2001 A Space Odyssey promo card

[Harry Angel]

Can anyone identify exactly what this is for me?



It's about A4 size, printed on card, and British (as it says "Cert. U"). I've had it since the 70s so certainly not related to any modern reissue. The text includes the film's length in feet so I'm assuming it was not aimed at the general public! But no matter what search terms I google (title plus exhibitor/distributor/promotional etc etc) I can't turn up any images of it. "2001 A Space Odyssey" is one of my favourite films so I'm very curious to know anything about this little relic of its publicity campaign.

[paul waines]

It's a U.K. synopsis sheet. Usually there is an image on the front, and the info as above on the back.

[Harry Angel]

That's interesting, this one is just plain white card on the back. Even adding "synopsis sheet" to my googling still won't return an image of another like this, oh well. So what was the audience for these synopses; press, cinema owners, or no-one specific? I like how the brief description firmly sets up that the end of the film is "incomprehensible". 

[Ari]

 It probably would have been slipped into a exhibitors manual/Press kit or something.

[paul waines]

As Ari says, they were usually sent with a press-book.

[paul waines]

You maybe wont find much info on them as they again are a throw away item, just to inform Cinema Managers.

Anyway, Here you go Harry... A couple off the top of the pile.

Front.




Back.



This like yours has no image on the back, just plain...





Same again, plan back, and just stapled to some other info...




And this one stuff on both sides.





These aren't worth much, I even have some Universal Horror ones...

[Harry Angel]

Those are fascinating items. Maybe not worth much, but even inconsequential ephemera has its own charm sometimes. Being so fond of "2001" it's something I'm glad to have. And they go back to Universal horror days so maybe even further, into the 20s? (I'm wondering if there are ones from Lon Chaney days floating about, overlooked, unwanted, and very cheap.  )

The "Licence to Kill" one with the price listing is great, I always thought posters and stills were loaned to the cinema, not rented. Of the items on the rental list, I know what a quad crown is (coincidentally I recently found my old "Licence to Kill" teaser), and I remember the rows of stills that would go up under the posters - at least that's how my local cinema did it. But what were "blocks"?

[paul waines]

Harry, Blocks are small ads to use in News papers, Magazines, etc, any where you want a smaller ad.  Heres some...









Note the sizes on them...


Heres a Synopsis sheet for House of Dracula...


front



Back


Note the use of a pic of Boris as the Monster from Son of Frankenstein, And Lon as the Monster from Ghost of Frankenstein...

[paul waines]

Oh, forgot to add DC stands for Double Column, and SC Single Column...