A few small ad mat cuts, but otherwise all here. Blood Bath‘s poster artwork condemnable with its sadistic victimization. Tagline’s no walk in the park, either. Hostel seems mild in comparison.
Here's a wonderful pressbook for a good movie that was lost in the shuffle from classic monster to classic sci fi in the 1950s. For me, John Agar epitomized the 1950s sci-horror everyman who showed equal measures of tupperware party simplicity and cool smarts.
In the 1960s I spent hours in the basement running my film projector, playing all of my Castle Films and Republic small reel movies. Adventures of Captain Marvel was my favorite mini-movie. I had to splice the celluloid together now and then with scotch tape, but I did get a lot of use out of it. Just think, all 12 chapters condensed into a few minutes running time. Now that’s editing.
Ronald Stephenson informed me this booklet is one of several published by Jack Mathis in the late 60s or early 70s. Mathis wrote Valley of the Cliffhangers and Republic Confidential. His Valley of the Cliffhangers Supplement gave the chapter by chapter synopsis and cliffhanger photos for all 66 Republic serials.
Outrageous poster art makes this movie come alive. Mexican lobby cards use the ‘pretty face’ poster art (see page 7) instead of the skull face.
Dr. Vollin, MD surprised me when he sent along this wonderful original promotion flyer for Francisco’s Mid-Nite Spook Frolic, tucked in-between the pages of an issue of Movie Collector’s World. The issue was among a bunch he had mailed to me, so I could catch up on his many How to Collect a Monster articles. I can’t explain why spook shows are the cat’s meow for just about every monsterkid, including me, but maybe it has to do with nostalgia, simple frights that aren’t too frightful, and the creepy cool atmosphere of schlock and art delivered through movie and magic and monster antics that makes it so endearing.
“Francisco (real name unknown…and no first name of San) was one of the first from the earlier days of the ghost show craze to have huge success. He also was one of the few who continued to do his so-named “Midnight Spook Frolic” through most of the decades these live shows were the most popular–while keeping it relatively free of the gore and sexuality others started using later. He mostly played up the spiritualism aspects that legendary Houdini and Thurston did a decade or two earlier in their own similar shows. A lot of that involved the old floating table routine, mind-reading tricks and the famous cabinet where a fake séance takes place as the magician sits with his hands tied while the audience sees objects being thrown around the area. Francisco did incorporate a little horror in his shows (within reason) by using a well-known illusion of a skeleton who removes his head that then conveniently floats over the supposedly goosebumped audience. This segment used the process of black art that these shows relied on for most of the best effects.” (The History of the Midnight Spook Show, Greg Brian, Yahoo Voices)
Although Hammer’s The Hound of the Baskervilles didn’t light up the box office, Peter Cushing’s Sherlock Holmes is fun to watch. Missing in this Terence Fisher directed movie is the brooding menace of the moors and the spectral hound’s presence overshadowing the gloom. The backstory is exciting, though. This is the 11 x 17 inches United Artists’ pressbook.
Not completely sure, but since this fell out of my 4 page black and white pressbook for Laserblast, while I was curating (a fancy term that really means "making room for more stuff") my pressbook collection, I'll say–for now–that it's an insert sheet to the pressbook. Printed on high-quality glossy letter-sized paper, it shows this intense graphic on one side and movie scenes on the other. I mention the black and white pressbook because I believe there's actually a color version whose cover is this action-packed graphic. The pressbook I have is only filled with ad mats, so it, too, may be an insert to the color pressbook. Isnt' curating fun?
I miss the 1970s trashy zaniness, don't you?
Believe it or not, Hammer did do quite a few movies without Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.
Here's the British pressbook for Jack Palance's Dracula (1973), directed by Dan Curtis (a television production). Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula has more to do with Curtis' movie version than Bram Stoker's novel. Curtis explored the romantic past of Dracula and his lost love.
From Tony Rivers' collection comes this 11 x 17 inches, 1948, Jungle Woman Realart Pressbook. Tony says: "Unfortunately the previous owner put punch holes in it to keep it in a binder. Aside from the fact it was folded, it's the only defect in it. I like that they show all 8 lobby cards on the poster page even though in B&W. Still hoping someday to get the other two Ape Woman press books, either Universal originals or realart releases."
A binder!?
In this second half of the Two on a Guillotine pressbook, you will find the ad mats, publicity articles, radio spot blurbs, and this cool Dell Comics tie-in. I rotated a few ad mat pages for a better view. Keep in mind both front cover (shown in Part 1) and back cover (last page shown here) form a wraparound.