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Old Movie Posters - anyone collect, and what?

Tibor

One of the Regulars
Messages
115
Location
Chicago
Chilean posters... interesting. I take it they're for the Chilean release of Hollywood films? Do they have different art from their US counterparts?
 

Tibor

One of the Regulars
Messages
115
Location
Chicago
Lady in the Death House ... I'd never heard of that one. What's the movie like? The posters seem pretty excellent for the genre.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,075
Location
London, UK
Somewhere I have a complete set of lobby cards for both The Rocky Horror Picture Show and it's less-well-known 1981 quasi-sequel, Shock Treatment. Eventually I'll have those framed and put up on a wall somewheres.... Back in my parents' house, I have an original US (not reprint) one-sheet for THe Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It's beautifully framed, but I'm going to have to sell it eventually as I simply don't have the wall space. I also have (sitting in tubes, somewhere in my flat) modern one-sheets (the kind that go in the illuminated boxes outside the cinema) for Shaun of the Dead and The Notorious Betty Page. Again, no wall space.....

Eventually, as time and wall space allows, I would like to have a few golden era, and just beyond, posters - chiefly The Maltese Falcon, and The Wild One. I would also love to have a complete collection of posters for all the classics 30s-thru-50s movies referenced in Science Fiction Double feature, the opening credits number in Rocky Horror Picture Show. I'd be happy with reprints, really - it's the visuals I'm interested in rather than collectability per se, but it's a lack-of-wallspace issue once again...
 

Tibor

One of the Regulars
Messages
115
Location
Chicago
Ah, the Maltese Falcon. Heritage has a one-sheet in their upcoming Signature auction (beginning about March 2 or so). The last one they sold went for about $10,000.00 so warm up the credit card...! Some lobby cards float around now and then. There's one in the Heritage auction, and one currently listed at emovieposter.com's Thursday auction. You might pick one up for $1500 to $3000. Great film and nice posters, even though they used images of Bogart taken from High Sierra.

In the same Heritage auction is an insert (14"x36") poster from The Wild One. You might pick that up for $350 or so. Great stuff.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,075
Location
London, UK
Yep.... that's why I like reprints. ;)

I also have to save wallspace for a print of Nighthawks, though.... I love that painting.
 

Quigley Brown

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,745
Location
Des Moines, Iowa
Back in college I bought a few old original ones, including this one, at a special sale on campus. I paid five bucks each. I was a poor college student, though, and I wish I could have bought more. They somehow survived over the years, but with damage. A few years ago I finally had them professionally framed. I've never seen this film (from 1949). The other two are 'The Dam Busters' (1955) and 'Bombers B-52' (1957). They're huge...

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Tibor

One of the Regulars
Messages
115
Location
Chicago
Oh, that is nice. Two great noir actors in a great design. It has gotten pricey to collect most things. You can still find some really nice B-movie posters for not too much. But everything has gone up a bunch. Right now it seems to have sort of leveled off price-wise, no doubt due to the economic times. Unfortunately, many have leveled off veeerrrrry high.

One of the things that I enjoy a lot is "discovering" the different art used in poster campaigns for films. That doesn't apply so much to newer things from the 50s and onward as they often used only one or two art layouts in all the posters. But the 30s were incredible. Each format poster was different, and often lavished with much color and attention.

I say "discovered", but it's really just a personal "discovery". It's an odd hobby as unless you have a pressbook from the original release of the film, you often have no idea what the various posters look like from a film you catch on TCM. And if it's pre-war (WWII) most of the paper was lost to the paper drives. Even with the pressbook, you don't generally know what colors were used. There are a few image databases being maintained, but as you can imagine, they don't cover but a fraction of the 30s and 40s posters. The hunt can be very exciting.
 

davidraphael

Practically Family
Messages
790
Location
Germany & UK
Show us your original movie posters!

I have a very small selection of original movie quads and front-of-house posters. I haven't got any super vintage posters because they go for thousands and thousands. By way of example, someone I know spent 5k on a Hitchcock poster and recent ebay listings go a lot further: 18k for Robin Hood (1922); 15k for Star Wars; 16k for Frankenstein meets the Wolfman. And last year, a poster for Fritz Lang's M went for $700,000!

ah...maybe one day...

No repros!

First the posters with at least some vintage connection:

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A Russian version of the Cotton Club:
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Champagne Bubbles (Russian film):
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The Shores of our Fathers (Russian film - 1942):
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It happened in the Police (polish poster of a Russian film - 1963):
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Polish poster of a Kurosawa film - Sanshiro Sugata - 1965:
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other, not so vintage:

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and just for fun:
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Messages
10,931
Location
My mother's basement
Recently bought an original "Nashville" from 1975. Seller wanted $45. I offered 20. He took it. Soon thereafter discovered that movie posters of that era were typically 27 by 41 inches (as is this one), but for the past 20 years or so the long dimension has been 40 inches, which makes finding an inexpensive, off-the-shelf frame a bit of a challenge.

I'd like to have an original "American Graffiti," but it appears that many other people would as well, as the asking prices for those (around $500) are well beyond what I can justify to the lovely bride, or to myself, for that matter.
 

djd

Practically Family
Messages
570
Location
Northern Ireland
Most expensive one I ever owned was an original one sheet for Charge of the Light Brigade (1936). I paid $1600 I the early 90s for it. Sadly I liquidated most of my vintage poster collection when money got tight. I had a gorgeous insert for The Sea Hawk too... That was my favourite :(
 

djd

Practically Family
Messages
570
Location
Northern Ireland
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The only vintage 1 sheet I still own

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Great Belgian version of The Sea Hawk
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Lobby card from my favourite Cary Grant film
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Good Lobby Card of Errol in action
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Probably my favourite Indy poster - Aussie ToD daybill
 

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