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)

about this blog From Zombos' Closet...

The Monster Times Issue 33, 1974

Issue 33 of The Monster Times really does go ape. The Planet of the Apes movie franchise gets most of the bananas--I mean coverage--in this issue, but other apes in movies aren't left with just the peel. I had hit a local theater with a bag of McDonald's, back in Brooklyn, circa 1970s, to catch a Planet of the Apes marathon. Ah, memories. I'd do it again faster than someone hitting the floor after slipping on a banana peel. 

To read issues 1 through 48 of The Monster Times, including two specials and the merchandise catalog, slip on over to the magazine morgue From Zombos' Closet.

Comic book reader version: Download The Monster Times Issue 33

Untamed Mistress (1956) Mexican Lobby Card

Two men go into the jungle to search for a woman kidnapped by murderous apes. Much monkey-business ensues. Sure, complain about today's movies, I dare you. Directed by Ron Ormond. He made Christian movies, too. He also directed Mesa of Lost Women. I'll leave the innuendo up to you.

Jungle Man-Eaters (1954) Pressbook

The good old days, when the only thing you had to worry about in the jungle was what was going to eat you. I'm nonplussed about that tagline: "Johnny Against the Cannibals! as the flames lick her lovely legs." Did Johnny have lovely legs? The sentence logic here is atrocious. So is Johnny Weissmuller's acting throughout the Jungle Jim series, in spite of his lovely legs. But there is a strange fascination for me with these jungle adventures, I admit.

Comic book reader version: Download Jungle Man-Eaters Pressbook

Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936) Pressbook

Black Camel (with Bela Lugosi) and Charlie Chan at the Opera (with Boris Karloff), are two of the best Chan movies. Currently, you can see both on YouTube. I strongly recommend them. I realize for many that Charlie Chan reflects a less politically correct age, but I would only recommend you re-evaluate this very large body of work, especially with  Warner Oland, arguably the best Charlie Chan (even though he was Swedish). An essential reference work to aid you is Charlie Chan at the Movies:History, Filmography, and Criticism by Ken Hanke.

Comic book reader version: Download Charlie Chan at the Opera

See more high-brow pressbooks From Zombos' Closet.

The Monster Times Issue 32, April 1974

The latest issue of Little Shoppe of Horrors, issue 43, has a fascinating oral history of The Monster Times, plus a near-complete listing of who did what for each TMT issue. It also has extensive histories on Children of the Damned and The Blood Beast Terror, so don't miss it. And speaking of TMT, issue 32 shouldn't be missed either. With Marvel's Mightiest Monsters, A Profile of the Late Bruce Lee, Questor (some of you may recall when we kind of laughed at robots and thought no way, right?), and Attack of the Mexican Monsters (scoop of some brains with Brainiac and wrestle some mummies works for me).

Comic book reader version: Download The Monster Times Issue 32

See more in the magazine morgue.

Five Graves to Cairo (1943) Pressbook

This very impressive pressbook, at 36 pages for Five Graves to Cairo, plays up Erich von Stroheim, an impressive director and Hollywood presence himself.

Comic book reader version: Download Five Graves to Cairo Pressbook

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).