From Zombos Closet

JM Cozzoli

A horror and movie fan with a blog. Scary.

Forbidden Planet (1956) Pressbook

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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.

Forbidden Planet Pressbook 01

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

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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. 

One Million Years BC Herald 01

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Mars Attacks the World
and Planet Outlaws Movie Herald

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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.

Flash Gordon Herald 01

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and Planet Outlaws Movie HeraldRead More »

The Cradle Snatchers (1926)
Stage Play Herald

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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.

The Cradle Snatchers 01
The Cradle Snatchers 01

Herald_cradle_snatchers_a_CS05161_B

Red Barry (1938) Movie Herald

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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).

Red Barry 2
Red Barry 2

House of Dracula (1945) Spanish Pressbook

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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. While Frankenstein creates a monster from the the bodies of the dead, House of Dracula imagines vampirism as an affliction curable by medical means as opposed to the historic supernatural foundation. Instead of being undead, Dracula is ill, contaminating his victims with his disease. House reflected the growing American optimism for medicine and science as important tools to combat societal and personal problems.

It’s this medical help both werewolf and vampire receive in House of Dracula that makes this movie a pivotal and historically important notation in the transition from the supernatural horrors of the 1930s and 1940s to the scientific hubris (and its subsequent faux pas), and the technological fears of space alien confrontations and mass biological infections of the 1950s and 1960s sci-horror cycle. (From Zombos’ Closet review)

 

House of Dracula Spanish Pressbook_000001

House of Dracula Spanish Pressbook_000001
House of Dracula Spanish Pressbook_000001House of Dracula Spanish pressbook

Voodoo Woman and The Undead
Double Bill Pressbook (1957)

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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)

The Undead 01

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Voodoo Woman and The Undead
Double Bill Pressbook (1957)Read More »