From Zombos' Closet

Outcast of the Islands (1951) Pressbook

Dramatic poster art for Outcast of the Islands drew my attention to this pressbook. Looking at it, I find it interesting how some movies played up the exotic woman (here it's Kerima) in the tropical/jungle milieu, until the 1950s, in the horror and adventure genres; one of all image, no substance. Now, of course, there were the femme fatales in noir, and the standout movie starlets, but they stood apart from the pretty-cardboard women with an air of tropical mystery and vexing perfection like Kerima, Acquanetta, and Kathleen Burke (Panther Woman in Island of Lost Souls). Noteworthy in this pressbook is the use of the "MASS audiences and CLASS audiences are flocking to see..." promotion line. I don't recall seeing another blatant (although, let's face it, an inherent presumption for any movie) spelling-out of the makeup of the audience theaters should have expected to get for Outcast.

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Great Adventures of Captain Kidd (1953) Pressbook

When I think of movie serials, Spy Smasher, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers come to mind. Swashbuckling pirates, not so much. I wouldn't mind having a club card, though.

Comic reader version: Download Great Adventures of Captain Kidd Pressbook

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Louisiana Hussy (1959) Pressbook

Yes, the only reason I like this pressbook is the Cajun beauty poster art and tagline. How can anyone pass up on "born to take love and make trouble?" Sounds like a perfectly good trashy drive-in movie to me. You can catch it on YouTube if you have some time to kill. 

Comic reader version: Download Louisiana Hussy Pressbook

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Valley of the Lawless (1936) Pressbook

This pressbook for Johnny "Mack" Brown's Valley of the Lawless is red, white, and blue all over. Brown appeared in Dell comics and on Wheaties boxes as well as making over a hundred cowboy movies.

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SOS Submarine (1948) Pressbook

SOS Submarine, the American title for the Italian movie, Men on the Sea Floor (1941), had a surprisingly interesting pressbook created for it. While only four pages, plus a one-page supplement for double-billing with Harpoon, its cover is more sophisticated in design and execution than most foreign movies pressbooks. The American-dubbed version hit theaters in 1948.

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The Sinister Urge (1960) Pressbook

An Edward D. Wood Jr. movie; need I say more? This pressbook is pretty nifty, though, for an exploitation movie with an atom-sized budget. The die-cut cover opens to reveal poster art and photos, but no synopsis and an emphasis on newspaper advertising. 

Comic reader version: Download The Sinister Urge Pressbook

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Heavy Traffic (1973) Pressbook

It's not often you see pinball used as the construct for a world view, but Ralph Bakshi liked to push the animation envelope in the 1970s. Possibly his biggest success was Heavy Traffic (which followed Fritz the Cat), but my favorite was his Lord of the Rings adaptation.

Comic reader version: Download Heavy Traffic Pressbook

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I'll Get You for This (1951) Pressbook

Here's the British pressbook for I'll Get You for This. I was never a big George Raft fan, but you can tell by the poster art how they played off his onscreen persona as a tough guy with a nasty temper. Wikipedia says that Peter Lorre was supposed to appear in the movie but his role was played by someone else. That's a shame. I'm a big fan of Peter Lorre. I'll watch Peter Lorre in anything.

Comic reader version: Download I'll Get You Pressbook

The Strawberry Roan (1948) Pressbook

Gene Autry sets his mind to tame a wild horse after it throws a boy and paralyzes him. Autry sings inbetween the taming and the Western drama. This is Pat Buttram's first movie, although he's probably more remembered for the Green Acres sitcom with Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor.

Comic reader version: Download The Strawberry Roan Pressbook

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Stolen Identity (1953) Pressbook

In this Austrian movie, a cab driver dreams of going to America and steals the identity of a murdered man. Love triangle motivations complicate things. 

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The Charge at Feather River (1953) Pressbook

This is the movie that introduced the name for the Wilhelm Scream. Used in countless movies and television shows since Distant Drums (1951), including Star Wars, and Indiana Jones, you'll recognize it immediately when you hear it. It's like that solitary wolf-baying you hear in The Munsters and countless other movies and television series, one sound effect used over and over again; though, I'm not sure if that wolf howling has a specific name attached to it. In this movie the Private Wilhelm character gets an arrow in his leg and screams (well, sound effect added, of course) the Wilhelm Scream. 

Other interesting things to note about this movie were the use of a View Master display to sell the 3D effect, and the cheesecake (and beefcake) used in promotion. The 3D color-in mat was creative, and the feather headband theater giveaway provided something for the matinee, drop the kids off at the theater, audiences.

Comic reader version: Download Charge at Feather River Pressbook

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The Big Heat (1953) Pressbook

Intense, gritty, and playing-for-keeps film noir; here's the pressbook to warm you up.

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