The Helicopter Spies

Artist: Other
Format: UK Quad (30"x 40")
Condition: Excellent
Year: 1968

Description

“The Helicopter Spies” is the seventh film from “The Man from U.N.C.L.E” television series and like the others was created by re-editing two episodes together from the series. Though the first four feature films from the U.N.C.L.E series offered some significant changes and added scenes to the episodes, by this stage in the canon of films there were relatively few changes made at all.

This particular adventure saw U.N.C.L.E agents Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) trying to stop a megalomaniac hell-bent on destruction through using a powerful ‘death ray’. Though Vaughn was already a star before filming the series (he had been Academy Award nominated and starred in “The Magnificent Seven”), “The Man from U.N.C.L.E” established him as a household name worldwide. McCallum, however, was the break-out star from the series with his character of Kuryakin becoming something of a pop culture phenomenon and the actor received a ‘Beatles-like’ response wherever he went.

As such the posters for the films for the U.N.C.L.E series make sure to highlight the two leads above everything else. The Quad for “The Helicopter Spies” is no exception and gets in about everything you’d expect: girls, explosions and Vaughn and McCallum looking expectedly stealthy and cool. Like the other Quad posters in the series, the design covers the entire canvass of the poster and brims with wide-ranging colours. Although the artist is unknown, the U.N.C.L.E Quad’s all carry a coherent style, much like the Bond posters which makes them worthwhile for any collection.

Obvious comparisons can be made with the B-Quad for “You Only Live Twice” (see below courtesy of www.moviepostermem.com) released a year earlier. The poster’s carry similar aerial battle illustrations and comparable images of the aircraft.

The US 1-Sheet for “The Helicopter Spies”, shown below courtesy of emovieposter.com, is wholly different from its Quad equivalent. Arguably carrying less finessed artwork, it is still no doubt an attention grabbing poster being more action-orientated than the Quad. The approach used is interesting; unlike the Quad which offers classier imagery and style, the 1-Sheet presents the film in more of an exhilarating ‘B’ movie-style mould.