JM Cozzoli

What drew my eye to this pressbook for Pirate Treasure, Universal’s swashbuckling movie serial, was the showmanship page. From lobby stunts, pirate coloring competition, pirate mask and hat, pirate treasure bags, heralds, hangers, and more, it’s a splash of thrills. The stunt work in this serial is noted as stellar too. Yo ho ho!

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Ida Lupino directs a gripping 1950s styled noir that brings home the dangers of picking up hitchhikers. William Talman’s performance (best known for playing Hamilton Burger on the Perry Mason television series, 1957 to 1966) is pitch perfect. He has the face, the voice, and the attitude for nasty in spades. Edmond O’Brien makes the perfect 1950s average Joe pushed to the extreme. This is one film noir you won’t want to miss. This 18×12 inches pressbook is no slouch either.

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This pressbook for Fort Vengeance is more interesting than the movie. The campaign art promoted the "red savage" theme in the usual way (war paint, axe, feathers, and menacing face). Rita Moreno starred in a cardboard role and sold cardboard bread in a Hollywood Bread tie-in. Interesting to note that bread was a common tie-in (called tie-up here) with westerns, especially for television. The pressbook mentions "the movie was filmed in color to bring out the scenic splendor of the Canadian Northwest, but the movie was shot indoors and outdoors in California. 

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Clean-living prizefighter makes good. Monogram made 12 movies based on Ham Fisher’s comic character, Joe Palooka. Lots of movies and shorts in the 1940s and 1950s knocked out stories centered around the boxing ring. We tend to label more contemporary comic book inspired movies as franchise, merchandise, and sequel-itis prone properties, but merchandising and repeated entries for a property started decades ago, even before Star Wars. If it’s hot its cloned more than a gaggle of storm troopers, when the force of an insatiable audience kicks in.

ComicRack reader version: Download Gentleman Joe Palooka Pressbook

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Courtesy of Joe Dante and Charlie Largent (Trailers From Hell) comes this file copy for The Royal Mounted Rides Again serial. Always interesting are the costs associated with any movie (or serial) promotion. According to the onion skin typewritten page glued (see those annoying brown spots) to page 2, the cost for 6,000 pressbooks came to .233 cents per book; with art work taking 659 dollars for advertising.

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The Royal Mounted Rides Again (1945)
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What’s a jungle without a witch doctor? At least that’s the theme in most jungle movies from the 1950s. See the movie herald. Of course it’s all about oil found in the jungle, which brings out the human wild beasts. The poster art focuses on a victimized white woman, scantily dressed of course, to sell butts in theater seats.

ComicRack reader version: Download Walk Into Hell Pressbook

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