From Zombos Closet

JM Cozzoli

A horror and movie fan with a blog. Scary.

D.O.A (1950) Mexican Lobby Card

One of the essential film noir movies of the 1950s, D.O.A's grim, deterministic, storyline is captured well in this Mexican lobby card. Film buffs will usually point out the opening tracking shot that follows Bigelow (Edmund O'Brien) as he makes his way to the police detectives who already know who he is, but need the background story to connect the dots. The movie kicks in from there and you feel for the guy. For his neglected gal. And for the crazy, one-in-a-million reason he's dying. The dialog's a bit literary at times, but the momentum from the opening to the ending is always on the mark. 

DOA lobby card

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)
Pressbook

There are lots of merchandising tie-ins for Irwin Allen's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea movie: a comic book, a novel, a board game, and Frankie Avalon singing so they could sell some records. Of course the movie version doesn't have space aliens; the television series had the space aliens, and lots of other cool fantasy stuff Irwin Allen tossed in (with lots of sparkly, silvery, and colorfully goofy props and makeup) to make the TV series a must see for kids after Lost in Space became a hit. 

Comic book reader version:  Download Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Pressbook

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Mad Monsters No. 6, 1963

Charlton Publications joined in the monster magazine mash with Mad Monsters, providing lots of pictures, a little text, and fun monsterkid merchandise to covet. So much to be ordered! So little allowance money to stretch and stretch and stretch. In this issue Queen of Outer Space still looks awful, Boris Karloff is the Man of a Million Horrors, Coffin Capers provides a tidbit of humor, and a Black Zoo Party provides an historical glimpse at movie promotion back in the day.

Comic book reader version:  Download Mad Monsters Issue 6

 

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Mondo Cane (1962) Pressbook

The Wikipedia article on the movie Mondo Cane states: "is a horror-documentary film written and directed by Italian filmmakers Paolo Cavara, Franco Prosperi and Gualtiero Jacopetti. The film consists of a series of travelogue vignettes that provide glimpses into cultural practices around the world with the intention to shock or surprise Western film audiences."

I don't understand the horror-documentary label–it may be shocking, but horror? I recall seeing the trailer for this movie while sitting in the theater waiting for the main attraction to start. I was maybe 7 or so. Boy, was I shocked. To this day I still see the bug-eating scene in my head. Of course, now you can go to YouTube and other points Internet to be shocked. But hey, this was back in the 1960s, baby. We had better values then. We kept all the shocking stuff in the movie theaters.

Comic book reader version:  Download Mondo Cane Pressbook

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What’s Up, Tiger Lily? (1966) Pressbook

I recall seeing Woody Allen on the Dick Cavett Show promoting this one. When Cavett asked him about the unique approach to the movie and asked if it would really sell, Allen replied he had a unique way to make money: he'd charge people to get out of the theater instead of into it. 

Here's the movie in a nutshell (excerpted from Wikipedia): "Allen took a Japanese spy film, International Secret Police: Key of Keys, and overdubbed it with completely original dialogue that had nothing to do with the plot of the original film. By putting in new scenes and rearranging the order of existing scenes, he completely changed the tone of the film from a James Bond clone into a comedy about the search for the world's best egg salad recipe

Comic book reader version:  Download What's Up Tiger Lilly Pressbook

What's Up Tiger Lilly Pressbook12062016

The Fabulous World of Jules Verne
And Bimbo the Great
Double Bill Pressbook

Not trusting in their own fabulous promotion for The Fabulous World of Jules Verne, I suppose they paired it with Bimbo the Great to bolster ticket sales. This double bill pressbook is almost as big as Bimbo. So, you got mystimation (a fabulous animation technique that's quite enjoyable to watch) paired with circuscope (basically European widescreen, I believe) for the single price to "excite and delight."

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The Fabulous World of Jules Verne (1958)
Movie Herald

With a promo line like "the first motion picture produced in the magic-image miracle of Mystimation," The Fabulous World of Jules Verne (Vynalez Zkazy) sounds awesome, doesn't it? And you know, it is! Mystimation was an animation technique that combined the live actors with colorful animated set pieces whose style was influenced by Georges Melies and Victorian engravings. Add to that the wonderful score by Zedenek Liska and you have a treat for both eyes and ears. 

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