Almost forgot to post this Tarzan the Magnificent pressbook from Tony Rivers' collection. Once again, the magnificent Gordon Scott muscles in on the jungle. (Thanks to Tony for the scans and his continued sharing of his wonderful collection.)
I can't fully explain why I like the 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, but I do. The fantasy elements are fun to watch (especially the classic special effects), as is Tony Randall's enthusiastic performance, although the story overall is a little weak. I would love to see this movie remade and perhaps updated to present day. Lord knows we could all use a little magic in 2013.
Tony Rivers, from the Classic Horror Film Board, guides us through the jungle one more time with Tarzan’s Fight for Life pressbook……Tony says: “Here’s the last of my Tarzan pressbooks (for now; still looking to get TARZAN’S HIDDEN JUNGLE again to replace the one I had), a 12 page MGM pressbook celebrating the 40th anniversary of Tarzan back in 1958. [The movie] has Jane (Eve Brent) and “Tartu” (shortened version of Tarzan2 or a new version of Boy) and native tribes causing unrest in the jungle. Tarzan to the rescue. Jil Jarmyn, who plays Ann Sturdy, lost out for the role of Jane to Eve Brent as they were the two finalists for the role. They made the right choice!”
Note: Due to a scanning faux pas, a line of text is repeated in the middle column on page 4. Oops.
Courtesy of Carbon from the Classic Horror Film Board comes this PDF of The Giant Behemoth pressbook.
At 12 x 18 inches it's quite a monster itself.
Here’s a nifty holiday treat: the 24 page, 11 x 17 inches, pressbook for The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms. Lots of promotional gimmicks for the theater and great ad mat art set this baby on fire. One amusing story concerning this movie, as told by Ray Bradbury, is how the producers forgot to include him in the payroll, especially since his short story, The Fog Horn, was the basis for the Beast. He let them know of their oversight, they quickly shot a check over with thanks.
Tony Rivers (Teenage Horror Factory) strikes again with this pressbook for Charlie Chan in Shadows Over Chinatown, with Sidney Toler, Mantan Moreland, and Victor Sen Young.
Courtesy of Tony River (Teenage Horror Factory) comes this Paramount Showmanship Manual (aka pressbook) for Gordon Scott’s Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure. Tony says: “Here’s the 8 page press book for one of the best Tarzan movies, TARZAN’S GREATEST ADVENTURE. The middle 2 pages are like one large page with ads in the middle.” Note: You can see the double-page spread for pages 4 and 5, and following it, the separate adverts closeup.
Here is an exuberant double bill pressbook for The Return of Dracula and The Flame Barrier. Notice how most of the box office promotion is geared toward Dracula and the vampire theme. The Return took a beating from Hammer's Horror of Dracula the same year (1958), but Francis Lederer and this United Artists release is not bad.
A simple pressbook for Boris Karloff's The Man With Nine Lives stands out with its photomontage centerfold spread (here shown in two pages). Notice how the "screen's master of horror" is the key selling point.
Here’s the theater herald for The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (the movie was very loosely based on Ray Bradbury’s short story, The Fog Horn). I’ll have the exciting pressbook posted soon. Note: the blank page on the cover is for the theater to add their own information. These were given away for free to promote the upcoming movie showing at the local theater.
One of my favorite movies to catch on local television, way back when, was World Without End. Giant spiders, gorgeous women, and mutants! This pressbook is large, 12 x 18.25 inches, and it has some interesting promotional gimmicks: Vargas, for one, drawing sexy futuristic women, and one product tie-in is a vacuum cleaner. Yup. They still need to clean, even in the future. Those giant spiders leave an awful mess.