From Zombos' Closet

Halloween Pumpkins on Long Island

While at Old Westbury Gardens on Long Island one weekend,  I spotted these Halloween pumpkins waiting to be displayed at their annual Rise of the Jack o'Lanterns.

Halloween Window Decorations Witch, Frankie, Pumpkin Head

Spotted these at the local discount store. They're flexible thin plastic, with a small suction cup in back to stick on mirrors, windows, etc. I like the glitter on the fingernails and the cartoon design. Not too cute, not too scary, so it should appeal to just about any Halloween lover. There is no manufacturer information printed on it.

Double Bill Pressbook: How to Make a Monster and Teenage Caveman (Part 2)

View Part 1

Note: Pressbook scans courtesy of Tony Rivers. Highlights here are the exhibitor's letter and the comic strip.

Double Bill Pressbook: How to Make a Monster and Teenage Caveman (Part 1)

Tony Rivers says "Here's the AIP pressbook for How to Make a Monster and Teenage Caveman and this time it's 16 pages. The comic strip page has ordering info for the strip on the back (usually the extra page is one sided - blank on the other side) and it also has a two-page letter with advertising tips too." Great tagline: It will scare the living yell out of you!

Got to Part 2

Double Bill Pressbook: I Was a Teenage Frankenstein and Blood of Dracula

Another wonderful American International double bill, folder-styled, pressbook from the Tony Rivers collection. From Tony: "All these AIP pressbooks from this era had an extra page (I Was a Teenage Werewolf  had the page with ads showing the werewolf's face while How to Make a Monster had the comic strip page in color.)  While I don't have that page in my pressbook for I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, I found a small picture of it online and am enclosing it as the last page. " (Note: See next to last page for "American News: Frankenstein Versus Dracula" promotional articles).

Mexican Lobby Card: Superargo El Gigante

You can tell Superargo, El Gigante (1968) is an Italian production (also shot in Spain). The Italian influence can be seen in the colander-styled helmets and costume styling. They scream Italian science fiction tech movie circa 1960s. Superargo is the Italian version of the Mexican Masked Wrestler. Here he beats up a lot of robots. Slick exploitation that's very entertaining.

Mexican Lobby Card: The Deathhead Virgin

The Deathhead Virgin (La Virgen Mortal) 1974 Mexican lobby card shows a very suggestive composition, which comes from the English language movie poster. This vixen is the spirit of an ancient Moro princess who guards a sunken Spanish Galleon. Love the tasteful positioning of the kelp, don't you?

Mexican Lobby Card: Kung Fu Cannibals

Raw Force, also known as Kung Fu Cannibals, also known as La Isla De Los Zombies, has Cameron Mitchell, and assorted victim-fodder, tackle an island of damned martial artists. I'll just leave it at that. Unfortunately, the inset scene doesn't carry the rest of the lobby card's "kick."

Movie Pressbook: Mothra (1961)

Mothra, Yojimbo, and Rodan are my three favorite movies from Toho Studios.  This Mothra pressbook is one large sheet folded to form 8  pages, but the Showmanship and ad mat pages are actually printed across 2 pages each, so that's why these scans only show 5 pages.

Double Bill Pressbook: I Was a Teenage Werewolf And Invasion of the Saucer-Men

From Tony Rivers comes this double bill, folder-styled, pressbook for I Was a Teenage Werewolf and Invasion of the Saucer-Men.  Fantastic poster artwork and "Hollywood's new teenage stars" helps promote both movies to the drive-in crowd.

 

Movie Pressbook: The Werewolf (1956)

Pressbook collector Tony Rivers shares another gem from his collection, The Werewolf.

Movie Pressbook: Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

I was very disappointed with this movie. My favorite novel is Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes. This movie didn't live up to it. What irritates me the most is how stodgy the direction is, even with Bradbury's screenplay.