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I saw my first BOND double-bill at my local cinema on Saturday afternoon, November 25th 1972. I know for sure because I had The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL #9 with me, newly purchased that very morning. It was dated December 2nd, but as everyone knows, comics were usually dated seven days ahead of when they went on sale to give them a full week's shelf-life in the newsagents.
What I can't tell you is precisely what two movies I saw, but there's a reason for that. My local cinema had a Bond matinee every Saturday afternoon for what seemed like months, and they repeated the same movies, but always in a different sequence from one screening to the next. For example, one week it was FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE and YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE; the next week might then be DR. NO and THUNDERBALL; the week after, it could be any combination of those flicks, including GOLDFINGER and DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER flung into the mix.
One day, I'll have to see what movies were listed in my local newspaper for that date and ascertain once and for all what were the first two I saw. I'd like to know for certain, just to satisfy my own personal curiosity if nothing else. At least I got to see all six SEAN CONNERY Bond films on the big screen before they were sold to TV, even if the new boy, the saintly ROGER MOORE, had already begun filming his first entry in the iconic series by the time I did.
One thing's for sure though - one of the ingredients that helped secure the success of the franchise was the music. MONTY NORMAN recycled a tune he'd previously composed for some other purpose to become the James Bond theme, but while his original version is recognisable, it was really rather a tame little tune. It was JOHN BARRY's arrangement and orchestration that gave the theme its power and passion, its might and majesty, that has endured down through the decades to this very day. And Norman is big enough to admit that Barry was the man responsible for the definitive sound.
Who amongst us hasn't felt the hairs bristle on the back of our neck and our heart pound a little faster in joyous anticipation upon hearing the opening bars of that rousing theme? However, it wasn't just the theme tune that stirred (but didn't shake) one's blood; the incidental music was also a force to be reckoned with, and John Barry left a legacy of which he can be proud. I soon started collecting the soundtrack LPs of the films, as much for the covers as the music itself, and, a few years ago, I updated to CDs. (Don't worry, I kept the vinyl.) It's from those CDs that I now present the first instalment in a cover gallery of JAMES BOND original motion-picture soundtrack albums.
