From Zombos' Closet

Singing Guns (1950) Pressbook

In this Western the bad guy goes straight and has time to sing three songs along the straight and narrow path. 

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Voodoo Woman and The UndeadDouble Bill Pressbook (1957)

The pages had separated in this double bill pressbook for Voodoo Woman and The Undead, so I'm not sure if it is complete. A double bill, by the way, was two movies released to be shown together. You could see lots of double bills playing in the 1950s and 60s, especially for drive-ins. I've not seen Voodoo Woman yet, but I admit to a strong fondness for The Undead, a low budget, but very atmospheric and engrossing supernatural tale. And once again, a good portion of the budget for both of these movies appears to have been spent on the poster art.

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War of the Satellites and Attack of the 50 FT. Woman Double Bill Pressbook (1958)

Needless to say, the poster art for both of these movies is a lot more exciting than what was shown onscreen. But Attack of the 50FT. Woman is a classic, not so much for its shoddy special effects, but because it was a monsterkid staple that could stand up to (or was that more like provide fodder for?) repeated late-night viewings on a flickering black and white television set. Corman's cheapie, War of the Satellites, gave us Dick Miller. What more do you need? 

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Scandal Street (1938) Pressbook

Ah, the good old days, when gossipy neighbors could ruin your reputation and ruin your weekly bridge-playing get togethers. Now everyone can pretty much chime in on Twitter or Facebook or whatever gossipy website there is on the Internet. Would I really want to watch this movie? No. But this pressbook, with its die cut silhouette and the overall design of the pages, is pretty nifty.

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Blood of the Vampire (1958) UK Pressbook

Not a Hammer movie but inspired by Hammer (Jimmy Sangster wrote the screenplay), Blood of the Vampire received the X certificate (given to horror movies by the British Board of Censors, during that time, to limit the audience to 16 and above). It boasts yet another evil hunchbacked sidekick and some gore "for adults only...with nerves of steel!"

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Jet Job (1952) Pressbook

I haven't seen this movie, but I liked the pressbook design. Hotshot pilots and fast flying seemed all the rage in the 1950s cinema. The poor man's space opera. The "curvaceous" Elena Verdugo, from House of Frankenstein, puts in an appearance. Playing up the eye-candy aspect of female actors in 1950s movies was also another, thankfully abandoned, selling point of that decade's movies too.

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Black Arrow (1944) Pressbook

This is the 1955 re-release pressbook for the 24th serial, Black Arrow, released by Columbia.

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Voodoo Island and Pharaoh's Curse (1957)Double Bill Pressbook

Not a bad double bill to while away a midnight afternoon, given that Voodoo Island can boast Adam West's first movie appearance.

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Dead Men Walk (1943) Pressbook

A tidy little budgeter featuring one of Dwight Frye's last performances. Zucco plays Zucco, which is enough to satisfy any horror fan, and the story is neatly supernatural, pitting nice brother against satanic brother, albeit one of them is dead and into all that occult stuff. Given more money to flesh out the mood and scenery, this would be more highly remembered.

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Day the World Ended and Phantom From 10,000 Leagues Double Bill Pressbook

Of the two horror movies in this double bill, Day the World Ended gets my vote of approval. It helps to see it as a kid (which I did, on television, properly horror-hosted of course), but the movie is still quite palatable if you're older. With Roger Corman heading Day on the cheap, and Paul Blaisdell fabricating the monster (Marty the Mutant), you couldn't go wrong. The double billing was financially successful. Pick up Paul Blaisdell, Monster Maker by Randy Palmer if you want to read an informative rundown on Day the World Ended's production and creature creation, as well as information on other Corman and Blaisdell monster movies.

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T-Men (1947) Pressbook

At an astounding 32 pages, this T-Men pressbook is a novel's worth of promotion. Striking use of red ink, thriller poster art, and enough publicity articles to choke a theater manager. The tie-ups are plentiful too, from Albolene Face Cream, Ritz Electric Broiler, Emerson Radio, and a T-Men kiddie button kutout. I mean, who uses the word kiddie anymore?

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Rocky Rhodes (1934) Pressbook

From the pressbook: ""In my picture," Jones says, "the right-thinking, right-acting, clean-living man always wins out. This man is not a prude. He is not a painfully righteous person. He has plenty of faults, as well as virtues." 

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