From Zombos' Closet

The Neanderthal Man (1953) Pressbook

In another instance where the pressbook is more exciting and thought out than the movie, The Neanderthal Man is not much to look at, with awful dialog and cheesy effects. Bill Warren, in his Keep Watching the Skies!, also notes how seeing Robert Shayne (Inspector Henderson on the 1950s Superman television series with George Reeves) must have made the kids do a double-take in their theater seats as he played the naughty professor. Do you sense a theme here? Crazy scientist pushing dangerous theory, harms people while making it his career goal, and creates a nightmare for everyone around him? Ah, the 1950s. Between the possible atomic extermination, monstrous mutation extermination, and alien creatures extermination, it's a wonder we survived the ravages of science run amok. Well, so far, anyway. Now I expect the AI movie cycle to begin, and the Terminator franchise to be reborn. How about a nice game of tic-tac-toe intead?

Here's the CBZ format for your comic book reader: Download The Neanderthal Man Pressbook

Bomba MatineeMexican Lobby Card

Here's a large (16.5 x 24) Mexican lobby for a Bomba marathon. The classic pulp style illustration shows Tarzan and no Bomba, but fear not; Bomba appears in the inset photo. Even the title says "son of Tarzan." Bomba isn't even top banana in his own movie promotion. At least the card, although cobbling previous illustrations together to save money, shows some style with the lettering and colors, and the layout all bad either, though they did chop into the background without a care.  

Su Nombre Frankenstein (1970)Mexican Lobby Card

I admit I'm stumped with this one. The inset photo reminds me of a scene in Frankenstein 1970, but the rather wild, contemporary-ish, illustration doesn't quite click with any movie I can think of that remotely matches the title. With the little Frankie in the bottom left corner, I'm also thinking Amicus' Asylum, especially with the "color" mention. What do you think?

Update! Many thanks to Eustáquio Nardini for naming the movie, Frankenstein on Campus (aka Flick, 1970). IMDb's rating is pretty low for this Canadian entry. One user review states "A largely forgotten little Canadian film, and definitely a product of its era, FLICK/DR. FRANKENSTEIN ON CAMPUS is a 'turned-on' sexploitation/horror/counterculture oddity which is often referred to as "one of the worst ever" by people who most likely haven't seen it. Truth is, it's not nearly as bad as legend illustrates, but it does have a frustrating self-composure uncommon to the praxis of sex-infused horror cinema, and therefor comes off feeling somewhat like a chaperoned date."

Well, I'll bite. It is on YouTube so I will take a look. You never know. At least the lobby card is colorful. Thanks again, Eustáquio.

 

 

Trouble in Texas (1937) Pressbook

This pressbook is as big as Tex Ritter's hat, when unfolded to show the centerfold, all of 24 inches by 18 inches. The page color, except for the centerfold, is a bit eye-popping, but lots of showmanship can be found, especially around the songs. The singing cowboy was pretty big early on in Westerns, giving way to the more gritty realism (or outlandishness) of the American and Italian films that followed, beyond the 1930s and 1940s strumming cowpokes.

Cornered (1945) Pressbook

Murder, My Sweet, with Dick Powell's excellent portrayal of private eye Philip Marlowe, based on Raymond Chandler's novel, Farewell, My Lovely, was followed by Cornered. Powell, after playing light crooner roles, wanted something more hard-boiled. His tough as nails everyman demeanor is strong noir at its core, and in Cornered he returns to France, after the war, to find his wife's killer. Walter Slezak's smarmy, not to be trusted, criminally-inclined character, Incza, rounds out the dark edges of this vengeance-thriller.

CBZ format for comics readers: Download Cornered

Don't get cornered! There are more pressbooks to see From Zombos' Closet right here. 

White Huntress (1957) Mexican Lobby Card

There was definitely a fascination with white people (especially sexy men or women in skimpy clothes) fighting the perils of the jungle during the cinema of the 1930s through 1950s. On the one hand, there is the notion of city-dwelling people learning to surmount the raw, alien nature in the foliage; on the other, there's the inescapable air of superiority from the white interlopers looking to exploit anything and everything they could get their hands on. Especially over the more "primitive" people native to the landscape, who are only good for carrying the baggage or running around scared or flinging spears at every opportunity. I find the movies still entertaining, but within the context of their time and a few grains of salt.

This Mexican lobby card for White Huntress pretty much follows the original poster art, but with more action and color. Who doesn't like watching blond-haired women fighting pythons?

La Momia Contra el Robot Humano (1957) Mexican Lobby Card

Evil scientist. Weird-looking robot. Annoyed mummy. I'm all in. the Azteca lobby cards are simply beautiful, with vivid colors (though usually by accident, I think), an actual photo pasted to the card, and a nifty awkward balance between illustration, font, and scene to sell the movie to theater audiences. These smaller (11 inches by 14 inches) cards were distributed by Azteca Film Inc. for Spanish-language theaters in the United States. Typical Mexican lobby cards varied in sizes, with 12.5 inches by 16 inches a common one. See more cards at this Dangerous Minds article, and at Collectors Weekly.