Movie Theater Marquee
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
What I don't quite understand is the "Adults Only" sign in the ticket booth window.
The Leader Theater
Mark of Zorro
So times really haven't changed all that much. Sure, movie theaters may no longer dress as elaborate as this one for Mark of Zorror, but swap out that guy dressed up as Zorro, by the ticket booth, for a Darth Vader stationed in front of a modern theater today and you'd feel right at home.
Famous Monsters 1974
Convention Program
From a time when conventions were a lot more fun, informative, and less stuffed with commercialism. Autographs didn’t cost you a few limbs and they weren’t the focus of the convention like the line-ups today (with even more expensive photo ops). You could even take a picture with your favorite celebrity and it didn’t cost a dime. Times may have changed, but the famous monsters remain.
…
Victory Theater Marquee:
Frankenstein and Dracula
Yes, it's true: Dracula always gets the girl. Frankie's left with his arms empty as usual. The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed the "continuous to 4 a.m. sign." Coffee not included I'm sure. The last time I was in a movie house past midnight was for a Three Stooges and Little Rascals marathon. I'm lucky I can stay up past 8pm these days. But if I had a bag of White Castles, and Nathan's fries, I'd make the attempt for sure.
Mexican Lobby Card: Venganza Apache (1960)
The usual elements of exploitative promotion are here: cowering, partially undressed female and a weapon held in an attacking posture. But due to an imbalance in the illustration, the ho-hum left side of this Mexican lobby card for Venganza Apache greatly lessens the impact of the more aggressive right half of the card. Also the proportions on all elements in the illustration aren't well thought out: one giant guy, three little heads, and a doll-sized woman. I hope the movie has more action than this lobby card and better thematic sense.
Mexican Lobby Card: En Carne Propia (1961)
Another visually charged Mexican lobby card, this time for the thriller En Carne Propia. Note the fearful female huddled against the unperturbed male, and the blood dripping down across the newsprint. I can't make out what the shadowy figures are in the top middle of the card. I'm open to suggestions.
Mexican Lobby Card:
El Camino De La Vida (1956)
The tone and mood of the illustration for this Mexican lobby card for El Camino De La Vida (The Road of Life) is poetic and emotionally charged, and tells a story all by itself.
Movie Pressbook: The Wolf Man (1941)
Courtesy of Tony Rivers comes these scans for the movie pressbook to the Universal Studios classic, The Wolf Man! Once again, the showmanship pages are killer.
…
Mexican Lobby Card:
La Marca Del Cuervo (1958)
Highly connotative illustration and uncluttered layout give this Mexican lobby card for La Marca Del Cuervo its promotional power. Intrigue, action, and what I call the "western way" are embraced here.
Mexican Lobby Card: La Mujer Tarzan (1932)
Blended use of the elephant photograph with the illustration gives a lively, and a little awkward, sensibility to this Mexican lobby card for The Savage Girl with Rochelle Hudson. Sadly she wears more clothes in the movie than in the illustration, and she walks around with a killer gorilla (Charles Gemora)–no, not the guy in the inset scene holding her savage body.
Double Bill Pressbook:
The Monster That Challenged the World
and The Vampire
Tony Rivers strikes again, providing us with these movie pressbook scans for the thrill-bill double bill of The Monster that Challenged the World and The Vampire. (I particularly enjoy the exploitation ideas for both movies.)
…
Double Bill Pressbook:
The Monster That Challenged the World
and The VampireRead More »