100 Horror Film Posters

By Allan Maurer

Now here’s a treat. Andrew Lindstrom’s blog “Well Medicated” displays 100 horror film posters.

My favorites include “Tarantula,” “Planet of the Vampires,” “Day of the Dead,” “Nosferatu,” the rare “Dracula” poster, “Robinson Crusoe on Mars,” and the unusual “Invaders From Mars” poster. The 1950s original version of “Invaders From Mars” was consciously designed to reflect a child’s nightmare vision of the world. Sure did work on me. I had nightmares for months after seeing it, despite the clearly visible zippers on the costumes the Martians wore.

Lindstrom includes lots of other posters, classic and modern.

This is an unusual collection, not the run-of-the-mill posters usually seen from any of the films he includes. You’ll surely have your own favorites.

Go take a look, but don’t droll on your keyboard…

Curse of the B Horror Movie

By Allan Maurer

Back in the 1942, RKO studios gave producer Val Lewton a piddling $150,000 and a title, “The Cat People.” Lewton made up for the lack of a decent special effects budget by keeping all the suspense scenes wrapped in shadows.

“The Cat People” is famous for its creepy swimming pool scene, which stills sends shivers up my spine with its creative use of sound and suggestion. The film also introduced what would later be called “The Bus,” in which a woman who believes she is being followed by… something, is startled by the air brakes of a bus stopping at a corner. Even when you know it’s coming, if you watch it in the dark, you’ll jump.

Many horror film directors still use a version of “The Bus” today, making us jump at loud sounds that are red herrings.

Lewton would make nine more films for RKO, including “Curse of the Cat People,” which was really a sweet story about a little girl with an imaginary friend and not a horror story at all, and three films that gave Boris Karloff two of the best roles of his career in “Bedlam,” and “Body Snatcher,” which also starred Bela Lugosi.

The poster from “Curse of the Cat People” is often used as an example of how misleading film art can be regarding the actual content of a film.

Lewton’s other films included “The Ghost Ship,” “Isle of the Dead,” “The Seventh Victim,” “The Leopard Man,” and “I Walked With a Zombie,” all notable for their ability to conjure fear from shadows and sound and nearly nonexistent budgets.

Lewton hired directors who would later achieve fame and acclaim, including Jacques Tourneur, Mark Robson, and Robert Wise.

Always appreciated by critics such as James Agee, novelist, film critic and author of the script for John Huston’s “The African Queen,” Lewton was the topic of a recent new documentary narrated by Martin Scorsese, shown repeatedly on Turner Movie Channel and available as an extra in the Val Lewton DVD set.

Posters from the Lewton films took another leap in value the last few years, partly as a result of increased attention, but also just due to growing appreciation for how well these spooky films hold up today.

Many 1-sheets, half-sheets, and lobby cards from Lewton’s films sell for several hundred dollars each, and I noticed prices on the rise this year.

An insert from “The Cat People” sold for $1,250 in 2004 and a 1-sheet sold for $675 as far back as 1997. It’s still possible to pick up some less desirable (image-wise) lobby cards for under $50.

One-sheets from “Body Snatcher,” starring Karloff and Lugosi, sold for $1,200 to $1,500 this year. Almost anything with either Karloff or Lugosi generally brings higher prices for any type of movie paper, including original stills.

Universal Horror: The Wolf Man

By Allan Maurer

The “Wolf Man,” stars Lon Chaney, Jr. as doomed Larry Talbot, who, bitten by a werewolf, turns into a beast every full moon and kills. Chaney portrayed the tortured Talbot not only in the 1941 film that introduced the character, but also in the Frankenstein series, including “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man,” “House of Frankenstein,” “House of Dracula,” and finally, “Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein.”

My favorite of all these sequels is “House of Frankenstein,” which starred Karloff as a mad scientist rather than the monster (who is played by Glenn Strange), the Wolf Man, played by Lon Chaney, Jr., a hunchback (J. Carrol Nash), and Dracula (John Carradine).

Touches of poetry run through the script, including this bit of verse about the Wolf Man: “Even a man who is pure at heart and says his prayers at night, can become a wolf, when the wolf bane blooms and the moon is full and bright.”

A set of lobby cards from “The Wolf Man,” sold for from $80 to $2,300 each (the later for a title card) in 2004. A set of eight went for $3,450 back in 1997. An insert sold for $3,000 in 2004. Prices have not gone down since then.

A single still from “House of Frankenstein” sold for $168 this year (2008), while a title card (lobby card) went for $4,000 four years ago, and an insert for more than $6,000 the same year.

It’s not unusual to discover movie poster collectibles in unlikely locations. This time, the Phantom was hanging out in a sub shop.

Movie paper from Chaney’s films is rare and highly prized, regardless of type. The linen-backed six-sheet shown above from the original silent “Phantom of the Opera,” (1925) starring the legendary Lon Chaney, Sr. hung on the wall of an Italian restaurant, “The Classic Sub Shop,” in Philadelphia, PA, from 1963 to 1974. A Christie’s auction catalog from 1995 offered it for sale at $60,000 to $80,000. It sold at $57, 500.

Why the poster was valuable

Why was it so valuable? For one thing, it is the only known copy of the poster. A six-sheet is 81 inches by 81 inches. Linen-backing generally increases the value of movie posters, helping to preserve them and making them easier to frame properly. It is itself an expensive process and an exception to the general rule that collector’s want unrestored items.

Meanwhile, a one-sheet from Chaney’s “Phantom” in fine condition sold for $24,000 plus in 1993. A single still from the film sold for $290 in 2007.

Although Chaney is best remembered for his handful of horror films, he turned in numerous performances as a character actor in a variety of genres, including a role as a tough Marine drill sergeant and several turns as a gangster.

Chaney collectibles becoming more valuable

The Turner Classic Movie Channel has gone a long way to restoring recognition to this master of make-up known as “The Man of A Thousand Faces,” with its retrospective showing of his films and a documentary about him. Chaney’s work as a makeup artist led to him writing the article about it for the 11th Edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica.

James Cagney starred in a biopic (a movie biography) about Chaney (”A Man of A Thousand Faces”) that took great liberties with his story. The poster, which of course sells for much less than originals from Lon’s films, includes sketches of Cagney re-enacting Lon’s most famous parts, such as the “Phantom” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”