The always-wonderful Japanese celeb magazine Screen produced this issue promoting James Dean’s epic drama Giant in January 1956. The film opened the next October, which means the magazine was put together well beforehand. Advance press isn’t unusual, of course, but advance press of this detail in Japan—it didn’t premiere there until nearly a year later in December 1956—suggests just how huge a worldwide star James Dean had become. Sadly, some of that had to do with the fact that he was already dead, killed in a September 1955 automobile crash as Giant was about to wrap. But while nearly all dead celebrities are eulogized as geniuses cut down too soon, Dean is one of the few whose work has actually withstood the test of time. Screen makes room for other stars in this issue, including Audrey Hepburn, who we've posted in panel two. On another note, we’ve shared quite a bit from Screen over the last two years, but if you missed those entries you can see some great covers here, here and here, and see a bit of what's inside here. 

Above, a November 1946 issue of Screen Guide, one of the top U.S. cinema magazines from the late thirties through the fifties, here with cover star Gene Tierney looking her usual flawless self, Gloria Grahame enjoying a sunny perch, Johnny Weissmuller flying high, Hedy Lamarr selling Maybelline, and Ingrid Bergman just being Ingrid Bergman. 

One of the things we run across quite a bit during our digging for pulp is vintage Hong Kong film magazines. So today we’ve put together a random post of these publications, showcasing their unique and colorful style. Since we can’t read Chinese, we don’t have much information on these, but what we have, we’ve shared at the bottom of the post. Enjoy. Meanwhile, we’ll be watching the World Cup.

1: Union Pictorial, with Mui Yi; 2: Hong Kong Teen Star, with Chan Po Chu; 3: Southern Screen, with Wang Yu; 4: unknown magazine, with Li Lihua, who we’ve featured before; 5: unknown magazine, with Nancy Sit; 6: Golden Movie News, with unknown cover star; 7: The Milky Way Pictorial, with Connie Chan; 8: Screen & Lady, with unknown cover star; 9: unknown magazine, with Chan Po Chu and Yaw Kee; 10 & 11: unknown magazines with unknown cover stars.     

Five Screen covers with, top to bottom, the always wonderful Ann-Margret, followed by Jane Fonda, Urusula Weiss, Elke Sommer, and lastly, someone we don't recognize. Concerning Miss Weiss, we found no references to her anywhere online, but we did find two actresses named Ursula—not Urusula—Weiss. One acted in the 1950s, so she’s out as a possibility, and one acted in a film in 2000, which would make her an egg when this 1977 cover came out. We’ll keep looking. Not knowing won’t keep us up nights, but it’s always good to fill in these blanks. If you know anything, feel free to drop us a line.

Above you see a breathtaking 1954 Twentieth Century Fox promo image of Marilyn Monroe that was used for a poster tucked inside an issue of Japan's Screen magazine. We've uploaded this onto the internet for the very first time. We have access to Japanese rarities, and as we continue with this site many of the items we share from that country will be getting their first online exposure. Enjoy this one, and enjoy Christmas too. 

Last week we posted a photo of Barbara Bouchet looking kind of scary having a cinematic breakdown. But since Bouchet was considered one of the great beauties of her time, it seemed only fair to post a shot in which she wasn’t cowering naked on the floor. So here she is on a May 1972 cover of Japan’s Screen, flashing her famous smile. 

Southern Screen magazine covers, featuring revered Hong Kong actress Li Lihua, circa 1959 to 1966. 

Raquel Welch in a twelve panel centerfold, probably never seen online before, from the Japanese film magazine Screen, 1972. You can see some Screen covers here.     

April 1975 issue of Screen from Japan, with cover star Sylvia Kristel. If this shot looks familiar, it’s because we already showed you the version used for the Japanese Emmanuelle promo poster, but the bright colors of Screen’s graphics makes this slightly different version well worth a viewing.

This guy is just asking for it, right? Love the cover, though. We don’t know who painted it, but we know author Keith Luger wrote quite a few westerns and space operas for the Spanish imprint Bruguera. That makes perfect sense, because he was really Miguel Olivero Tovar from Valencia, Spain. Tovar/Luger was a big deal for about ten years, during which time he published many books, made time for a couple of screenplays, and saw three of his projects optioned into movies. More Lugers below, including one concerning Sharon Tate.