Horror Movie Poster
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| horror movie poster |
An
original 1932 cinema poster for The
Mummy
starring Boris Karloff realised an incredible $453,000 (£252,000) at
Sotheby's, New York, in 1997.
This
remains the record figure paid for a movie poster, and other classics
from the era are not far behind in the desirability stakes.
The first
really successful horror movie was Dracula
(1931), Universal Studios' adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic Gothic
novel, starring Bela Lugosi.
The
Hungarian star of the 1920s'
Dracula
stage version became a movie legend overnight. Surprisingly,
Lugosi turned down the opportunity to star in
Frankenstein
(also 1931), allowing British-born Boris Karloff to make the role of
Dr Frankenstein's monster his own. Karloff went on to become perhaps
the best known horror actor of all time, his appearance in
The Mummy (1932)
being another iconic performance.
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| horror movie poster |
The star
in the last of the 'Big Four' films was not human at all, but a
giant,
animated
gorilla.
King Kong
(1933) remains the ultimate monster movie. It also provided another
movie icon in the shape of heroine Anne Darrow, played by Fay Wray,
who died recently at the age of 96.
Original
movie posters for these films are incredibly rare. Auction houses
have witnessed frantic bidding when such items do turn up; a
Frankenstein poster
sold for £110,000, Dracula
for £49,000 and King
Kong
for £28,000.
Many
associated items are more affordable than the original posters,
however. Posters advertising film re-releases, often with new
artwork, are more common and hence less valuable: a 1951 poster for
Frankenstein would be worth around a tenth of a 1931 original.
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| horror movie poster |
Autograph
fans will also want the signatures of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi.
Lugosi's is particularly rare, as he was notoriously reluctant to
sign and apparently often got his wife to copy his signature.
As
a result a genuine signature is worth around
£1,000, while signed pictures can fetch £1,500 to £3,000. Karloff
autographs are easier to come by: signatures sell for £400 to £500
and signed pictures go for £800 to £1,200.
Horror movie poster New monsters
Karloff
and Lugosi were joined by other anti-heroes in the 1940s.
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| horror movie poster |
Collectors
are also keen on the British take on horror, produced by Hammer
studios in the 1950s-60s, which included colour remakes of
Frankenstein, Dracula and The Mummy.
Original
posters for these films, many of which starred Peter Cushing and
Christopher Lee, can sell for £200-£500.
Horror
films have continued to delight and frighten in equal measures, but
there is still a fascination with the classic monster movies,
reflected in the astronomical prices which original artefacts can
fetch at auction.
WHERE
TO BUY
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| horror movie poster |
- Cineart Gallery,
tel:
020 7384 0728, www.cineartgallery.com
Original
cinema posters
- Movie Market,
tel:
01935 811001, www.moviemarket.co.uk Original
and reproduction posters
- Quadbod
tel:
0121 778 1714, www.quadbod.co.uk
Vintage
film posters
- The Reel Poster Gallery, 72 Westbourne Grove, London W2, tel: 020 7727 4488, www. reel -poster, com Original movie posters
WHAT
TO READ
- Dear Boris: The Life of William Henry Pratt a.k.a. Boris Karloff by Cynthia Lindsay.
Published
by Limelight Editions, £17.50, ISBN 0879101067
- Hollywood Horror:
From
Gothic To Cosmic by Mark A. Vieira.
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| horror movie poster |
Published
by Harry N. Abrams, £29.95, ISBN 0810945355
- Horror Poster Art
by
Tony Nourmand and Graham Marsh. Published by Aurum Press, £18.99,
ISBN 1-84513-010-3
The
Horror Film Reader
edited
by Mark Jancovich. Published by Routledge, imprint of Taylor &
Francis Books, £15.99, ISBN 0415235626
- The Immortal Count:
The
Life and Films of Bela Lugosi
by
Arthur Lennig. Published by University Press of Kentucky, £28.50,
ISBN 0813122732
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