News Blog

Most people associate Hammer Horror with the films of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing in the 1950s and 1960s. But here's a much earlier example of a Hammer film. Produced in 1936, it was one of the very first productions from the fledgling studio. It was released in the U.K. as The Mystery of the Marie Celeste, based on one of the greatest unsolved maritime mysteries of all time.

Here's a very scarce 3-sheet billboard for The Wild One, the granddaddy of outlaw biker films. Brando plays the leader of the Black Rebels, and Lee Marvin heads the rival gang the Beedles. Several sources have cited this is as the inspiration for the Beatles naming their band. But I think the story is apocryphal. On several occasions Lennon and McCartney have explained the name as an homage to Buddy Holly and the Crickets; plus the Wild One was banned in England until the mid-1960s. Still, it makes for a nice story, and Marlon Brando in his Wild One character is featured prominently on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

I've always held to the belief that - as our hobby evolves - an un-restored copy of an important poster will be significantly more valuable than a nicely restored example of the same title. This has certainly proven the case in other collectible fields like baseball cards and comic books. We recently acquired an exceptionally clean (un-restored) 1-Sheet for the camp Sci-Fi classic The Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman.

Nearly all of the movie posters from West Side Story's initial campaign featured the minimalist red and black fire escape design that was used to promote the Broadway play. By contrast, this 81x81 inch 6-sheet is an explosion of color and choreography. This was one of the very first movie posters designed by famed illustrator Bob Peak, who would go on to a prolific career that included the artwork for My Fair Lady, Camelot, the Spy Who Loved Me, Apocalypse Now and half a dozen Star Trek films.

Just received the nicest surprise in today's mail. A promotional Goodfellas counterfeit $100 bill, signed by my favorite living director, thanking me for some posters he bought.