This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster printed for the Japanese release of From Hong Kong with Love / Bons baisers de Hong Kong / 「香港より愛をこめて」, Yvan Chiffre’s 1975 French spy comedy starring the popular comedy group Les Charlots, marketed in Japan as the Crazy Boys / 「クレージー・ボーイ」.
A broad and deliberately chaotic parody of the James Bond series, the film combines international espionage, slapstick comedy, martial arts, vehicle chases, and an improbable mission to rescue the kidnapped Queen of England.
Film background
When Queen Elizabeth II is abducted, the British Secret Service recruits four spectacularly inept agents to locate her and bring her safely home.
Their investigation carries them through an increasingly absurd international conspiracy stretching from Europe to Hong Kong. Along the way, they encounter criminal syndicates, secret agents, martial artists, elaborate traps, and enough explosions and vehicle crashes to parody an entire generation of spy films.
Directed by Yvan Chiffre, the screenplay was written by Yvan Chiffre and Christian Fechner. The film stars the four members of Les Charlots—Gérard Rinaldi, Gérard Filippelli, Jean Sarrus, and Jean-Guy Fechner—alongside Mickey Rooney and Clifton James.
The film formed part of Les Charlots’ enormously popular run of 1970s slapstick comedies and was promoted internationally as an irreverent spoof of the James Bond phenomenon, with its title directly playing on From Russia with Love.
Poster design
The poster uses a colourful and exuberant caricature-style montage, centred on the four members of Les Charlots dressed in matching white suits and holding small pistols.
Their dramatically oversized photographic heads are attached to illustrated bodies, giving the group the appearance of incompetent but strangely self-confident secret agents. Behind them is a vivid green circular field, creating a bold graphic centre for the design.
A belly dancer occupies the foreground, while the surrounding margins are filled with miniature scenes of comic destruction and action: a motorcycle stunt, an aircraft, a speedboat, exploding cars, a martial arts fight, and a steam train racing along the lower-right edge.
At left, a spoof depiction of the kidnapped Queen reinforces the film’s absurd royal-rescue premise.
The long green headline across the top reads:
「ボンドもブッタまげのアノ手・コノ顔！今世紀最狂の爆笑指令その名も“女王陛下のクレージー”大作戦！」
“Even Bond would be stunned by those tricks and those faces! The craziest comedy mission of the century—Operation ‘Her Majesty’s Crazy Boys’!”
The smaller text beneath describes the four-man group racing through an international espionage adventure spanning Paris and Hong Kong in pursuit of the mastermind behind the Queen’s kidnapping.
Near the top centre appears the playful English phrase:
“From HONG KONG with Love”
The small red text at lower left reads:
「007は殺しの番号 ■ 022×4は笑いの番号」
“007 is the number for killing—022 × 4 is the number for laughter.”
The lower section is dominated by the large red Japanese title:
「香港より愛をこめて」
The group’s Japanese name, 「クレージー・ボーイ」, is placed within a bright blue capsule-shaped graphic, creating a lively contrast with the red title lettering.
Cast and production credits appear at lower left, while the TOWA distributor emblem anchors the lower-right corner.
Release note
This poster was printed for the film’s original Japanese theatrical release and distributed in Japan by Toho-Towa.
It is an original period Japanese cinema poster, not a later reproduction or commercial reprint.
Condition
Excellent condition. A highly attractive example, with vivid colour, sharp imagery, clear typography, and excellent overall display impact.
There are light signs of age and handling consistent with an original Japanese theatrical poster from this period, but overall it presents extremely well.
Reference: A276.
Please review the photographs carefully, as they show the exact poster for sale.
This is an original 1975 Japanese theatrical poster.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
It is now over 50 years old.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
