We’ve always been impressed by the variety and quirkiness of Japanese novelties, but the item above—a resin Ursula Andress Dr. No figure—reaches new heights. It’s all the more interesting because it isn’t contemporaneous with the film. Rather, it hit the market in 1983, twenty years after the film’s Japanese debut. Still, the existence of this doll isn’t a complete surprise—western blondes are fetishized in Japan, and Andress’s bikini-clad, knife-wielding Honeychile Ryder is probably one of the most famous blondes to ever appear onscreen. The figure comes complete with the most superfluous assembly instructions in history, just in case you try to attach her legs to her armholes or vice versa, and the final result is… well, actually, we don’t know. Just like a car, this little lovely loses value the moment you drive it out of the showroom, which means the cellophane is going to stay sealed. If you absolutely must see an assembled version, we might entertain a purchase offer. Check your bank account and get back to us. In the meantime, we’ve posted the shot the box art is based on below. And if that isn't enough Andress for you, check here.

Italian promo poster for the James Bond classic Agente 007: Licenza di uccidere, aka Dr. No, starring Sean Connery. It premiered in Italy today in 1963. 

James Bond soundtrack albums and singles, with production art covers, plus paintings by Frank McCarthy, Robert McGinnis and others.     

Our recent post of Dr. No promo art got us thinking about the popularity of the Ian Fleming novel, so today we’ve compiled a collection of Dr. No covers detailing their evolution through the years. At top is an original 1958 hardback with art by Pat Marriot, worth about $150 in mint condition, and at bottom is a 2007 hardback reprint from Penguin featuring art from Michael Gillette and Jon Gray. In between are thirteen more covers spanning the intervening forty-nine years. Some items in the collection are more evocative than others, but they are all worthy. We'll post more of these as we locate them.

Three action-packed Japanese posters for Dr. No, with Sean Connery and Swiss beauty Ursula Andress. You can see Connery and Andress getting close in a rare promo photo here. Dr. No premiered in Japan today in 1963. 

Swiss actress Ursula Andress’ performance as Dr. No’s knife-wielding skindiver Honey Ryder made her a star and set the standard for all future Bond girls. At the time of this publicity photo she was married to John Derek, but we have a feeling Sean Connery didn’t care—and rumor has it Andress didn’t either. She was delivered up from the sea on a clamshell today in 1936.

Filmmaker Paul Jilbert has put together a documentary entitled Painting the Last Rose of Summer, which details the work and life of one of the greatest pulp illustrators in history—Robert McGinnis. McGinnis painted posters for Hollywood films Dr. No and Barbarella, among many others, and for an array of 60s pulp novels written by the immortals of the art form. If you don’t know Robert McGinnis, this direct-to-DVD documentary is the easiest way to get to know his work.