From Zombos' Closet

Zombos' Closet...a vast trove of endearingly cheap thrills, including movie and book reviews, and scans of his collections of cinema pressbooks, goofy paper-cutout Halloween decorations, and his amazing collection of Mexican lobby cards from B-grade films. If you have time to descend into a serious rabbit-hole of marvelous trash-culture nostalgia, visit that site just as soon as you possibly can. (DangerousMinds.net)

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Forbidden Planet (1956) Pressbook

With a completely electronic soundtrack and Robby the Robot, nicely centered around a creepy ID monster, Forbidden Planet is a great movie. One can only wonder at how theater marquees and lobbies, that employed the promotional items shown in this 20-page pressbook (like the standee and the fluorescent valance), must have looked to genre fans when the movie aired on the big screen. Oh, and there was Anne Francis to oggle at too, which the crew of the C-57D starship easily do for a good portion of the movie, in the usual 1950s cinematic mating process. A pulp fantasy come true, to be sure. Robby's designer, Robert Kinoshita, also created another favorite: B-9 in Lost in Space. Unfortunately, someone actually used the pressbook as intended and cut out an ad mat or two. Luckily, it didn't affect the readability much.

Comic book reader version: Download Forbidden Planet Pressbook

More other worldly pressbooks From Zombos' Closet.

One Million Years B.C. (1966) Movie Herald

Here's the tabloid newspaper herald for One Million Years B.C.  I love the tongue in cheek approach. Raquel Welch's fur bikini pin-up was quite a seller after this movie came out. This was Hammer Studios first prehistoric movie. I'm not sure why Hollywood had a fascination with prehistoric period dramas back then, but I doubt many in the audiences went to see the dinosaurs. 

Enter the Dragon (1973) Movie Herald

My favorite movie heralds are the comics-style ones. Here's the one for Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee. (See Black Belt Jones herald.) I fondly remember catching the early Lee movies in a Chinatown theater in New York City. After hearing all the hype, it was breathtaking to watch him on the big screen. 

Mars Attacks the World and Planet Outlaws Movie Herald

Here's a 1974 double bill herald for a re-release of the Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers space operas, Mars Attacks the World and Planet Outlaws. I'm more partial to Buck Rogers, but Flash was pretty cool too. Larry "Buster" Crabbe really made the characters come to life on the big screen. These serials and subsequent movies influenced a lot of creative people, Steven Spielberg being one of them. This is also a good example of the newspaper-styled herald some movies used for promotion. Notice also that this one isn't a pressbook sample: it has theater information printed on it. I'm guessing this was a college showing, based on the theater names, lack of location information, and the fact that colleges would do programs like this back in the 1970s, when fandom was beginning to pay attention to the serial heroes.

The Cradle Snatchers (1926) Stage Play Herald

Humphrey Bogart was third-billed for this stage play, The Cradle Snatchers. Remember those battle-of-the-sexes movies and plays? Well, some of you, anyway, I'm sure. Fun, fun, fun. Here's the die-cut herald for the play. I found it too cute, so now it's in Zombos' Closet (I mean literally: it's in my closet). I have a soft spot for die-cut printing. This one in particular conveys the fun, fun, fun of the play in a (wait for it) playful way.

Red Barry (1938) Movie Herald

Here's the movie herald for Red Barry, a 13-chapter serial put out by Universal. The blank space on the last page was left for movie theaters to add their location, play dates, and whatever marketing hype they deemed relevant. The herald's purchasing cost was usually priced per thousand. Ordering information, and a sample herald, could be found in the campaign or pressbook sent out by distributors. Heralds were usually smaller than 8 x 11 inches and printed on one sheet, although both were often used, and larger heralds with multiple pages can be found. Many heralds were even fashioned to look like tabloid newspapers, while others, like this one, used a neat poster ad that conveyed all the thrills and chills to be found in the movie (hopefully).

Dracula (1931) Movie Herald

Here's a colorful herald for Dracula (1931), currently up for auction on eBay from seller cvtreasures1. Dr. Gangrene has another version here. Heritage Auctions auctioned off another version too. 

Prom Night (1980) Pressbook

While critics mostly hated Prom Night on its first release, I'd watch this on a double bill with Terror Train anytime.

Comic book reader version: Download Prom Night Pressbook

If you're not back by midnight, you're probably reading more sharp pressbooks From Zombos' Closet.

 

Gun Crazy (1950) Pressbook

When your honeymoon starts with your wife telling you she's bad, but will try to be good, you know you're in for a wild ride. The poster art says it all. An intense thrill ride toward a dead end, Gun Crazy is a must-see noir film.

Comic book viewer version: Download Gun Crazy Pressbook

See more crazy pressbooks here.

House of Dracula (1945) Spanish Pressbook

My guess is this is somewhat rare. While the Spanish pressbooks for notable old movies are usually small (this one is 8.5 x 6.5 inches), they are neatly laid out and use imagery well. Of course, being House of Dracula, I couldn't pass it up. Read my review of HOD. (13 Ghosts and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed German pressbooks)

See more neat pressbooks From Zombos' Closet.

Singing Guns (1950) Pressbook

In this Western the bad guy goes straight and has time to sing three songs along the straight and narrow path. 

Comic book reader version: Download Singing Guns Pressbook  (See more crooning pressbooks From Zombos' Closet)

Voodoo Woman and The UndeadDouble Bill Pressbook (1957)

The pages had separated in this double bill pressbook for Voodoo Woman and The Undead, so I'm not sure if it is complete. A double bill, by the way, was two movies released to be shown together. You could see lots of double bills playing in the 1950s and 60s, especially for drive-ins. I've not seen Voodoo Woman yet, but I admit to a strong fondness for The Undead, a low budget, but very atmospheric and engrossing supernatural tale. And once again, a good portion of the budget for both of these movies appears to have been spent on the poster art.

Comic book reader version: Download The Undead and Voodoo Woman DB  (See more deathless pressbooks From Zombos' Closet)