More sword and sandal artistry on this Mexican lobby card for the Italian movie, Mole Men Against the Son of Hercules (1961). Beautiful, stylized illustration, font, and inset scene placement make this a colorful lobby for promoting the movie.
Here’s the Mexican lobby card for The Giant Claw, La Garra Gigante. (See the movie pressbook here.) None of the actors knew what the giant bird they were reacting to looked like until after the movie was in the can. Special effects for the creature were farmed out to the wrong people. Much hilarity for audiences ensued. Interesting that the lobby card shows what strongly appears to be an eagle. Actor Jeff Morrow was so mortified during a first time showing in his home-town theater he snuck out to avoid his friends and family after the showing. Dialog in this one’s a turkey, as is the scientific hooey to justify the alien bird. I suppose this one was destined to…lay an egg at the box office.
Wikipedia lists this as the first Republic serial made. Also, "Darkest Africa contained the first use of the flying special effects that Republic would go on to use in future serials, such as the acclaimed Adventures of Captain Marvel. This serial also showcased examples of the studio's model work that would be one of the factors in its future reputation and success. The destruction of the lost city in the final chapter is particularly highlighted by Cline as a "picturesque example." It was re-released to television and renamed Batmen of Africa to capitalize on the Adam West Batman craze. Hey, it's got Ray "Crash" Corrigan playing Bonga the ape: that works for me.
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I'm a peplum movie addict: I admit it. Here's the Mexican lobby card for Goliath Against the Giants.
Here's the colorful pressbook for Republic Pictures' 12-chapter serial, Spy Smasher, which may be the best serial ever done. When originally shown, waiting for each cliffhanger ending to be resolved in the next episode was like waiting through the mid-season, after-season, before-season, and when-the-hell-is-the-season-starting for Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead to continue.
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Good movie. The inset scene on this Mexican lobby card for Corridors of Blood shows Christopher Lee and Boris Karloff.
The stunning cover on this pressbook for Queen of the Amazons compelled me to get it. I won it in an auction on emovieposter.com a while back, and it went for less than I thought it should (lucky me!). The large size format of 17 by 22 inches is also eye-catching. That "Queen of the Amazing Sex" tagline on page 3 is pretty daring even if the actual costume filmed isn't as much as the one in the poster art.
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Here’s the Mexican lobby card for Vacaciones De Terror 2. I haven’t seen it (or Vacaciones De Terror 1, either), but it’s a Mexican movie from the 1990s, so I’m game. There’s a lack of sense, sensibility, and sanity in much of the color Mexican horror movies circa 1980s to 90s, which makes them fun to watch, so I’ll track this one down for sure.
It's difficult to describe the phenomenon that was television's Batman, starring Adam West and Burt Ward, but let's keep it simple by saying it was cooler than all the other cool pop culture things we lovingly remember about the 1960s. So any kid worth his or her cape and tights went to see this movie because it was the cool thing to do.
I remember this one because my dad took me to see it. I insisted. He didn't care for it much, thinking it was too "cute," but I liked it (that Death Blossom was awesome). This movie was one of the early birds to use computer graphics extensively to create the fantasy-reality of the science fiction storyline. Hey, it even had Will Wheaton in it! Until they cut his scenes, that is. Now, you may be wondering why the Mexican lobby card shown here is in English, except for the "El Ultimo Guerrero." The litho credit is USA, so this was printed in the United States, probably for US theaters catering to Spanish-speaking audiences. My educated guess is that they took a regular English lobby card, added the Spanish title, and thereby saved money. But this is the first time I've seen this, so I;m not too sure about that.
I've not seen this German and American production directed by Roland Emmerich (his third movie). It hit VHS shelves and did get a DVD release but that died quickly. Still, may be worth a look. The story (see Wikipedia article on Hollywood-Monster, this movie's alternate title) reads rather well in synopsis. It's getting that story onto the screen that's the hard part.
An unexpectedly gritty and mature movie from Disney is Dragonslayer. While its initial release to theaters may have confused parents, this movie became a VHS treasure with its special effects and Dark Ages storyline. With no happy ending for the princess, and a questionable future for the young magician and his love, this movie kept it dark indeed.