Pressbooks (Horror, Sci Fi, Fantasy)
Movie Herald:
The Abominable Snowman (1957)
This tabloid-sized, 4-page, herald for The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas, is quite an ambitious promotion gimmick.
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Pressbook: Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966)
Originally titled Pajama Party in a Haunted House, this last of the beach party pictures from AIP (although there's no beach, just a pool), left AIP unhappy after wrap-up, so Boris Karloff and Susan Hart were called in to film scenes that would be added into the movie (Wikipedia). Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon didn't make it into this one, although they appear in the other six beach movies.
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Movie Theater Giveaway for
The Brotherhood of Satan
Seller seacheese has been putting these up for auction on eBay. I love the "Do Not Eat" in small print on the package. This theater giveaway for The Brotherhood of Satan has a great graphic on the front of the package. I imagine it would be cool to do this again, along with a midnight showing for the movie, but fill the package with Pop Rocks candy (or maybe even Red Hots) instead of Fright Seeds.
Pressbook: Horror of the Zombies (1974)
So I'm thinking if you're not young and beautiful, you're safe, right? By the 1970s, pressbooks were becoming cut-up and paste efforsts (worst efforts, clever huh) with lurid colors and few pages. This one is a double-sided sheet. That's it. Two beautiful girls stumble onto a ghost ship filled with flesh-eating ghouls. They (the girls) insist on checking it out so they can be devoured as they (the ghouls) check them out. Rescuers arrive for more snacks. And the illustration makes it look like she's fighting little people dead men with rope. In a bikini. Midnight show anyone? And yes, it's those Knights Templars back for more. This is the third installment, El Buque Maldito, in the Blind Dead series. It does have its atmosphere and creep factor, though, so midnight show, anyone?
Pressbook: Raiders of the Living Dead (1986)
Remember this one? If not, you're lucky. Who knew laserdisc players were so darn useful for killing zombies AND playing movies?
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Double Bill Pressbook:
Viking Women and the Sea Serpent
and The Astounding She Monster
Thanks to Tony Rivers and his taste in classy, ahem, movies, we have this double bill pressbook for Viking Women and the Sea Serpent and The Astounding She Monster. The pressbook is the folder design with insert sheets, which makes a wonderful presentation for distributors. Usually, this pressbook winds up being cut up and in terrible shape (maybe those movies were pretty popular!?) when it comes up for auction, but thanks to Tony and his pressbook collection (yeah, Zombos is jealous), we've got a great bunch of scans to share with fellow lovers of feminine pulchritude and pugilistic prowess.
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Double Bill Pressbook:
Viking Women and the Sea Serpent
and The Astounding She MonsterRead More »
Pressbook: The Abominable Dr. Phibes
I'll never forget seeing this one, with my mom, at the Benson Theater (86th Street, Brooklyn). It was a hot summer evening, the air-conditioning was busted, and they kept the doors open to the street in a futile attempt to cool the theater. I pity the poor bastard running the projector that night. Every so often the elevated train would rumble past. We didn't care. We loved the movie. One of Vincent Price's best. Here's the pressbook.
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Pressbook: Beyond the Time Barrier (1960)
One of my favorites. The kicker ending was quite a shock to my young mind in the 1960s. Jack Pierce did the mutant makeup and Edgar G. Ulmer directed. Budget movie, but the storyline is still very interesting. Here’s the pressbook.
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Mutiny in Outer Space (1965) Pressbook
Annoying fungi wreak havoc in outer space. Of course, the heroine on the cover of this pressbook seems to be enjoying the terror a little too much. Whoever did the poster art must have thought this was a musical. And remember, glamour is still important in outer space. Paul over at It Came From Hollywood had this to say: Mutiny in Outer Space has more AKAs than a law firm specializing in car wrecks! Space Station X, Space Station X-14, Invasion From the Moon, Invasion to the Moon, etc. A rose by any other name, as they say. This is a classic Woolner Brothers sci-fi romp set in the far distant year of 1990! Remember 1990? When we were mining the Moon for precious rocks and stuff? Nah, neither do I. However, thirty-five years further into the film’s future, in the far distant year of 2025, America is set to go back to the Moon, set up a base, and mine precious rocks and other stuff. Perhaps NASA should screen Mutiny in Outer Space for their astronauts so they can be on the lookout for Moon fungus located in lunar ice caves!
This pressbook was cheaply produced, but the movie is actually not all that bad. Aside from the pressbook typo “Can he survive this strange Moon macady?” (I’m thinking they mean malady), this movie’s got some action and suspense. The budget effects (and I mean your local store kind of effects) hold it back, but it did receive praise for the direction and camera work. What makes it stand out for a 1960’s space opera, today, is that a lot of women wound up in the cast, both onboard the space station and on the ground.
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Pressbook: Face of Terror (1962)
Short and simple pressbook for Face of Terror, but neatly designed: it’s one sheet with the ends folded toward the center to create left and right flaps that open to reveal the face of terror!
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