Elsewhere on this blog, Paul Baack shared his version of a poster for a double feature of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. In this home video era, such a double bill won’t reach movie theaters, at least for a general release. But that poster got us to remembering about Bond double features of the past.
1965: With Goldinger a big hit and Thunderball on track for a Christmas release, United Artists rolls out a double bill of the first two 007 movies, Dr. No and From Russia With Love.
In some ways, the two films contain the tightest continuity of the series, at least until Quantum comes out in 2008 as a direct sequel to Casino Royale. Both films were helmed by Terence Young and there a few direct references in From Russia With Love to its predecessor film.
United Artists would again issue of double feature of the two movies in the early 1970s. By that time, prints were pretty beaten up.
1966: With no new Bond film coming out, UA comes out with a double bill of Goldfinger and Dr. No. The double feature trailer (seen as an extra on Goldfinger DVDs), includes other voice over actors “re-creating” the voices of the two Ian Fleming villains.
1968: Once again inbetween Bond movies, UA brings out a double bill of Thunderball and From Russia With Love. The trailer tells us this we can “buy two Bonds for the price of one.” Interestingly, even though From Russia With Love ranks among the best 007 movies by fans, it never gets to lead off a double feature.
1970: UA decides to issue of double feature of “the biggest Bonds of all,” namely You Only Live Twice and Thunderball. The studio will re-issue this double feature in the 1970s ahead of Thunderball’s debut on U.S. television in 1974.
1972: At drive-ins during the summer of 1972, a few months before 007’s debut on U.S. television, newspapers ads suggest that people “spend the night with James Bond!” A TRIPLE feature comes out of Dr. No, From Russia With Love and Goldfinger. Some of the prints are really beat up, including a Goldfinger print that cuts from the middle of the main titles to Bond observing Goldfinger cheating at cards.
1970s, probably 1972 or 1973: A first for UA — a Bond double feature with two different Bond actors, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, George Lazenby’s only 007 outing, and Diamonds Are Forever, Sean Connery’s last film for the official 007 series made by Eon Productions Ltd.
1975: With the 007 series in a bit of a hiatus (due to Harry Saltzman’s financial troubles and his exit from Eon), UA rolls out Roger Moore’s first two Bond movies, Live And Let Die and The Man With the Golden Gun. Except for television, this will be the last taste Bond fans will have until the summer of 1977, when The Spy Who Loved Me revives the film series.
If you have any memories of these double bills (or any we’ve overlooked), feel free to comment.
Filed under: James Bond Films | Tagged: Diamonds Are Forever, Dr. No, From Russia With Love, George Lazenby, Goldfinger, James Bond double features, James Bond Films, James Bond triple feature, Live and Let Die, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Roger Moore, Sean Connery, The Man with the Golden Gun, Thunderball, United Artists, You Only Live Twice |
The Spy Command 
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The release of Dr. No and From Russia with love
with the tag line; “James Bond is back. . . to back.”
was in many respects the perfect saturday afternoon at the movies. Its one of my fondest memeories of the sixties along witrh seeing Goldfinger the night after its offical U.S. premiere at the Demille Theatre in New York. It was my first “downtown: movie and the lines were around the block. It really was the “Star Wars” of my generation
MOONRAKER and FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE were released on a double bill in New York City in 1984! YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE and ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE got a national roll-out as a double bill in 1974.
[…] Before home video, James Bond fans enjoyed double features of re-released 007 movies. […]
Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me were released together as a double feature in Spring 1980. That fall, TSWLM would debut on broadcast television. Sidenote: around this same time UA also had another notable double feature in circulation: “Rocky” and “Rocky II”, despite the former film having been shown on television already a year earlier.
In the UK we had double bill galore.
Most of th 60’s bonds were released together at sometime similar to the US usually during the year between films it sometimes different double bills and have some great poster artwork I go with it.
In the 70’s we had (as well as more 60’s bonds released again)
OHMSS/LALD
DAF/Gold
LALD/GG (the poster you show was for a later release of both of these films probably 78)
Spy/GG
Spy/pink panther strikes again
Spy/LALD
Then in the 80’s
Spy/MR
MR/GG
Fyeo/MR
Oct/Fyeo
Oct/fyeo/TB triple bill
Great times to see Bond on the big screen
I lived in NYC for a lot of years and in 1984, there was a large ad in a newspaper for an unusual double bill: Moonraker and From Russia With Love. It did NOT get many playdates.
Another one you missed: in 1974, You Only Live Twice and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was a popular double bill. Not sure if they made a poster for it or not, but it did get a lot of playdates.
[…] older Bond fans in the area, it’s a one-day chance to relive the past when 007 double (and even triple) features were released between Bond film releases. That fell by the wayside for the most part after Bond […]
Anyone remember a 1973 or 74 US double bill of YOLT and Diamonds? I saw it in a theater and a drive-in.
Definitely saw Dr. No and Thunderball as a double in the very early 70s at our local Jerry Lewis Twin.