A few years ago while at a bookstore, I stumbled across a book called Horror Movie Posters (this is where I got the clever title of this post from). It was originally marked at $20, but I found it in the clearance section for only $1. $20 was an absolutely ridiculous price for such a book that struggles to make it past 80 pages, so I can see why I found it on clearance in the last few years when the book was published in 1998!
Anyway, it’s still a pretty cool look back at title cards and posters from some classic and not-so-classic horror movies. There are 306 posters/title cards in all with the very first being 1914′s Vendetta and the last being 1998′s Mighty Joe Young (!!!). Throughout the month it is my plan to share some of this great poster work with you.
Frankenstein (1931) six-sheet
Why not kick things off with one of the greatest horror tales of all time? Really gorgeous, gothic artwork here. The pale yellow skin is an interesting choice. I’ve seen it used for the Frakenstein Monster character before and I kinda dig it. It certainly makes more sense that a bunch of random & deceased body parts would turn pale yellow rather than bright green!
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) pressbook
This is actually from a pressbook used to hype the movie but very cool nonetheless as it shows off a number of posters used to promote the film. I really like the bottom center poster, with the Monster in chains and the use of red. Looks really evil. I’d love to see a fuller version of that one!
The Black Cat (1934) title card
Pretty fun movie features two horror legends. I watched it for the first time last year. Here’s my review.
King Kong (1933) German poster
I haven’t seen King Kong since probably the early ’90s and I have to admit, I was really more interested in seeing Kong in action than the movie as a whole. My elementary school library had a series of books based on horror franchises (they were hardcover books with B&W pics and an orange border as their cover) that I used to check out all the time and they had one on Kong. Maybe I should give this movie another spin this month.
The Raven (1935) lobby card
As you can see, this movie stars KARLOFF and Bela (Dracula) Lugosi. The Raven is another very good Boris & Bela collaboration that I hadn’t seen until last October. Here’s the review.
