From Zombos' Closet

The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969) Mexican Lobby Card

Jess Franco (not a good move there) directed this 5th and ignorable entry into the Fu Manchu series. 

Las Vampiras (1971) Mexican Lobby Card

Lesbian vampires. Jess Franco. Nudity and crude film making galore. What else do you need to know?

The Leopard Men Mexican Lobby Card

I'm not sure what movie this may be from, but the lobby card design indicates it could be anywhere from the 1930s to 50s. Dorothy Short did Call of the Savage in 1935, but I don't see a credit for Paul Gifford on IMDb; and the inset scene with Amazonian women looks more like a 1950s movie than earlier. Anyway, the card illustration is what drew me to these cards. That, and the Amazonian women, of course.

 

Juvenile Jungle (1958) Double Bill Pressbook

Quite a bit of promotion for two teenager and crime movies from Republic Pictures, that's for sure. I have a fondness for these fold-out pressbooks with sleeves to hold the promotional sheets (see Brain from Planet Arous  and How to Make a Monster).

Comic reader version:  Download Juvenile Jungle Double Bill Pressbook

Swamp Women (1956) Mexican Lobby Card

Not to be confused with Swamp Woman, Swamp Women was directed by Roger Corman and ridiculed on Mystery Science Theater 3000. I bet it still made money for the drive-ins that played it. Filmed on location in Louisiana, I'm not sure what was worse: the swamp the actors had to act in or the abandoned motel accommodations they had to endure. There's a future horror movie in that scenario I'd wager. This one's in the public domain, so you can probably watch it on YouTube. If you dare. Here's the pressbook to help you make up your mind.

Jungle Book (1942) Mexican Lobby Card

Sabu (Sabu Dastigir), truly unforgettable in The Thief of Baghdad, stars in this 1942 version of the Jungle Book.

The Loves of Hercules (1960) Mexican Lobby Card

Interesting title switch for this Mexican lobby card for The Loves of Hercules. La Venganza de Hercules implies the Mark Forest vehicle (although he plays Goliath, not Hercules), Goliath and the Dragon. Mickey Hargitay battles against the glamorous Queen Hippolyta who wants to turn him into a tree, and a three-headed dragon in the Underworld that just wants to eat him. I'll leave it up to you to decide which one is more dangerous. All I can say is Steve Reeves will always be MY Hercules. This is an enjoyably bad movie to be enjoyed in the company of fellow bad movie lovers. 

The Mark of Zorror (1940) Mexican Lobby Card

An action-packed movie with lots of swordplay. A young Bruce Wayne attends a showing of it with his parents during that fateful night.

Mission Stardust (1967) Mexican Lobby Card

Another 1960s space opera. It's interesting to note the cowboy approach here (guns drawn or blazing), which is used on many Mexican lobby cards for Westerns. I recommend reading Gary Westfahl's The Spacesuit Film: A History, 1918-1969 if you're into "spacesuit" movies.

First Men in the Moon (1964) Pressbook

Here's the pressbook for First Men in the Moon, another memorable Ray Harryhausen effects movie. Of course, CGI makes it all look very easy these days. While the science is off, the art direction is imaginative and the movie is fun to watch. Thanks to ZC reader Terry Michitsch for requesting this one: I thought I had posted it years ago. Yup, my organizing skills are awful and my closet is too big.

Comic reader version: Download First Men in the Moon Pressbook

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It Came From Beneath the Sea (1955) Pressbook

Ray Harryhausen strikes again in It Came From Beneath the Sea. The 1950s nuclear bomb paranoia brings another irritated giant monster to attack mankind. The Wikipedia entry notes a humorous problem for Kenneth Tobey as he kept sinking in the sand next to Faith Domergue, and Harryhausen's budget only allowed for six of the octopus's eight tentacles to be animated. Thanks to ZC lurker Terry Michitsch for requesting this pressbook (and the one for First Men in the Moon, which I'll post as soon as I can find it. It's buried in the closet Terry, somewhere, I swear).

Comic reader version:  Download It Came From Beneath the Sea Pressbook

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Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965) British Pressbook

I saw Dr. Terror's House of Horrors on the big screen when it first hit theaters in the U.S. I was nine. It scared me. I avoided shrubs and bushes for a long time after that. 

Comic reader version:  Download Dr Terrors House of Horrors Pressbook

See more movie pressbooks From Zombos' Closet.