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Pressbooks (Horror, Sci Fi, Fantasy)

Captive Wild Woman () Realart Pressbook

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These scans for the Captive Wild Woman pressbook are courtesy of Tony Rivers (Teenage Horror Factory), whose crush on Acquanetta knows no bounds. I'm glad I didn't bid on this one on emovieposter.com since Tony would have gone ape if I had even tried to outbid him. But gracious collector that he is, he always shares. Some critics and fans consider the "ape movies" an oddity in the various movie studios' B movie productions. I don't (well, okay, maybe Robot Monster is an exception). I like them. I would also argue that movies like The Monster and the Girl and Captive Wild Woman tap into a social vibe and a stylish art form that make them more than just watching a man in a gorilla costume. I'll be writing more about The Monster and the Girl in the upcoming Unsung Horrors, Vol. 2, from the We Belong Dead magazine gang.

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House of Dracula (1945) Pressbook

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Here's an unsung horror movie for you. Sure, show up at a Monster Bash convention and you'll trip over Universal Studios acolytes ten deep, but outside of such conventions,  House is mostly empty of tenants.  But it shouldn't be. While Universal capitalizes on the Dracula name, it's the Wolf Man who steals the show in this movie and in House of Frankenstein. I still don't understand why the "hunchback" is portrayed as a monster. Her character's backstory would have made an interesting third entry as House of the Hunchback But the Wolf Man's in It Too. Here's the pressbook. I love the First Aid for Shock promotion gimmick as well as the other showmanship ideas. Following the pressbook is the multi-page admats insert showing the various sized newspaper ads.

Comic book reader version:  Download House of Dracula Pressbook

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Sleeping Beauty (1959) Pressbook

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Here's the 1970 re-distributed pressbook for Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty. When looking at a pressbook from the Disney studios, you first wonder at the amount of merchandising they line up; then you wonder at the care with which they treat their creations. I enjoyed the live-action Maleficent (2014) movie with Angelina Jolie, but not knowing her background makes her all the more sinister fun in this animated movie. She's simply evil. Malevolent beings lose a lot of their mystique and intensity once you start to provide a backstory, don't you think? For instance, for me, Pinhead loses something once we find out who he was. Evil is all the more effective in drama when it simply exists, without reasons for being.

Comic book reader version:Download Sleeping Beauty Pressbook

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Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)
Pressbook

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There are lots of merchandising tie-ins for Irwin Allen's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea movie: a comic book, a novel, a board game, and Frankie Avalon singing so they could sell some records. Of course the movie version doesn't have space aliens; the television series had the space aliens, and lots of other cool fantasy stuff Irwin Allen tossed in (with lots of sparkly, silvery, and colorfully goofy props and makeup) to make the TV series a must see for kids after Lost in Space became a hit. 

Comic book reader version:  Download Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Pressbook

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Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)
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The Fabulous World of Jules Verne
And Bimbo the Great
Double Bill Pressbook

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Not trusting in their own fabulous promotion for The Fabulous World of Jules Verne, I suppose they paired it with Bimbo the Great to bolster ticket sales. This double bill pressbook is almost as big as Bimbo. So, you got mystimation (a fabulous animation technique that's quite enjoyable to watch) paired with circuscope (basically European widescreen, I believe) for the single price to "excite and delight."

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The Fabulous World of Jules Verne
And Bimbo the Great
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The Fabulous World of Jules Verne (1958)
Movie Herald

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With a promo line like "the first motion picture produced in the magic-image miracle of Mystimation," The Fabulous World of Jules Verne (Vynalez Zkazy) sounds awesome, doesn't it? And you know, it is! Mystimation was an animation technique that combined the live actors with colorful animated set pieces whose style was influenced by Georges Melies and Victorian engravings. Add to that the wonderful score by Zedenek Liska and you have a treat for both eyes and ears. 

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Psycho (1960) Pressbook

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I already posted the rare The Care and Handling of Psycho companion guide that came with this 32 page pressbook, and the 4 page herald. Taken as a whole, this was an impressive promotional campaign that copied the William Castle zeal for movie promotion and took it into overdrive, tapping into Alfred Hitchcock’s cheeky macabre sense of humor to sell, sell, sell the movie. (Comic book reader version:  Download Psycho Pressbook)

Psycho Pressbook Kit Sheet

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The Care and Handling of Psycho (1960)

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The Care and Handling of Psycho was a supplement to the regular pressbook. In this guide we can see how much William Castle's impresario and huckster driven movie promotion was embraced by Alfred Hitchcock, who also had a natural and unabashed gift for playing up the terror with his dry humor and physical presence.

Comic book reader version:  Download Care and Handling of Psycho

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