The Black Castle (1952) Pressbook
A competent thriller with Lon Chaney Jr. and Boris Karloff to top off the Gothic mood. (Comic book reader version: Download The Black Castle Pressbook.)
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The Green Slime (1968) Pressbook
And then there are movies like The Green Slime. The poster art is the best part. Trust me. Here's the comic book reader version: Download Green Slime Pressbook. I recommend double-billing this with Mutiny in Outer Space (1965) for your viewing (dis)pleasure.
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Psycho (1960) Pressbook
I already posted the rare The Care and Handling of Psycho companion guide that came with this 32 page pressbook, and the 4 page herald. Taken as a whole, this was an impressive promotional campaign that copied the William Castle zeal for movie promotion and took it into overdrive, tapping into Alfred Hitchcock’s cheeky macabre sense of humor to sell, sell, sell the movie. (Comic book reader version: Download Psycho Pressbook)
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The Care and Handling of Psycho (1960)
The Care and Handling of Psycho was a supplement to the regular pressbook. In this guide we can see how much William Castle's impresario and huckster driven movie promotion was embraced by Alfred Hitchcock, who also had a natural and unabashed gift for playing up the terror with his dry humor and physical presence.
Comic book reader version: Download Care and Handling of Psycho
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Psycho (1960) Theater Herald
Here's the theater herald for Psycho, a giveaway for patrons that gives the theater's address and promotion for the movie (such as times and dates). Note how Alfred Hitchcock easily immerses himself into the William Castle kindly-huckster persona.
Revenge of the Creature Billboard Sign
David Crouse posted this photo of a fantastic Revenge of the Creature billboard sign, taken by his uncle who was stationed on Okinawa in 1957/58, to the Universal Monsters and More Facebook group. Try not to drool too much.
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Pressbook
One of the more impressive classic movie pressbooks in my collection is The Day the Earth Stood Still. Large format, 24 pages, and with a newspaper-styled herald attached. A great pressbook for a great movie. Enjoy.
Comic book reader version: Download Day the Earth Stood Still Pressbook
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Below the Sahara (1953)
Mexican Lobby Card
I bet you thought YouTube started all those silly self-indulgent pet tricks like riding an ostrich. Well, here's proof they started in 1953 (at least). This Mexican lobby card for Mas Abajo Del Sahara manages to create quite a bit of liveliness with a little color and energetic cartoon illustrations. And I like apes, so there.
Alias Nick Beal (1949)
Mexican Lobby Card
Wonderful Ray Milland movie, where he plays the devil you know. This lobby for El Enviado Del Diablo is simply beautiful in execution. Note the devil's trident in the inset scene, the hint of the satanic to be found in this movie.
La Venganza Del Diablo (1955)
Mexican Lobby Card
Another great Western genre Mexican lobby card. The inset scene is well balanced with the overall graphic design and colors. And I like big hats.
Victimas Del Divorcio (1952)
Mexican Lobby Card
IMDb lists this as a comedy/drama. I'm not getting the comedy angle from this fairly intense Mexican lobby card for Victimas Del Divorcio. The face at the top right borders on Satanic (with the usual colors to indicate evil or badness), and the claw-tipped fingers keeping the bride and groom apart are not at all drawn in a humorous way. The inset scene isn't a laugh-getter, either. Beautiful card, great illustration, but only conveys the drama in this movie.
Corazon De Fiera (1951)
Mexican Lobby Card
The strong illustration on this Mexican lobby card for Corazon De Fiera hooked me. The cool as ice expressions on the gun-toting characters, the splatter of blood in the background, and the color choices carry a strong impact to entice the potential moviegoer.