Poster for “The Crimson Skull” a 1922 Western filmed on location in Boley, Oklahoma with an all black cast.
The major studios had a staff of artists who designed posters and lobby cards. These talented men and women toiled in relative obscurity, but the sophistication of their graphic designs are simply jaw dropping. Major films usually had several versions of posters that went out to theaters.
Here's a poster for “Wings” (1927) that emphasizes the romance between Clara Bow and Charles “Buddy” Rogers.
And here's another poster for “Wings” that underlines the spectacular aerial combat scenes.
Cecil B. De Mille productions were famous for their lavish sets and costumes. This poster for “Saturday Night” (1922) stars Leatrice Joy and Conrad Nagel but their names are not on the poster. Instead, Jeanie MacPherson, the screenwriter, gets prominent placement. The illustration teases us with a strange but compelling graphic.
Poster for the English language version of the French film “La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc” (1928). Notice the brilliant manner in which the word “of” is transformed into a Christian symbol. This is one of the greatest films ever made.
Channeling Aubrey Beardsley, this poster for “Salome” (1923) is one of the finest graphics ever produced for a Hollywood film. The film is just as stylized and bombed at the box office. The star and creative force behind the film was Alla Nazimova, considered one of the most exotic movie stars of the silent period. Her real name was Miriam Leventon, a poor Jewish girl from the Russian Crimea.
This is not just shameless self-promotion but a lesson in what's wrong with current movie posters. "Body Double” (1984) was my first movie credit. The peeping tom graphic is powerful and entirely appropriate. The problem is the massive block of credits at the bottom. Union contracts mandate font size and placement. And yes, I'm proud to have my name on posters. But currently credits take up as much as a third of every poster which greatly limits creativity.
Ariel Chaim Avrech, ZT'L, May His Righteous Memory be a Blessing.
19 Comments
Certain forms of commercial art peak suddenly then disappear. The ‘Salome’ poster is sensational!
As usual, I compare this to rock and roll, where poster art hit a glorious peak in the late 1960s (check the Fillmore collections, they were doing one of these every week for a show at an old ballroom) and nothing since then has done much other than re-interpret the original greats.
Nothing is new, only forgotten.
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Earl:
I remember some of those Fillmore posters. I have to admit that after a while they all looked alike with their psychadelic impossible-to-read fonts. But they were certainly eyecatching.
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Dear Robert and all the religious Jews on this website: Happy Shavuout.
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Miranda:
Chag sameach. Enjoy that cheesecake.
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You tube has clips from the Salome 1923 film. In fact this might be the whole film
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HtT6u5cmoPQ
There r shorter clips of her last dance as well
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susruta:
Thanks for the link.
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Man – I toil trying to get a program done and we are 2 posts ahead!
I would think that no matter how artful the poster, mandating having a third devoted to credits – and font size – would ruin any chance of it being considered artful.
Which is probably why most modern posters come and go without being in the public’s conscientiousness.
Is it just me or is Hollywood devoting the vast majority of its resources in making mega expensive block busters? Roll the dice – maybe you will have the next Titanic or maybe you will go bankrupt.
It would be easy to say “they don’t make them like they used to” – but I think they are – but by smaller, foreign, and independent studios.
I saw “My Week With Marilyn” and based on what I have learned from Prof Avrech – thought it was spot on.
It is a movie people may be talking about – and wanting to see – 20-50 years from now.
But will they still be talking about Spiderman 3?
The latest Titanic will probably still be there.
Before you think I believe all the old ones were good I think they made a lot of junk – but they made so many that some have stood the test of time.
At least that is my opinion.
I wonder if a Preston Sturges could even find work today.
Maybe with the aforementioned sources?
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Bill:
The demographics for feature movies are brutal: 16-22 yrs. old. Within that narrow range the studios, inevitably, are going to concentrate on action blockbusters that can be spun into amusement park rides and a host of other products.
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Unions – is there anything they can’t mess up?
The only movie that ever scared my daughter was The Exorcist so I got the poster for her birthday one year. For such a scary movie, the poster has no gore or blood, just a haunting image of what is in store for the movie goer.
When they made the posters, how far along were the productions? I guess they could do a poster from a script but gee, it’s not like scripts aren’t changed during production. A book being made into a movie should be easy but what about original scripts or movies that change things from a book.
I thought the same thing when I saw the original Alfie. The lyrics by Hal David were perfect for the movie and I assume he had the stage play and novel to work with. But what if they had toned down the character the way they did when they made PAl Joey into a movie?
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Johnny:
I have no idea when the posters are drafted and finalized. They just… appear and then just as quickly disappear.
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Finally I understand why modern film posters and the backs of DVD cases have that absurdly narrow font, so tall and thin it’s illegible. Union contracts specifying minimum height. Explains everything.
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My work here is done:-)
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I must check out “Body Double” sometime. I always think to myself “Oh, I’ve seen it already”… then I realize..no! It was actually “Dressed to Kill” that I saw. (And I’ve been freaked out by apartment building stairwells ever since!)
My favorite De Palma movie so far is “Obsession”
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Franny:
Brace yourself, “Body Double” is kind of… intense.
Karen and I went to a screening of “Obession” when we were dating and we both loved it. Little did I know that soon I’d be working with Brian.
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Obsession really stands up to repeat screenings.I was particularly impressed with Lithgow.
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Yes, that’s the first time I ever saw Lithgow at work. Memorable performance.
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Robert: Found Body Double equally compelling, but didn’t care for Craig Wasson…? A few years later he did Ghost Story, and I can honestly say, I liked Alice Krige, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and the idea of the thing. An almost. Probably needed DePalma and Averch.
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Barry:
Oy vey.
Brian and I seriously disagreed about Wasson. I was dead set against. No charisma, no star power, a big zero. Brian said Wasson reminded him of Jimmy Stewart. I was like: Huh? He never forgave me for being right. OTOH, Brian hired Melanie, who was just out of rehab, and her career soared. I was all for Melanie and used her again a few years later in “Stranger Among Us.”
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Really great stuff Robert. Thanks for sharing. And, I think Jimmy Stewart had charisma and star power. To spare.
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