From my vintage horror/sci-fi movie poster collection

[Antoine1973]

Rich, I might change my arbitrary cut-off for collecting posters at some point in the future, as I do see some really good modern stuff every once in a while.  For now, the most recent poster I have (Nightmare on Elm Street OS) is from 1984, but who knows where things will be for me 10 years from now?

Jeff, I bought the Revenge of the Creature 6-sheet already linen backed.  Personally I wouldn't have done it, because the poster was in pretty nice condition to begin with, and I much prefer unbacked paper.  I have to say though that having it backed on sturdy linen allowed me to hang it on my wall for a while without getting it framed, which was a nice bonus.  I eventually had a large painting put in that spot, so the poster is now rolled in a tube in my storage room.

[Antoine1973]

Speaking of 6-sheets, I have this cool one for Isle of the Dead (1945).  The artwork is interesting to me because it includes some elements used on the one-sheet for another Val Lewton production for RKO, I Walked with a Zombie (the floating hand and the zombie-like woman in white in upper part).  I don't know who the artist is, but it seems that it was the same one who designed that other poster. 

I also have the OS for Isle of the Dead, with a completely different image of an all-green Karloff (in a lesser characterization from his more sinister expression on the 6-sheet IMO). 

[erik1925]

Nice Isle of the Dead 6 sheet there, Benjamin. The re-use by RKO of those same artistic elements is great and also curious. I'd love to know the thinking of how and why they were chosen to be incorporated into this ad campaign.

'Tis another beauty, for sure. 

[Antoine1973]

Here are a couple more 6-sheets in my collection: Strangler of the Swamp (1946) and The Thing That Couldn't Die (1958).  Unlike the 6-sheets for Isle of the Dead and Revenge of the Creature that I posted earlier in this thread, both of these posters use basically the same art as the OS. 

I like the size of 6-sheets, I just wish the format was a bit less square and more of a horizontal rectangle, as that seems more cinematic to me. 

[MoviePosterBid.com]

what I like about your collection is that you clearly have a good eye and go for image.

lots of great looking stuff.. not just great stuff

[Antoine1973]

Thank you Rich, you're too kind!  The way I look at my collecting is that movie posters are a visual medium, so I tend to go after paper that I find visually interesting, and not so much whether important or not said poster actually is.  There are plenty of highly collectable movie posters that I don't find all that great graphically, therefore I stay clear of those.  That's one of the reasons why my collection is far from exhaustive: I'm not a completist, I'd rather have what I think is the best image for any given movie (be it an American, French or Italian poster) instead of getting every single format and style available for that title. 

[erik1925]

And the created visuals (meaning original art) done in such vivid and bright colors, as well as the wonderful artistry from those early decades, in many cases, is what I also find incredibly appealing, versus the artwork and/or photos used on material today.

In so many cases, it's like pure, artistic eye candy.

[MoviePosterBid.com]

Thank you Rich, you're too kind!  The way I look at my collecting is that movie posters are a visual medium, so I tend to go after paper that I find visually interesting, and not so much whether important or not said poster actually is.  There are plenty of highly collectable movie posters that I don't find all that great graphically, therefore I stay clear of those.  That's one of the reasons why my collection is far from exhaustive: I'm not a completist, I'd rather have what I think is the best image for any given movie (be it an American, French or Italian poster) instead of getting every single format and style available for that title.

 

[Chris9000]

Thank you Rich, you're too kind!  The way I look at my collecting is that movie posters are a visual medium, so I tend to go after paper that I find visually interesting, and not so much whether important or not said poster actually is.  There are plenty of highly collectable movie posters that I don't find all that great graphically, therefore I stay clear of those.  That's one of the reasons why my collection is far from exhaustive: I'm not a completist, I'd rather have what I think is the best image for any given movie (be it an American, French or Italian poster) instead of getting every single format and style available for that title.

A big +1 on that! Well said.

[Antoine1973]

Here are a 2 country-of-origin French posters for Alphaville (1965) and Eyes Without a Face (1960), with art by Jean Mascii and Guy Gerard Noel respectively.  I always loved the moody Film Noir style of the poster for Alphaville.  I used to have Eyes Without a Face framed and displayed on my wall in my old place, but now it's back in storage.  I kinda miss it though, as I really love that movie.

[Chris9000]

That Alphaville has always been one of my favorites for the title..a stunner for sure. As is the 'Eyes W/out...'., had no idea Noel did that one.

[erik1925]

That Alphaville has always been one of my favorites for the title..a stunner for sure. As is the 'Eyes W/out...'., had no idea Noel did that one.

Hey Chris, Eyes W/O was done by Jean Mascii. 

[Chris9000]

Hey Chris, Eyes W/O was done by Jean Mascii. 

Opps! Thanks for letting me know.

Never-the-less, gorgeous work all around.

[erik1925]

Opps! Thanks for letting me know.

Never-the-less, gorgeous work all around.

I've always really liked both the 1P and smaller poster art that he did for this flick. I love the use of the intense red color on both styles of poster.

[Antoine1973]

Oops, of course Noel didn't do the art for Eyes Without A Face, it was indeed Mascii as Jeff correctly pointed out.  I initially wrote my post thinking that I was going to post a different poster (the French 47X63 for Fahrenheit 451), which was designed by Guy Gerard Noel, then changed my mind halfway through, yet forgot to amend what I wrote.  Sorry for the confusion!

[Monster_A_GoGo]

You have QUITE the collection for only being in the hobby for ten years. WOW!!! Oo la la!

[Antoine1973]

Thanks Shawn!  I know I came late to the hobby so I tried to make up for lost time by focusing on only specific pieces.

Here are some more 1940s posters: a French 47X63 for The Uninvited (1946 first French release), a Belgian The Mummy's Ghost (1948 first Belgian release), and the US one-sheet for Return of the Vampire (1944).  I like the artwork by Boris Grinsson for The Uninvited, it's a nice (moodier) take on the US one-sheet design.  The Mummy's Ghost is one of only a handful of Belgian posters I own, as I'm usually not fond of those due to their small size.

[Monster_A_GoGo]

Dang--again, more beauties! You're like a magician, pulling them out of thin air. WOW! What will pop up next?

[erik1925]

Yet another STUNNING looking poster here, Benjamin. Beautious on so many levels. 

[Antoine1973]

Thanks Shawn and Jeff, glad you appreciate these!  I have to say, I do love the style of French posters (especially from the 1940s and 1950s), they're quite more stylized than the rather realistic approach of American paper, as a comparison between the French affichette and the US one-sheet for The Cat and the Canary (1939) amply shows.  Both are based on the same overall design, but the treatment is markedly different.

[erik1925]

Nice comparison there, Benjamin. And 2 very striking posters. 

I think in this example I'm liking the US art a bit better. The French art is a little two dimensional looking (for me). Plus, green is a favorite color of mine and works well on the OS. Any idea who the French artist is?

And like T's Second Chorus (Swing Romance) example earlier, it's interesting how the French poster is void of any production credits, including the director's name (aside from the Paramount name & logo).

I wonder why some were done this way.

[Antoine1973]

I agree with you Jeff, I think in this case, the US poster for Cat and the Canary is the better of the 2.  I do like that old "C'est un film Paramount" logo though, it harks back to a more innocent time!

[erik1925]

Ben, you have me curious. What is the Universal poster behind this one? I can see the Universal Film, Inc. peaking up from behind, in the blue lettering. My one guess is that it's a French poster. 

[Antoine1973]

Jeff, that poster picking out from behind is a French affiche (24 X 32) for Horror of Dracula, designed by Guy Gerard Noel.  Most of the early Hammer classics were distributed in France by Universal, hence the logo on that poster.  I have a couple of drawers where I store all my smaller posters together, which is why Dracula can be seen under Cat and the Canary in that pic.

[erik1925]

Thanks, Benjamin. This is certainly one of the best poster images for this title.