From Zombos' Closet

Pistol Packing Cowpoke Mexican Lobby Cards

I grew up watching Westerns, being a child of the 1960s. Of course, the space race was well kicking in at that point, so I grew up watching space operas too. The only difference between a raygun-toting astronaut or alien (you know, the bad hombre kind) and a pistol-packing cowpoke is -- not much difference. Something Gene Roddenberry (and lots of pulp writers) knew pretty well. Here's a gun-toting sampling of Mexican lobby cards from my saddlebag.

Dr. Renault's Secret (1942) Mexican Lobby Card

A tidy little horror where J. Carrol Naish plays a man who was formerly an ape. Yup, mad scientist at work again. This Mexican lobby card for El Hombre Sin Alma highlights Naish at his human-grotesque best. 

El Regreso De La Bruja Mexican Lobby Card

Sometimes a simple illustration can say a lot.

Tarzan and the She-Devil (1953) Mexican Lobby Card

I found Lex Barker a little to casual (like he grew up in Iowa casual) to play Tarzan, but any guy willing to run around the jungle in a loincloth and hang out with apes gets my respect anytime. 

Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) Mexican Lobby Card

Look, with Peter Lorre and noir intent, Stranger on the Third Floor is a gem you shouldn't miss. This Mexican lobby card covers the action and intensity nicely. Note the wisp of gunsmoke trailing from the gun. This is the first film noir. Don't miss it.

 

 

Cat People (1942) Mexican Lobby Card

This is an unusual Mexican lobby card (at least for me) for Cat People (La Marca De La Pantera). There's no border and the paper stock is thick board. Not the type of card I am familiar with. But the green color and graphic were a no-brainer for me, so I grabbed it fast. You can view the Mexican lobby card for Curse of the Cat People here.

Return of Chandu (1934) Mexican Lobby Card

I found this The Return of Chandu (Los Misterios De Chandu) Mexican lobby card on eBay. It was a steal. Surprised I didn't have more bidders to contend with. What's special is that the inset scene with Bela Lugosi is an actual photograph, so that makes this an early release card, probably original. Great graphics, colors and an action photo make this a wonderful addition to my collection. In this movie, Bela plays Chandu, while in the previous movie, Chandu the Magician, he played the villain, Roxor. 

 

The Black Scorpion (1957) Mexican Lobby Card

I always find it interesting to see lobby cards that stress a romantic angle for a horror movie. It seems so contrary to the selling point of the movie, which would be terror, scares, or jeers (depending on the quality). Of course, you don't see much romance at all today in horror cinema, but in the 1950s and 1960s it was either the monster wanted the girl or the hero wanted the girl, or the monster just wanted to eat both of them and be done with it. So on this Mexican lobby card for The Black Scorpion, we get a back-grounded monster and some military action, but a lot of romance up front. Go figure. On the plus side, the stop motion work was supervised by Willis O'Brien and Richard Denning is the hero. I like Richard Denning. 

The Mummy (1959) Mexican Lobby Card

A lively Peter Cushing, a love-cursed Christopher Lee, and Terrence Fisher's direction, make Hammer's The Mummy a colorful horror movie. Cushing related his concern regarding how the highly imaginative poster art, where the mummy has that gaping hole in its chest with the light streaming through, wasn't actually in the movie. He made sure to add a bit of business to at least imply the nasty wound (shown in the inset scene in the first lobby card). 

The Abominable Snowman (1957) Mexican Lobby Card

A good, lightweight, Hammer horror movie with social commentary undertones, with similarities to the plot line in The Creature from the Black Lagoon. The revelations that ensue show humankind's weaknesses compared to the Yetis strengths, showing the true monsters of the movie. 

The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959) Mexican Lobby Card

An overly talky movie, yet still has its charms; especially with the monster hanging around the lighthouse for food scraps. In-between the gabfests, the unexpected gore (monster holding severed head, crab crawling over severed head) must have jolted kids in their theater seats, making it a must see movie for them. I saw it on local television in the 1960s and was nicely scared, thank you very much. The creature suit was fashioned by Universal veterans involved with the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Teenage Zombies (1959) Mexican Lobby Card

The usual mad scientist on lonely island performs experiments they shouldn't kind of movie. Only done very very badly. You can watch this one on YouTube. Lucky you. There's something about this Mexican lobby card, though, that's kind of cool and very spook show stylish.