40 Vintage Cover Photos of the Picturegoer in the 1940s and ’50s

Picturegoer was a fan magazine published in the United Kingdom between 1911 and 23 April 1960.

The magazine was started in 1911 under the name The Pictures and in 1914 it merged with Picturegoer. Following the merge it was renamed Pictures and The Picturegoer, which continued until 1920. The same year it was renamed as Pictures for the Picturegoer.

Covers of the Picturegoer in the 1940s and 1950s

It began publication with the name Picturegoer in January 1921. Odhams Press was the publisher of the magazine during the early years. It was initially published monthly through May 1931, switching to weekly publication 30 May 1931 as Picturegoer Weekly. In September 1939, Picturegoer incorporated Film Weekly, and in September 1941 it became a bi-weekly. It went back to weekly publication every Thursday in July 1949.

Picturegoer featured the screen’s biggest stars and was sold at all cinemas. Clark Gable, Laurence Olivier, Bette Davis, Paulette Goddard, Petula Clark, Fred Astaire, and Richard Burton were among the hundreds of stars who graced its front cover. Its circulation reached a peak of 325,000 during the mid-1940s.

After World War II, it found itself competing with periodicals published by the Rank Organisation, Odeon Cinemas, and Associated British Cinemas, which replaced Picturegoer with their own magazines at their theatre kiosks. As a result, Picturegoer became more sensational in the 1950s, with covers featuring cheesecake and beefcake-style artwork.

It eventually merged with the pop music magazine Disc Date. Shortly after the Picturegoer name was dropped and the publication concentrated solely on music. The last issue of Picturegoer was published on 23 April 1960 with a cover showcasing Jackie Rae and Janette Scott.

Here below is a set of vintage photos that shows covers of the Picturegoer in the 1940s and 1950s.

Joan Blondell, Picturegoer & Film Weekly, August 24, 1940

Norma Shearer and Robert Taylor, Picturegoer & Film Weekly, October 26, 1940

Rosamund John, Picturegoer, November 13, 1943

David Niven, Picturegoer, June 10, 1944

Rita Hayworth, Picturegoer, July 8, 1944

Sheila Sim in ‘A Canterbury Tale’, Picturegoer, May 17, 1944

Ann Todd, Picturegoer, November 10, 1945

Margaret Lockwood and James Mason in 'The Wicked Lady', Picturegoer, December 22, 1945

Myrna Loy, Picturegoer, March 17, 1945

Margaret Johnston, Picturegoer, June 19, 1948

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, Picturegoer, November 5, 1949

Cyd Charisse, Picturegoer, August 13, 1949

Jane Powell, Picturegoer, January 13, 1949

Jean Simmons, Picturegoer, December 24, 1949

Sally Gray and Robert Newton in 'Obsession', Picturegoer, September 10, 1949

Ann Todd, Picturegoer, February 18, 1950

Googie Withers and Richard Widmark in 'Night And The City', Picturegoer, July 8, 1950

Jean Kent, Picturegoer, November 25, 1950

June Haver, Picturegoer, January 28, 1950

Richard Attenborough, Picturegoer, April 8, 1950

Margaret Lockwood, Picturegoer, January 6, 1951

Jean Peters, Picturegoer, February 16, 1952

Richard Todd and Glynis Johns in 'Rob Roy', Picturegoer, October 24, 1953

54 Jill Adams, Picturegoer, September 25, 1954

Maggie McNamara, Picturegoer, July 3, 1954

Aleta Morrison, Picturegoer, June 25, 1955

Anne Baxter, Picturegoer, January 22, 1955

Belinda Lee, Picturegoer, April 30, 1955

Betty Grable, Picturegoer, March 12, 1955

Dorothy Malone, Benny Hill (inset), Picturegoer, February 5, 1955

Jacqueline Curtis, Picturegoer, May 21, 1955

Jill Adams, Picturegoer, May 14, 1955

Marjorie Hellen (aka Leslie Parrish), Picturegoer, March 26, 1955

Shirley Ann Field, Picturegoer, November 12, 1955

Belinda Lee, Picturegoer, May 26, 1956

Dani Crayne, Picturegoer, February 11, 1956

Natalie Wood, Picturegoer, August 25, 1956

Simon McQueen, Diana Dors (inset), Picturegoer, February 25, 1956

Anne Heywood, Picturegoer, June 15, 1957

Shirley Jones, Picturegoer Film Annual, 1956-1957