such as Marty starring Ernest Borgnine; which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival, and Best Picture Oscar in 1955. Although not a box-office hit at the time of its release, 12 Angry Men (1957) starring Henry Fonda was another critical triumph, and continued UA's tradition of collaborating with well-known actors recently freed from studio contracts, and seeking to produce or direct their own films. First-time director Sidney Lumet had begun his career on television, the medium which was by now having a significant impact on box-office revenue.  Burt Lancaster was another of the actors who benefited from a relationship with United Artists, and in 1957 starred in, and produced, the critically acclaimed Sweet Smell Of Success directed by Alexander Mackendrick. United Artists were also responsible for funding and distributing the early films of Robert Aldrich and Stanley Kubrick. By 1958, United Artists were making annual profits of $3-million, primarily because they did not have the significant physical studio overheads which hampered the other major players in Hollywood. By the early 1960s many mainstream studios had fallen into decline, with some acquired by multi-corporation conglomerates. United Artists continued to prosper, winning eleven Academy Awards, including five for Best Picture, and adding successful relationships with Walter Mirisch (1921-2023) [and his brothers Marvin and Harold Mirisch], who was then producing the films of writer/director Billy Wilder. In 1961, United Artists released West Side Story, which won a record ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Although United Artists has been bought, sold and merged many times over the past century, they remained an independent studio until April 1967, when 98% of the company was acquired by the Transamerica Corporation. Despite the re-branding, United Artists still continued to produce critical and commercial hits including the groundbreaking Best Picture Oscar winner In The Heat Of The Night (1967), and Midnight Cowboy (1969) - the first ‘X’ rated film to win the Best Picture Oscar. Transamerica chose Arnold Picker (1913-1989) and his nephew David Picker (1931-2019) to run the company until 1970, when Arthur Krim (1910-1994) and Robert Benjamin (1909-1979) were re-instated following spectacular losses of $35-million. Although United Artists had moved with the times, the decline in cinema attendance continued unabated until it reached an all-time low in 1970. A decade earlier David Picker, then an upcoming executive at United Artists, had backed UK based producers Harry Saltzman & Albert R. Broccoli, and signed off on the deal to fund and distribute their first James Bond film Dr. No (1962). Always with an eye on the international market, other successful projects backed by David Picker in this period included the Pink Panther series starring Peter Sellers, which began in 1963; and Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns, which made a star of Clint Eastwood in A Fistful Of Dollars (1964), For A Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966) - all released in the US and UK in 1967-68. Several James Bond films would later be reissued in the UK in the 1970s on double-bills with titles from both franchises.

In 1978 Arthur Krim and Robert Benjamin (along with several other UA executives) had walked out over a dispute involving administrative expenses. The incoming new leadership agreed to back Heaven's Gate, a project of director Michael Cimino, which vastly overran its budget, ultimately costing $44-million. Cimino's epic Western only recouped $3.5-million at the box-office, and United Artists recorded another major loss for the year due almost entirely to the failure of Heaven's Gate (1980). The studio was put up for sale and acquired by Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corporation, who purchased the company in 1981. Kerkorian had also acquired Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1969. In acquiring United Artists, MGM merged the company into a new corporate entity, MGM/UA Entertainment Company. There were many more mergers and sales of United Artists over the following three decades, and in 2019 (100 years after it was founded) MGM re-launched the brand as a production and distribution company. United Artists were responsible for the US distribution of the long-awaited 25th James Bond film No Time To Die (2021) starring Daniel Craig in his fifth and final outing as 007.

United Artists had their London office in Wardour Street, a five-minute walk away from the London Pavilion on Piccadilly Circus. The London Pavilion was a former music hall and theatre built in 1859, and converted into a cinema in 1934. The London Pavilion was then operated by United Artists as their flagship venue to premiere films distributed by the company in the UK until its closure in 1981. Dr. No opened at the London Pavilion on Friday October 5, 1962, and two days later at over 100 cinemas across the country. In those days new films outside the West End always opened on Sundays. In early 1983 the opening day for new films on general release in the UK changed to Thursday. This coincided with an overhaul of the ratings system by the British Board of Film Censors [British Board of Film Classification from 1984], and the introduction of new certificates. The move to Friday openings happened at the end of 1983, and remains so to this day. Dr. No therefore played exclusively at the London Pavilion for only two days before going on general release. On its original release Dr. No was supported in most venues (including the London Pavilion engagement) by Deadly Duo (1961), a now largely-forgotten 70-minute black & white American mystery-drama starring Craig Hill. This programme was not a double-bill as we are now used to the term. The cinema-going experience at the time usually consisted of a shorter second feature which played before the advertisements, and trailers in support of the main film.

The first James Bond film played at around 100 provincial cinemas up and down the country in its opening week. Four of the London ODEON's played Dr. No from Tuesday October 9, 1962; whilst a handful of South coast resorts including Torquay opened the film two days later. Films playing at coastal resorts usually changed over on a Thursday (in line with London's West End) giving holidaymakers two different choices of programme during their week or fortnights’ seaside vacation. Dr. No played in North East London from Sunday October 14, 1962, and in South London cinemas a week later. With many larger suburban cinemas such as the 2,128-seat ODEON Streatham still playing the popular musical South Pacific (1958) [which had been playing in London for an amazing five years], the smaller venues which showed the Bond film could be more flexible, and hold it over for a second week if required in order to cope with public demand. Although supported by Deadly Duo in most locations, Dr. No was also paired with other second features (also distributed by United Artists) during its initial release.

In early 1963 Dr. No moved out to second-run cinemas, but made a return to some larger cities just two months after it had originally played. After spending two weeks at the 2,670-seat ODEON in Liverpool from Sunday October 7, 1962, Dr. No then transferred to the 1,805-seat Rialto, and 2,100-seat Hippodrome cinemas for a further week. On Sunday January 13, 1963 the first James Bond film then returned to the city to play for a record-breaking four weeks at the 620-seat Scala cinema on Liverpool's Lime Street, still supported by Deadly Duo. Although cinema attendance in general was still on the decline, with just under 400-million admissions in 1962, the lowest annual figure the industry had ever recorded; the tremendous success of Dr. No meant that the film was still playing across the UK until May 1963, by which time it was now receiving a limited release in the USA. Birmingham also saw Dr. No quickly return for a second engagement in the city. After playing for two weeks at the ODEON, New Street from Sunday October 7th, Dr. No then screened for another week at the 1,400-seat Futurist cinema from Sunday March 10, 1963.

Under the conditions of the Sunday Entertainments Act (1932) opening time was widely restricted to 4.30pm in England, and a percentage of individual cinema profits for that day were paid to the Cinematograph Fund (which ultimately became the British Film Institute). This meant that the first day a new film opened it usually only played for one or two performances. Sunday opening was not usually allowed in Scotland or Ireland, so films normally played from Monday to Saturday. Dr. No therefore played at the 2,784-seat ODEON Renfield Street, Glasgow for two weeks from Monday October 8, 1962, then transferring to the 4,368-seat Green's Playhouse (also on Renfield Street) for another six days from Monday October 22, 1962. Opened in 1927, Green's Playhouse was believed to be the largest cinema ever built in Europe. It stopped showing films in June 1973, and was later renamed the Apollo Theatre, becoming Glasgow's leading music venue until its closure on June 16, 1985.

When Dr. No first played in the Republic of Ireland in October 1962, the quad-crown poster provided to cinemas by the National Screen Service was censored to cover much of the exposed female flesh depicted in Mitchell Hooks’ artwork. This was achieved by using a thick marker pen (or sometimes poster paint) over the original art. The Ursula Andress figure often ended up with a long dress covering her bikini, and the other girls were similarly altered. The Irish Film Censor's Office also objected to the depiction of firearms on posters, so the additional credit next to Sean Connery's name stating ‘as 007’ was also removed as it contained a small graphic of a gun. Note also in the poster above how the addition of a dress to the Ursula Andress figure also makes Bond's silenced gun less prominent. Similar censorship was also applied to late 1960s reissue posters, although less female flesh has been covered up on the example above. As this was all done by hand when the posters arrived in Ireland no two were identical, and consequently these are some of the hardest to find nowadays. The practice continued well into the 1970s and numerous James Bond and other film posters were ‘doctored’ in this way. Dr. No first played at the large 2,900-seat Savoy cinema in Dublin for two weeks commencing Friday October 12, 1962. Opened in 1929, the Savoy is the oldest operational cinema in Ireland, and became the first-run venue for all subsequent James Bond films. Converted to two screens in 1969; with a third added in 1975, the cinema currently boasts 13 screens, although the overall seating capacity is now much reduced.

Dr. No didn't reach Northern Ireland until Easter of 1963, when it finally opened at the 1,800-seat ODEON in Belfast on Monday April 15th. The film played for two weeks and then returned by popular demand to play another two weeks at the smaller 850-seat Regent cinema. On Monday May 25, 1963 Dr. No then played at the 1,400-seat Stadium cinema for six days, and also concurrently at the Capitol cinema and Lisburn Picture House. After a short break Dr. No returned to Northern Ireland once more to play for six days from Monday June 3, 1963 at the 2,250-seat Tonic cinema in Bangor, and concurrently at the 1,380-seat Broadway cinema on the Fall's Road in Belfast. The first James Bond film proved very popular with cinema audiences in Northern Ireland, despite them having to wait six months to see it. Subsequent films in the series would often play in Northern Ireland long before they went on general release on the UK mainland.

Although Dr. No had played at the ODEON Newcastle for two weeks from Sunday October 7, 1962, the film returned to play another week at the 1,600-seat Pavilion Cinema from Sunday October 21, 1962. This cinema was operated by the Rank Organisation and generally reserved for ‘Roadshow’ presentations in the North-East due to its 70mm capabilities and stereo sound equipment. Dr. No returned to the city again and played at another large ‘Roadshow’ cinema, the 2,200-seat Essoldo Newcastle. Opening on Sunday June 9, 1963 this time supported by another United Artists film Doctor Blood's Coffin (1961). Although Bond films were double-billed in later years with other United Artists films from different franchises (including Clint Eastwood westerns and a Pink Panther film), Doctor Blood's Coffin was an unusual choice to say the least. This may even have been a joke on the part of the booking manager to get two ‘Doctors’ on the same bill! As the supporting film was awarded an ‘X’ certificate by the British Board of Film Censors, this meant that at the time audience members needed to be at least 16 years old to be admitted. The 92-minute sub-Hammer zombie horror film was directed by Canadian Sidney J. Furie, whose most notable film would be The Ipcress File (1965), starring Michael Caine as Harry Palmer, and produced by Harry Saltzman.

James Bond UK posters

 FACT FILES