Lobby cards? What the heck are lobby cards? Back in the days before the Internet, movie lobby cards were a powerful tool used by Hollywood studios to lure audiences into the darkened theater. They were the last line of enticement — and sometimes the first — alongside carpet-bombing consumers with coming attractions, movie posters, marquees, publicity stunts, movie program books, and newspaper advertisements for their newest big-screen sensation.
With no entertainment websites or blogs available to tease audiences with stills from their films, lobby cards served that purpose for the studio publicity machine. These days, movie theater lobbies have eschewed the traditional lobby card for posters, standees, trailers on repeat, experiential activations and more.
The colorful, original lobby cards from 1967’s YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE capture the scope and action of the fifth James Bond extravaganza along with a taste of the exotic, international appeal of the film. Shot on location in Japan, the Lewis Gilbert-directed/Roald Dahl-scripted film took great advantage of the far-flung Tokyo and countryside/island settings before depositing the explosive finale in one of the most memorable villain’s lairs ever devised for a Bond film, courtesy of mainstay production designer Ken Adam.
While some argue that the Bond franchise first went over the top with YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, it remains one of my all-time favorites exactly for all of those ingredients I stated before and more: A cool-as-ever Sean Connery in a lavish, big-budget film with exotic globetrotting locations, spectacular stunts, nifty gadgets, beautiful women, crafty dialogue, the ultimate villain, and the coolest hidden launchpad inside a volcano ever conceived.
Enjoy the lobby cards below:
For more 007 goodness on IT CAME FROM… check out Bond Beyond: The Art of International 007 Posters.
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