31 Days of Halloween - Poster of the Day - Halloween (1978)

Halloween is a classic film for numerous reasons, not the least of which are some of its iconic images. Who can forget the the white mask of Mike Meyers slowly emerging from the shadows behind Jamie Lee Curtis at the finale? Or the high school student pinned to a wall by a knife, as Meyers stands there staring into his dying eyes?

How did posters of the day capture this imagery? The original poster (at right) is straight forward: creepy pumpkin face, giant butcher knife. Although pumpkins do show up in many scenes in the movie, Mike is not wearing a pumpkin mask.

For a more...umm...imaginative take on the film, we have this poster (at left) from Japan. Let's take a close look shall we?

At first glance, it is creepy. Mostly black, broken by an energetic blue-white bolt of lightening, with some poor disembodied head screaming, all centered around the dark figure of Mike Meyers. There's just a little splash of color, the deep red of fresh blood. Making the knife the focal point of the poster is a great idea, as it tells you what you need to know about the film. Then, your gaze travels up to see the face of Mike Meyers. And you start to giggle. Sigh.

The mask used in the film, as is well known, started life as a Bill Shatner mask (no Bill Shatners were harmed in the making of the movie...or poster) that was modified and painted white. And it is disturbing. It is so de-natured, so weird, it looks more like a shamanistic mask from some primitive tribal rite than the representation of the greatest Canadian to have ever lived.

In this poster, he looks like a deranged Disney character. Anime eyes and a silly, smirk do not make for a frightening visage. Although the poster has a lot going for it, the interpretation of the face is not one of those things.

Anyway, overall a good poster; But changing the face from the iconic, inhuman look from the film to this oddly humorous image was a bad idea.

Well, it is still a great movie.

Poster Of The Day - The Single Girls (1974)

Now this is a great poster. Who does not want to see a movie where the girls are "half clad - all bad?" The poster sets up what looks a Seventies sexploitation drama or comedy. The title is reminiscent of films like The Student Nurses, The Student Teachers and The Swinging Cheerleaders. It promises uninhibited hotties taking long, sensuous showers...or is that just me? We have a trio of scantily clad hotties, front and center. There's also cheeky tag line ("If they couldn't get him easy...they got him hard.") and the promise of an exotic location (lamp trees, light house). On closer inspection, there is one oddity - the ax heading for the couple in the mid-left. Huh.

Well, that actually is a hint at what the film really is; a hybrid between a sexploitation/stalker movie. It's all pretty tame - not enough nudity or blood to be very interesting - but the film does have Claudia Jennings, who is one of my favorite B-movie starlets of the Seventies. This also gives me an excuse to post a photo of Jennings, which I will do at any and every opportunity.

While the film itself isn't great, the poster is pretty good. It's not exactly accurate, since it promises a conventional tits and ass flick of the kind that populated that drive-in screens of that decade, not the tepid giallo-esque film actually made. One item of note: the writers/directors/producers - Ferd and Beverly Sebastian - are a husband and wife team that made some pretty entertaining films in their time, including the amazing Claudia Jennings vehicle 'Gator Bait. And, you know something, being able to make films with your spouse...that's pretty cool.

As promised, Claudia Jennings, Seventies babe extraordinaire.

Poster Of the Day - The Bees (1978)

This is a bad movie. Is it fun bad or boring bad? I would say the latter; but, then again, I put the Irwin Allen film The Swarm (which The Bees was a quickie rip-off of) into the former category. Many people would probably reverse those, with The Swarm being seen as a bloated, glacially paced movie and The Bees a plucky, to-the-point B-movie )or, is that...wait for it...Bee-movie?). The Bees, in addition to terrible effects, a dumb story and ludicrous conclusion, features a terrible performance by the normally reliable John Saxon. When he is uninterested in what he's doing, you know the film is in trouble. Anyway, killer bees - one of the obsessions of the Seventies - ravage America, in a plot that also involves corporate conspiracies, corrupt politicians and sentient bees telling the UN to make mankind more eco-friendly...or else.

One thing the film did right, however, is have this awesome poster. The thing is beautiful. Well, beautiful as far as exploitation movie posters go. We have, front and center, a scantily clad women fleeing from a giant bee head equipped with fangs. Apparently, correct insect anatomy wasn't the priority here. The blood and viscera leaking out of the mouth is a nice touch, hinting at gruesome horror (something the film does not deliver). In fact, this poster is the single best thing about the movie. I want to see this film, one with giant bees chasing women dressed only in their underwear.

I like the layout; nothing detracts from the central image and the promise of horror and sex. The tag line clearly tells us what we are supposed to get. That the movie really delivers on none of this is beside the point. By the time you've bought the ticket, you're out of luck. One thing; is it me, or does our damsel in distress look a but, well, undernourished? Come on, baby, have a cheese burger. It'll give you strength to run from the giant bee head.

So, great poster, not much of a movie. See it only if you are a "revenge-of-nature" completest or rabid John Saxon fan. Is it wrong for me to be both? Hmmm...

Here's a trailer for The Bees. Enjoy.

Celluloid Six-Guns #2 - Poster Of The Day - The Horseman and The Samurai aka The Silent Stranger (1968)

Aka what the heck is this? I was bouncing around Google, looking for interesting Western posters and found this thing. I've never even hard of this movie and I own Billy The Kid Vs Dracula. I'm going to refrain from looking at the plot summary on IMDB and just focus on this insanely awesome freaking poster.

So, we have the giant horseman (Tony Anthony) armed with what looks like a Tanegashima, a Japanese matchlock. And a frickin' Gatling gun! Those are always good for on-screen carnage. We also have some samurai wielding weapons that don't look very katana-like. More along the lines of Sinbad's scimitars. But, you get the idea. Swords and guns. Also, is tiny Tony Anthony (midway down the left side) fighting with a topless chick? Sure looks like one of the babes Tiny Tony is fighting is trying to distract him with her boobs. Maybe that's why his hat is flying off.

So, we have lots of action, the promise of sexy Kung Fu chicks, and yes, even a guy on a horse. Plus, a pretty good tagline "When he stops talking....start running!" What if he just ordered a coffee and is quietly waiting for his drink to be served? Doesn't matter, start running!

As a poster, this does work. I don't know who these people are, but the movie looks like silly fun and what could be a neat genre mash-up. Hey, wait, Western guy goes to Japan and has violent adventures...it's The Last Samurai! Noooo!!!!!!

Poster Of The Day - Deathsport (1978)

Deathsport was churned out in the late-Seventies by Roger Corman's New World Pictures. It had a pretty good trailer (see below) and I vaguely remember some TV spots for it that seemed neat. Of course, I was an 8-year-old when this came out, so the idea of laser-armed motorcycles was totally "boss," to use the slang of the time. I'm like a living fossil suddenly.

For a movie full motor cycles, laser blasts and explosions, it is surprisingly sluggish, even boring. It does have the smoking hot Claudia Jennings in it and she does drop her knickers. We also get David Carradine in a leather loincloth (eww).

In keeping with many Corman films, the poster is pretty bad ass. Ok, we do get barbarian guy-butt in a Speedo, which is not cool...although it is an ass...hahahaha. Ah, some days I kill me.

The poster does promise action (which there is, even if it's not well done), high-powered motor cycle death machines (eh, dirt bikes with plastic thingies stuck to them) and a glimpse at a depressing future, where the only entertainment on the floating city are gladiatorial games (quite true...except for the floating city part). Seeing that poster with the eyes of a kid again, one who hasn't seen the movie, I know why it appealed. The action is front and center. I want to see who the biker barbarian is shooting at. The motorcycle appealed to my kiddie brain, recently basted in 35 viewings of Star Wars. Plus, I was in a Robert E. Howard phase, so anything with barbarians seemed cool, even if they are barbarians of the future. The poster does have some problems. The title obscures the action and would probably be better either over or under the central image. Also, the perspective seems a little weird, but the image is pretty kinetic, so that isn't a big drawback.

Claudia Jennings, hottest future barbarian ever.

So, would adult me go see this movie? Well, I own it, so, yeah, I guess so. It's a strange film. It has all the elements to be a fun B-movie - decent actors, hot lead willing to get naked, lots of action - but it never really comes together in an entertaining whole. Still, love the poster.

Poster Of The Day - Zombie-A-Thon Edition - Dawn Of The Dead (1978)

Dawn of the Dead is a great movie. Characters with depth, a story that mostly makes sense, pacing that builds tension, bursts of action and violence, great practical effects (although the blue face on the zombies isn't that great) and some deftly handled social commentary.

And that poster! Freaking amazing. It is visually simple; but, it's minimalism is key of its appeal. The bold title font and color let's you know this is a hard hitting film. The abstract zombie head rising from the horizon is disturbing without being graphic. You know some bad is happening - why does the head have the mottled discoloration? Why is it being equated with the sun? Does it mean the film is going to show us a world where zombies have won the day? We don't have an image of what the zombies will look like, allowing us to mentally fill in the blanks.There is no visual example of the scope of the film, just the impression that it will be big. The tag line "When there's no more room in HELL the dead will walk the EARTH" is memorable and prominently place. Your gaze goes straight from the zombie head to the tag line, enhancing the impact of both. The only thing that detracts from the poster is the side bar, mentioning >Night of the Living Dead and Romero's name. While understandable from a marketing point of view, it detracts from the vertical lines and clear focus of the poster.

The poster is a classic example of conveying feeling and meaning without using complex images or giving away anything specifically from the film. One of my favorites.

Daily Poster - The Curse Of The Werewolf (1961)

Click to enlarge

Hammer films often had great posters, sometimes better than the movies they were advertising. This is not the case with The Curse of the Werewolf; the film is great, one of Hammer's best. Featuring Oliver Reed as Leon the werewolf and the stunning Yvonne Romaine, Curse has strong performances, great, bestial werewolf make-up and a hard, exploitative edge (for example, Reed's character is the product of the rape of Romaine, who dies in childbirth).

The poster is a good advertisement for the film, although it isn't exactly playing fair with potential viewers. With multiple images of the werewolf and his victims (although the prone, buxom woman below the central wolf image looks like it is mother, not a vicitm) and the promise that he will "kill...Kill...KILL!" the movie takes a considerable amount of running time before we see the monster and has a light body count (Reed's character only kills four people). The first act is set before Leon's birth. The film also spends time developing Leon's character as a child (played by Justin Walters), before transitioning to the adult Reed. The film is not boring; but it does take its time building up to a pretty spectacular werewolf rampage in the film's finale.

One interesting detail; the color of the werewolf on the poster is brown. In the film its fur is white, as you can see from the image at right. This was an understandable change. While the white color works on the screen, the decision to change the color for the poster was a good one. On film, the unexpected coloration lends the werewolf an even more supernatural, almost ghostly appearance. As a painting, it would have looked odd, maybe even comical. One of the other interesting features is the tiny image form the finale of a mob of torch-bearing villagers having cornered the werewolf; it's not often you see a spoiler on the poster!

What really sells the poster, however, is the energy it conveys. The bold strokes, the up-front image of the monster, the terrified victims and the overblown tag-lines all promise a full-scale, no-holds-barred carnival of terrors. There are a few weird artistic choices that don't quite work. The sky blue on the right side is too much of contrast with the dark tones of the werewolf and the night sky. The light source on the right side werewolf's face is also a strange contrast with the moon behind its head on the left. However, these are mild criticisms of an otherwise exceptional movie poster.

As bonus, here are some images of Yvonne Romaine. Hammer always featured attractive women and she is one of the hottest.

Poster of the Day - This Island Earth (1955)

I love This Island Earth. It's a colorful, pulpy romp, like the cover of a 40 or 50s sci-fi magazine come to life. Flying saucers, bug eyed monsters, sweet scenes of an alien planet (Metaluna) being bombarded by meteors until it turns into a radioactive sun...not to mention the professor from Gilligan's Island (Russell Johnson) being vaporized and Faith Domergue (It Came from Beneath the Sea, Cult of the Cobra) looking hot as ever. Oh, and Jeff Morrow (The Creature Walks Among Us, The Giant Claw, Kronos) is a slightly bland but serviceable hero.

So, the movie is cool...but that poster is AWESOME!!! Yikes...looks like I had a little too much caffeine. Let me dial my enthusiasm back a bit. The poster is better than puppies and Christmas combined. There, that's a bit more understated, right?.

The poster really pops with action and color. All the highlights of the movie are there. The Metaluna flying saucer and the arrowhead attack ships of their enemies, the Zagons. The meteor blasted surface of Metaluna, as well as a glimpse of the subterranean cities that hold what's left of the population. We even get a tiny Faith Domerque being menaced by a Metaluna mutant...who appears to be firing lasers out of his eyes. And the tag line "Two mortals trapped in outer space...challenging the unearthly furies of an outlaw planet gone mad!" is great. It's not really accurate - Metaluna isn't an "outlaw" planet and even if they were, I'm not sure how planet can go "mad" - but still lets you know that our heroes are going to be thrown into the deep end of the intergalactic pool.

There are a few oddities. We have Big Faith (left) and Small Faith (right), as well as Big Jeff (left) and Small Jeff (in one of the tubes in the lower right hand corner). I'm not sure if having Faith and Jeff in 50s casual looking bored and shocked (respectively) adds much, although Faith's sweater dress stretching bosom doesn't hurt. The book icon in the lower left corner is an interesting feature. No mention is made of the author, Raymond F. Jones. So, we know it's based on a novel; but would that really entice anyone into seeing the film? But these are minor quibbles about an otherwise stunning work of cinematic art, a bright and kinetic come-on for the film. Unlike some of its contemporaries, where the poster promised more than was on-screen (I'm looking at you Invasion of the Saucer-Men) the film delivers. The poster promises high adventure and, after a slow buildup in the first act, the movie takes off and becomes exactly that.

This is a great image for a great movie.