Above are a few very rare promotional photos of American actor Steve McQueen motoring about on a Suzuki T20 racing motorcycle during a break in filming The Sand Pebbles in Taiwan. This guy just loved bombing around in fast machines, as we've documented here and here. These particular images were made in 1966 and appeared in the Japanese film Screen in 1967. 

We found this old issue of the Japanese film magazine Screen that is totally dedicated to the American movie epic Gone with the Wind. It dates from May 1969, thirty years after the film was made, and our first assumption was that the movie didn’t play in Japan until then. But no, it premiered in the Land of the Rising Sun in September 1952. We were baffled for a while, and then we made a discovery—a musical version of Gone with the Wind entitled Scarlett opened in Japan in 1969. It was fully eight hours long, divided into two parts that were mounted as separate productions, and they were smash hits. We suspect this issue of Screen was produced because the musical generated great interest in the original film. We’ve already talked a bit about Gone with the Wind. We never liked it because it depicts a culture that was completely depraved as some sort of glorious nirvana. And because of its enduring popularity, many Americans’ concept of the antebellum south derives from what is little more than a fairytale. But that aside, the movie is undeniably well made, and we thought it worthwhile to share at least a few of Screen's photos. We’ll have more from this magazine later. 

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. 

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. 

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.

Western stars on the covers of the Japanese cinema magazine Screen, circa 1971 to 1976. From top to bottom: Ann-Margret, Dany Valerie, Natalie Wood, Brooke Mills, Claudia Cardinale, Mirelle Darc, and, last but not least, the ever popular Unknown.