JAMES BOND 007 MAGAZINE | Thunderball 60th Anniversary 1965-2025

Still session with Claudine Auger, Molly Peters and Martine Beswick. | Tom Carlile United Artists Piblicist

ABOVE: (left) Claudine Auger, Martine Beswick, and Molly Peters during a photo session at Pinewood Studios, with their poses forming the basis for the UK poster artwork by Robert McGinnis. (right) United Artists Marketing Executive Tom Carlile oversaw publicity for Thunderball (1965) and succeeded in securing front‑cover features in numerous publications worldwide ahead of the December 1965 release; this included an exclusive 12‑page preview in the June 1965 issue of Esquire magazine.

To create the poster campaign for Thunderball, United Artists publicist Tom Carlile engaged the services of two American illustrators – Frank C. McCarthy and Robert McGinnis – who travelled to England to observe the shooting and draw inspiration from the special photo sessions with the four female leads. The UK posters featured the Robert McGinnis artwork of James Bond flanked by the four girls, that also appeared in the US and international campaign joined by two further pieces of artwork by Frank McCarthy. The three panel posters were reconfigured and used throughout the world to promote Thunderball. McGinnis and McCarthy returned for You Only Live Twice (1967), which featured a similar triptych campaign, and also collaborated on artwork for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). McGinnis then provided the poster artwork for the next three films in the EON Productions series. Main Title designer Maurice Binder also assembled a theatrical trailer which played in cinemas long before the release and was so popular that a special viewing booth was erected outside the Paramount Theatre in New York a month before the US Premiere on December 21, 1965, to allow Broadway passers-by to see the trailer on a 24-hour loop.

Thunderball trailer projection booth Paramount Theatre NTC | Hibiya Theatre Tokyo, Japan

ABOVE: (left) A special viewing booth was erected outside the Paramount Theatre, New York, a month before the US Premiere on December 21, 1965, allowing Broadway passers‑by to watch the Thunderball trailer on a 24‑hour loop. (right) Albert R. Broccoli [centre] at the press reception before the premiere screening of Thunderball at the Hibiya Theatre, Tokyo, Japan, on December 9, 1965.

BELOW: (top left) The Paramount Theatre, New York, which hosted the US Premiere of Thunderball on December 21, 1965. (top right) The opening was attended by United Artists Executive David Picker and Thunderball Executive Producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli. (bottom left) Thunderball played at the 2,423‑seat Fox Theatre, Philadelphia, from December 22, 1965 – one of many cinemas that remained open 24 hours a day to meet the huge demand for the new James Bond film. (bottom right) Thunderball played at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, for a remarkable 21 weeks from December 21, 1965.

Thunderball US Premiere at the Paramount Theatre | Fox Theatre, Philadelphia | Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Los Angeles

Thunderball had its world premiere before an invited audience at the Hibiya Theatre in Tokyo, Japan, on December 9, 1965, with producers Kevin McClory and Albert R. Broccoli in attendance. At a press reception prior to the screening, Broccoli announced that director Lewis Gilbert would return to Japan in February 1966 to begin pre-production on You Only Live Twice, the next James Bond adventure. Originally, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service had been slated as the follow-up, but the end credits of Thunderball were hastily altered with a clumsy optical wipe to remove any reference to that title.

The Thunderball U.S. premiere took place at the Paramount Theatre in New York City on December 21, 1965, attended by Harry Saltzman, Broccoli, and United Artists executive David Picker, along with his father Eugene, then vice-president of the studio. The event was marked by drama when William P. “Bill” Suitor, pilot of the Bell Textron jet pack featured in the film, was arrested for performing a publicity stunt without the proper permit – flying off the cinema’s marquee!

The Paramount Theatre itself, a 3,664-seat venue at 1501 Broadway, had originally opened in 1926 and was often used for concerts before closing in September 1964. It was reopened specially for Thunderball, which ran until February 21, 1966. Between December 22, 1965, and January 3, 1966, the theatre remained open 24-hours-a-day to screen the film – a profitable strategy previously employed for the New York launch of Goldfinger. On the same day as the New York premiere, Thunderball also opened at “Premiere Showcase” theatres across the city and began an exclusive engagement at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The film played there for an extraordinary 21 weeks, with additional midnight and 2:30 a.m. screenings scheduled to accommodate the overwhelming demand.

ABOVE: (left) Thunderball had a Gala Premiere in London at two West End venues on Thursday, December 29, 1965. Following its double premiere at the London Pavilion and Rialto cinemas, the film opened at nine ‘Premiere Showcase Theatres’ across London, with sell‑out midnight matinees on Saturday, January 1, 1966. (top right) The London Pavilion. (centre right) The Rialto Cinema, Coventry Street. (bottom) Thunderball had its Irish Premiere at the Savoy Cinema, Dublin, on February 10, 1966. Kevin McClory, Albert R. Broccoli, Luciana Paluzzi, Molly Peters, and Desmond Llewelyn were all in attendance.

Thunderball held its Gala Premiere in London at two West End venues on Thursday, December 29, 1965. Following its double premiere at the London Pavilion and Rialto cinemas, the film opened at nine ‘Premiere Showcase Theatres’ across London, with sell out midnight matinees on Saturday, January 1, 1966. The ODEONs Bromley and Streatham even played to standing customers. The nine Showcase Theatres alone took £9,100 on Sunday, January 2, 1966. Thunderball grossed a mammoth £8,120 at the London Pavilion in the first four days, and £3,724 at the Rialto. This marked the last use of the Showcase distribution model in London, introduced for Goldfinger. Within a week, Thunderball had broken house records set by Goldfinger at the 11 London cinemas where it was playing. It remained at the London Pavilion for 19 weeks and at the Rialto for 12 weeks, before opening in key UK cities from February 6, 1966, and then wider general release.

Thunderball US Variety ad | Ivan Tors accepts the Best Special Effects Oscar for Thunderball at the 1966 Academy Awards

Thunderball out-grossed the three previous Bond films by a significant margin, taking $142 million worldwide and marking the zenith of ‘Bondmania.’ Myriad merchandising opportunities further consolidated the film’s success. At the 1966 Academy Awards, hosted by Bob Hope and the first Oscars to be broadcast live in colour, Thunderball won Best Special Effects, though recipient John Stears only learned of his win when an American friend called to say Ivan Tors had collected the statuette on his behalf. This was the second Oscar for the Bond series, after Norman Wanstall’s Best Sound Effects win for Goldfinger, and remarkably, the last Oscar win until Skyfall in 2012.

ABOVE: (left) Generic publicity materials for The Incredible World of James Bond listed Sean Connery as the star of the 60‑minute TV special before the actor withdrew from narrating and hosting the project. Final TV listings (right) for the NBC network broadcast on November 26, 1965, still identified Connery as the star, but now using a still from the forthcoming Thunderball.

BELOW: (left) United Artists Television issued a press kit to accompany the broadcast, which contained the mock‑up advertising [pictured above left], Telop Slides [TELevision Optical slide Projector] (centre), and newspaper Ad Mats to promote the documentary, along with eight black‑and‑white stills from the first three James Bond films. One of the stills [pictured below right] was an unusual behind‑the‑scenes overhead shot of Guy Hamilton directing Sean Connery and Shirley Eaton in Goldfinger (1964). Pepsi Cola, sponsor of the show, also sold promotional James Bond tie‑in toys, while United Artists Special Projects Division released The Incredible World Of James Bond – a tie‑in compilation album featuring eight tracks from the original soundtrack albums of the first three James Bond films by Monty Norman and John Barry, together with four new recordings by The Leroy Holmes Orchestra.

The Incredible World of James Bond Press Kit

Thunderball was the must see film of Christmas 1965. With global awareness at its peak, on November 26, NBC broadcast The Incredible World of James Bond, a one-hour documentary tracing Bond’s literary roots and showcasing behind the scenes footage from Thunderball. LIFE Magazine, PLAYBOY, and other major publications featured the film, cementing its cultural dominance. The documentary aired in the UK on February 5, 1966, to coincide with the general release. Although Sean Connery was initially announced as narrator, he declined, not wishing to reinforce his association with Bond; American actor Alexander Scourby replaced him. Scourby (1913-1985) would later provide narration (as James Bond) for the controversial two-part screening of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) on ABC-TV in 1978.

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