From Zombos' Closet

Jungle Man-Eaters (1954) Mexican Lobby Card

Jungle Jim in Jungle Man-Eaters (1954): stunning lobby card, with striking black and yellow colors and the thrilling scene-cartoons on the right balanced by the larger action illustrations on the left. 

Mexican Lobby Card: Jungle Jim in Jungle Man-Eaters

More apes and brawny natives to imperil our hero, Jungle Jim, in Jungle Man-Eaters (1954).

Mexican Lobby Card: Racket Busters

Racket Busters (1938) with Humphrey Bogart.

Mexican Lobby Card: El Zorro De Jalisco

Mexican Lobby Card: Baru, El Hombre De La Selva

Do you also think of Gilligan's Island while looking at this lobby card? Note where the ape's eyes are looking. Of course. She looks like Ginger, right?

Mexican Lobby Card: Santo Y Blue Demon Contra Los Monstruos

Mexican Lobby Card: The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues

The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1955).

Christopher Lee as Dracula

Mexican Lobby Card: Borneo, La Bestia De Satan

Movie Scene: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

A wonderfully evocative scene showcasing Bela Lugosi and Glenn Strange in their iconic horror roles. Lugosi was perfect at playing the timing and the mechanics of both straight and funny horror roles, and his Dracula persona here is an excellent example of his ability to lighten up or go darker as needed for the role (any role) he was given.

Mexican Lobby Card: Special Mission Lady Chaplin

I suppose I should explain this one for Special Mission Lady Chaplin (1966), but really, do I need to? It's colorful, suggestive (okay, very suggestive), and sells the promise of brute-force action and quick romance quite well, along with its promising long-barreled guns and large, lively submarines. It showcases more cold war intrigue, which comes after Daniela Bianchi's 1963 appearance in From Russia With Love. 

 

Mexican Lobby Card: Topper Returns

The Mexican lobby card for Topper Returns (1941). Simple, direct, and conveys the ghostly, but humorous, storyline well enough. The four movie scenes are printed on a separate card that's pasted onto the lobby. You see this done more often in the 1940s and earlier lobbies, but of course it was done for the smaller Azteca lobbies (although Aztecas were printed in the United States) much later, too.