From Zombos Closet

Pressbooks (Non-Horror)

Hollywood Thrill-Makers (1954) Pressbook

Robert L. Lippert went for the cheaper productions and at a good time too. Hollywood was producing fewer movies overall due to television’s growing downward pull on box office receipts, as well as the population shifting to the suburbs, which left city theaters with more unfilled seats. Lippert’s movies played the drive-ins and lesser theaters and were cheap enough to turn a good profit. In 1951, Lippert released Superman and the Mole Men, the first feature film (there were the Kirk Allen serials) to star George Reeves, kicked off the successful television series. Allen regretted turning down the role for the tv series that made Reeves America’s Superman of the 1950s and 60s. Lippert became the U.S. distributor for Exclusive Films, which later became Hammer Films. He had a lucrative run up until Hammer moved the distribution to major studios. Lippert’s pressbooks were usually not many pages and contained poster art and some promotional information. Thanks to It Came From Hollywood for this copy.

Hollywood Thrill-Makers 1954 Pressbook

Dante’s Inferno (1935) Pressbook

TCM, in their notes section for Dante’s Inferno (1935), states that Spencer Tracy “agreed to have his name eliminated from advertising and publicity regarding the film and from the opening screen credits.” He said it was the worst picture made anywhere, anytime. Variety did like the ten minutes of Hell, though. I haven’t seen the movie so can’t say either way, but this pressbook is awesome and cost a lot of money to print. It is 15.5 inches by 21.5 inches and lots of pages crammed with promotional information. There’s also a translucent red plastic sheet that was inserted into the pressbook, but not sure what that was for. (You will need a large screen to view this beauty online.) One other note from TCM citing the Hollywood Reporter: the movie was delayed due to the need to manufacture small articles of clothing for thousands of devils so the “purity squad’ wouldn’t be offended. Download the pressbook images here: Dante’s Inferno 1935 Pressbook

Dante's Inferno 1935 movie pressbook

La Jungle en Feu (1945) Pressbook

I recently picked this pressbook (more like two-sided large sheet) for La Jungle en Feu. The poster art is gorgeous and has that propaganda-style of idealized imagery.  Luciano (Arturo de Córdova) has a strong dislike of women. Guess where that goes when Estrella (Dolores del Rio) enters the part of the jungle the guys hang out in. Click the images to enlarge or download.

La Jungle en Feu movie poster art.

La Jungle en Feu movie poster art.

La Jungle en Feu movie poster art.

The Lady from Shanghai (1947) Pressbook

As was par for the course with Orson Welles and Hollywood, he’d polish up a gem of a movie and they would just chisel away at it until, while it still had its luster, Welles sparkle of cinematic genius was dulled and edited away into lost pieces of what should have been. Another director who also wasn’t taken all that seriously by Hollywood was William Castle (but taken seriously by horror movie fans), who was originally hoping to direct The Lady from Shanghai, but had to settle for an assistant director position. Welles’s whimsical and dark comedic wit permeate the movie that Harry Cohn hated, and the shootout in the hall of mirrors is classic noir. So much editing was done outside of Welles’ control that elaborate scenes and extended drama in the fun house were lost. I wonder what Welles, given today’s streaming environment, could have accomplished? Rita Hayworth and Everett Sloane were perfect in their roles. Definitely, this is one movie to see on the big screen.

 

The Lady From Shanghai movie pressbook

Angels From Hell (1968) Pressbook

An AIP double-bill (that ran like the wind for drive-ins everywhere) with The Mini-Skirt Mob (an all-girl biker rumble). The New York Times critic gave a succinct “two reels of celluloid junk” to both movies, and sums up with “Mini-Skirt is sickening and Angels is merely dull.” Okay, so you can’t please everyone. But toss these two babies onto a drive-in screen and add some snack shack goodies and I’ll bet a good time would commence. Vroom! Vroom!

Angels From Hell AIP Movie Pressbook

Nine Girls (1944) Pressbook

A bunch of pretty (and pretty loopy, scheming, petty, and the usual female cinema stereotypes for the 1940s) sorority sisters get together on a dark and stormy initiation night. One of them winds up dead. Much finger-pointing and rivalries ensue as the mystery is secondary to having a bunch of–did I mention?–pretty girls being the focus of this B seat-filler. TCM has a page of quotes from this movie: my favorite is “Suppose I pick you up and we’ll do something gay?” Ah, those wacky sorority types. Exploitation for this movie included suggestions to “use lots of girlie photos” and “start early search to find the nine most popular girls in town.” Also, there was the “plant pictures where men meet” and snipe mystery and girlie magazines by affixing labels hawking Nine Girls. To be honest, these are the kinds of pressbooks (and movies) I really enjoy. Go figure. And where do men meet? That sounds like a catchy title for something, not sure what though.

Click each image to expand it–you will need a BIG screen–or right-click the expanded image to download it. And no sleuthing or sorority babes needed to find more pressbooks from Zombos’ Closet. But, you can still invite a sorority babe if you like.

 

Nine Girls Movie Pressbook 1944

The Sign of Zorro (1960) Pressbook

A big thanks to It Came From Hollywood who have now joined the Gang of Terrors From Zombos’ Closet. With a huge archive of both Joe Kane’s (The Phantom of the Movies) movie memorabilia and their own, stretching across decades, you will be seeing a lot of cool stuff in its new home From Zombos’ Closet. Of course, we’ll need a bigger closet…but, to start, here’s The Sign of Zorror pressbook from It Came From Hollywood’s archive.

Being a Disney pressbook, it is filled with merchandizing and promotional content galore. Guy Williams (Armando Joseph Catalano) also made a very dashing Zorror, too. His two notable roles were as Zorror and John Robinson (Lost in Space).

The Sign of Zorro 1960 Pressbook page

Citizen Kane (1941) Pressbook

Here is the rare premier release of the Citizen Kane pressbook. There were two pressbooks created for the movie and this is the one that appeared first. After the movie did poorly–what with William Randolph Hearst’s minions bad-mouthing it as much as possible and killing adverts for it–a second pressbook was created with a different slant for advertising as the movie progressed through theaters. Through it all, Citizen Kane is THE movie that should be on your bucket list of must see cinema, no matter what kind of movie fan you are. Orson Welles visionary style, the fluid and timeless social commentary, and the emotional gut-wrenching by the soul-twisting characters, scripted between him and  Herman J. Mankiewicz, are classic all the way. Read online or download these images: Citizen Kane Pressbook

Citizen Kane Pressbook Cover

Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1934)
Movie Herald

Here is the 4-page movie herald for Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back 1934. Debonair Ronald Colman again stars as the urbane adventurer fighting crime. Lucille Ball makes an uncredited appearance as a bridesmaid. In 1947, another Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back starring Ron Randell hit the screens. Warner Oland (aka Charlie Chan in 16 movies) provides the sinister machinations in this pre-code B thriller.

G-Men vs The Black Dragon (1943)
Pressbook

Federal Agent Rex Bennett (Rod Cameron) goes up against a group of saboteurs. Republic liked the Rex Bennett character enough to have him in a following serial, Secret Service in Darkest Africa. Here are some interesting notes from Valley of the Cliffhangers, by Jack Mathis. In this one the fist fights are plentiful, a staple of serial action, and the Lydecker brothers set up a really elaborate and creative death device in Episode 8 that Vivian needs to be rescued from, building up a really good cliffhanger.

Episode 2…"Originally entitled "Oriental Torture," which did not pass Hayes office muster, this episode was re-named Japanese Inquisition."

"Tight shooting schedules and the numerous scenes filmed each day for a serial occasionally resulted in minor production lapses, such as Rex's office door, which was lettered to read "Private" from inside and thus [was] incorrectly backwards from the hallway entry point."

Comics Reader version: Download G-Men vs the Black Dragon

G-Men vs the Black Dragon 01

Cinderella (1950) Campaign Book – B

You can see the Cinderella Campaign Book – A (pressbook) over here. This Campaign B part of the pressbook contains the amazing, and versatile, marketing tie-ins and promotions for the movie. Beginning with Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney saw the potential of revenue streams coming from the Disney characters. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Disney’s movie merchandising simply exploded from that point on. Of course, toy tie-ins for his children’s fare did very well, while misfires like the toys for The Black Hole (1979), an ambitious if somewhat obtuse allegorical science fiction leaning on the darker side, scared the kids more than enthralled them. Disney’s best foray into the supernatural is the suspenseful The Watcher in the Woods (1980) with Bette Davis.

Comics Reader version: Download Cinderella Book B

Cinderella Book B 01