A shocking number of my favorite classic films are represented in our upcoming Movie Posters Signature Auction. My tastes run toward sci-fi, horror, and fantasy, and those films tend to have the most collectible posters, so my list of favorites from the sale is heavily slanted toward those genres. However, one of my picks does stand far apart from the pack—you’ll see what I mean.
Without further ado, here are 10 movies I absolutely adore (listed chronologically), with links to their accompanying posters that you can bid on now:
1. The Invisible Man (Universal, 1933). Fine+. Lobby Card (11″ X 14″)
The first Universal monster movie I ever saw was The Invisible Man when I was around seven or eight years old. We were staying with my aunt out in the sticks in southern Arkansas. I was sleeping on the living room couch, and as per usual when we traveled, I had insomnia, so I quietly turned on the television at approximately 2:00 a.m. and discovered a spooky black-and-white film with a sinister edge. I was terrified. When Claude Rains removed the bandages while laughing maniacally to reveal that he was invisible, I hid behind the couch and peeked around it to keep watching, unable to take my eyes off the screen. I was scared but absolutely thrilled. The lobby card we’re offering takes a creative approach to depict the title character’s invisibility.
2. Gone with the Wind (MGM, 1940). Fine+ on Linen. One Sheet (27″ X 41″) Style CP, Armando Seguso Artwork
Released in 1939, one of the greatest years ever for movies, Gone with the Wind began airing on television during the late 1970s. Any time it was on, my mom and I would go to the back bedroom to watch because my dad was typically watching something in the living room and had no interest in the film. He was more into cop shows and sports. I have extremely fond memories of watching “our” movie, and I’ve rewatched it several times in recent years. While the film definitely glosses over the racial problems (to put it mildly) of the antebellum South, it holds up remarkably well as a piece of pure entertainment. It’s colorful, epic, dramatic, lavish, well-acted (Scarlet O’Hara portrayed by Vivien Leigh is one of my favorite fictional characters), and more. The one-sheet offered is from a limited engagement re-release of the movie from 1940.
3. The Wolf Man (Realart, R-1948). Fine/Very Fine on Paper. Half Sheet (22″ X 28″)
The son of you-know-who, Lon Chaney Jr. had two defining roles: Lennie Small in Of Mice and Men and Larry Talbot, aka The Wolf Man, in the 1941 Universal classic. He’s sympathetic (and “pure in heart”) in both films, despite the fact that he was a bit of a peeping Tom as Larry and a feral killer as the lycanthropic beast. His object of affection in The Wolf Man is Gwen Conliffe, played by the beautiful Evelyn Ankers, my favorite actress of the era. While Ms. Ankers reportedly didn’t care for Chaney on the set, they had terrific chemistry onscreen, and they struck great poses for various publicity photos and movie posters, including the half-sheet offered, which is from the 1948 Realart re-issue of the film.
4. This Island Earth (Universal International, 1955). Folded, Fine/Very Fine. Half Sheet (22″ X 28″) Style B, Reynold Brown Artwork
MGM’s Forbidden Planet is often thought of as the first lavishly produced, critically acclaimed, full-color science fiction film of the 1950s, but Universal-International’s This Island Earth beat Robby the Robot to the punch by almost a year. Sure, some of the dialogue is dated, but the movie is still fun and at times gripping, and the special effects are literally and figurately out of this world and still hold up today. Starring the excellent trio of Jeff Morrow, Faith Domergue, and Rex Reason, it was basically the Star Wars of its time. While I refused to watch Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996), the edited and lampooned cut of the film, it’s easy to see why the producers used This Island Earth as their big-screen adaptation of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 television show. As I mentioned, it simply looks fantastic, as does the half-sheet we’re offering.
5. Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (Columbia, 1956). Very Fine+ on Linen. Six Sheet (79.5″ X 80.5″)
“People of Earth, attention… People of Earth, attention. This is a voice speaking to you from thousands of miles beyond your planet.” Originally released on a double bill with The Werewolf, a film that is largely forgotten today, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers remains a cultural touchstone, thanks in large part to the ominous aliens and the brilliant stop-motion effects by Ray Harryhausen. Hugh Marlowe and Joan Taylor are likable enough as the leads, but the flying saucers have more personality, particularly the indelible imagery of them crashing into monuments and government buildings near the end of the movie. CGI in today’s films simply can’t capture the magic of these amazing scenes.
6. Forbidden Planet (MGM, 1956). Very Fine- on Linen. One Sheet (27″ X 41″)
I first saw Forbidden Planet when I was 16 years old. I went over to my friend’s apartment one Saturday afternoon, but he wasn’t home. His sci-fi-loving dad was chilling out in the back room, curtains drawn, watching this cool-looking and sounding movie that I had only vaguely heard of. He invited me to take part, and I spent the next hour and a half absolutely mesmerized by what I saw. The gorgeous Anne Francis modeling a bejeweled dress made by the incredible Robby the Robot. The stalwart, pre-comic Leslie Nielson commanding the crew of the impressive United Planets starship C-57D. The brilliant Walter Pigeon showing off the immense 20-miles-square underground machine powered by “9,200 thermonuclear reactors.” The Disney-animated id monster attacking our heroes in the formidable Krell lab. And on and on, all backed by an entirely electronic score. It immediately became my favorite film of all time. Forbidden Planet also inspired my all-time favorite movie poster.
7. Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (Allied Artists, 1958). Fine- on Linen. Three Sheet (41″ X 80.5″). Reynold Brown Artwork
There are some movies that are so bad they’re good. Planet 9 From Outer Space (1959) immediately comes to mind, as does Robot Monster (1953). Both films are entertaining in part because they are so inept. With its laughable (if endearing) special effects (the giant hand in the room is priceless) and absurd premise, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman sometimes gets lumped into this category, but I actually think it’s legitimately a fine movie with compelling performances by William Hudson, Yvette Vickers, and especially Allison Hayes as the title character. I still have a reproduction poster from the film in my office that I bought at a now-defunct (of course) video rental store nearly three decades ago. My mom recently told me she and my dad saw the movie at the drive-in on their honeymoon the year it was released—I’ve never been prouder to be their son!
8. The Time Machine (MGM, 1960). Folded, Fine/Very Fine. One Sheet (27″ X 41″) Reynold Brown Artwork
When anyone asks me what my favorite film of all time is, I say Forbidden Planet, followed by The Time Machine (and Annie Hall, but that’s a story for another day). Released in 1960, which in my mind basically lumps it in with the sci-fi boom of the 1950s, The Time Machine is of course based on H.G. Wells’ brilliant 1895 novel, which I’ve read three times. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched the movie as it simply never gets old. The special effects showing the passage of time hold up well, the script is literate and remains relevant, and leads Rod Taylor, Alan Young, and Yvette Mimieux are extremely likable. The novel has a much different ending, with giant crab monsters on a beach, but I have no problem with how the film ends as this scene would have likely come across as something from a lesser production (such as 1957’s Attack of the Crab Monsters). One caveat: avoid the 2002 remake.
9. One Million Years B.C. (20th Century Fox, 1966). Very Fine- on Linen. Autographed One Sheet (27″ X 41″) Jack Thurston Artwork
Back in the 1980s, when my friends and I would go to the Dallas Fantasy Fair, one of the biggest comic-cons of the era, we would sometimes stay all weekend without renting a room. We’d either sleep in the car or hang out all night in the movie room. They would screen films on VHS around the clock, including certain cult favorites that were unavailable commercially at the time. One such picture was One Million Years B.C., which I made a point to watch since I had never seen it before. It’s a fun caveman/dinosaur film with cool special effects by the late Ray Harryhausen (whose signature is on the poster offered), but the chief attraction (in more ways than one) is the presence of Rachel Welch in her iconic fur bikini. She’s simply breathtaking.
10. Planet of the Apes (20th Century Fox, 1968). Rolled, Very Fine-. British Quad (30″ X 40″)
My wife travels to Austin several weekends each fall because she has season tickets to The University of Texas home football games. She’s a huge Longhorns fan, and I support her hobby, in part because it gives me a chance to have movie marathons with my friends. Back in the ’90s, our first such marathon we dubbed Ape Fest, featuring all five original Planet of the Apes films. While the other four are a significant downturn in quality from the original, I enjoy all of them for what they are. The original is a top-notch, literary, sci-fi classic (with a screenplay co-written by Rod Serling), touching on such topics as evolution, religion, speciesism, authoritarianism, space and time travel, and more, and it has one of the greatest and most surprising endings in cinematic history. It’s also simply a great adventure film. The British quad poster we’re offering is one of my favorite images related to the movie, with four of the primary characters beautifully rendered. There’s definitely monkey business going on here, but that’s a good thing in this case.