Spanish title: Aventuras del Capitan Kid
Stars: Richard Crane, David Bruce, John Crawford, George Wallace
Directed by: Derwin Abbe, Charles S. Gould
Distributor: Columbia Pictures

"The king of the pirates! 15 sensational episodes!"

The age of the serials was well and truly over by the time this pedestrian matinee ‘thriller’ series hit the screens, and it has all the hallmarks of a thrown-together-at-the-last-minute outing.

A chubby Richard Crane sleepwalks through the production as a (strangely non-villainous) Captain Kidd, as he stumbles from one lame cliffhanger to the next, battling supposed bad guys and wooing supposed women.

The lobby card promoting the series upon it’s Spanish release is reflective of the lack of care demonstrated by the filmmakers, as it’s basically illustrated art mixed in with some cut’n'paste photo imagery, surrounding the requisite still shot.

Certainly it’s far from ugly, but at the same time, it sure as heck ain’t Spy Smasher or Flash Gordon.

Interesting sidenote: This series was co-written by George H. Plympton and Arthur Hoerl, who between them had a part in writing just about half the films that came out of Hollywood from 1912 on up. In 1929 alone, Plympton had a part in the writing of 13 different films and series, and a year before that, the number was an astonishing 35. In 1930, he was only involved in one film, so we’re guessing he took a well deserved holiday that year.

That said, Plympton wasn’t away from the typewriter for long, and was still cranking out scripts as late as 1966!

Arthur Hoerl wasn’t far behind, in terms of productivity, but while he took part in 152 films and series over his career, Plympton amassed a whopping 288 productions… can you imagine the royalty checks?

Spanish title: Cleopatra la Serpiente Del Nilo
Stars: Rhonda Fleming, William Lundigan, Raymond Burr, Julie Newmar
Directed by: William Castle
Distributor: Columbia Pictures

"From my bed of silk, I dominate the world with my burning lips… Sin and savagery in matchless spectacle!"

This low-budget version of the Cleopatra story, which is often considered to be as good as the big budget Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton opus that followed, used sets from the 1953 Rita Hayworth/Stewart Granger film, Salome, to tell the tale of the infamous Queen of the Nile and her Roman pal, Mark Anthony.

New Westminster, British Columbia’s own Raymond Burr is Rhonda Fleming’s co-star, which led the designers of this piece of cinema promo art to add a "Perry Mason" in brackets under his name, celebrating the actor’s renowned TV character. Julie Newmar also appears in the film (as Julie Newmeyer) in the role of The Gilded Girl – her first credited screen appearance.

The lobby card is attractive enough, but it’s very square and the original artwork is decidedly quick and cheap. For a movie character that relies so heavily on her sexuality to get what she wants, this is a lobby card that you would really expect to ’sex it up’, and yet it really doesn’t.

Our version has one staple hole in the top left corner (which is odd), a small tear on the bottom edge, and some roughing up of the right-side edge. It also features a small piece of handwriting over Cleopatra’s name that seems to say "Cartelera de Ludo" – which translates to ‘billboard of the Ludo’, which was presumably a theater it showed in.

Why do those words appear there? Well, figuring it out is half the fun. 

Spanish title: La Sirena Del Caribe
Stars: Jane Russell, Gilbert Roland, Richard Egan
Directed by: John Sturges
Distributor: RKO Radio Pictures

"Between thousands of pirates and killer sharks, she looks for of a
lost treasure – the most fabulous adventure under the sea!"

Jane Russell was said to have been ‘two of the biggest stars in show business’, and as a result of the fact that her chest was as famous as her name, she appeared in a fair number of films in which, really, the entire shoot was based around getting her as naked as possible, as often as possible. This is one such film.

Having broken free of the clutches of Howard Hughes (who ‘discovered’ her working as a dental assistant, before making her the star of The Outlaw, and paying her a wage to promote it every day for the five years it took to get the film past censors and on to the screen), Russell made many claims that she was going to take on more serious roles, but the fluff paid well enough that it was tough to resist.

In this film, there’s much talk about pirates and sharks and treasure, but really all anyone was turning up for was a look at Jane Russell in her skimpies.

And the film delivers on that front, as is seen on the promo art for the film above; in fact, the image of the star from this lobby card was so successful at grabbing the attention of passers-by, that other (less ethical) Mexican distributors actually stole it and placed it on the promo art for other films – films that Russell had nothing to do with.

I’m a big fan of this card, for all the obvious reasons, but also because if you take Russell and her most marketable assets out of the picture entirely, it’s still a great piece of original art.

Spanish title: Paris en Abril
Stars: Doris Day, Ray Bolger, Claude Dauphin
Directed by: David Butler
Distributor: Warner Bros

"Nights in Paris! Romantic encounters! Endless pleasures! You’ll cheer for this spring-time celebration!"

This lobby card is a great example of how cinema art designers often mixed original art with cut’n'paste images and illustration to create something that looks all hand-painted. On the left hand side of the card is a ‘from scratch’ watercolor portrait of Doris Day (spelled Dorys Day on the poster, oddly enough), with illustrations of Paris in the bottom right hand corner, and what looks like more paintwork on the right hand side, with the image of Day and co-star Ray Bolger. Only, if you look closer, you’ll see that those portraits on the right are actually a cut-out that has been painted over to give it a hand-painted appearance.

This technique was common back in the day, when saving a few days of painting was the difference between beating a deadline and missing it entirely. While high standard original art would stop people in the street, sometimes it just wasn’t possible to hand-paint an entire lobby card, so artists cut corners to achieve ‘the look’ they wanted, as quickly as possible.

The years haven’t been too kind to this particular lobby card, although the colors and artwork lend it to framing in a big way, but someone has had a scratch at Doris Day’s amply presented groin (if she once wore that strapless outfit in the film, I’d be surprised), and a few small tears on the sides and corners make it less than mint in value.

But heck, I like it enough to keep. After all… It’s Doris Day, reimagined by a leering Mexican cinema promo artist… what’s not to like?

Spanish title: El Hijo de Ali Baba
Stars: Tony Curtis, Piper Laurie, Susan Cabot, William Reynolds, Hugh O’Brian, Victor Jory
Directed by: Kurt Neumann
Distributor: Universal Pictures

"Soul of a Prince, heart of a poet… with steel in his hand and a kiss on the lips, the sensational stars of "The Prince Who Was a Thief", together again! And… in love!"

If you’re one of the few people on the planet who think Ali Baba (or his son) would have had a 50’s greaser hairstyle, then Son of Ali Baba might be just for movie for you. 

Fortunately, I doubt many people fall into that category, and thus Son of Ali Baba is generally considered to be an ‘Elvis film’ that doesn’t actually have Elvis in it. 

The Spanish lobby card promoting the release is a good design, albeit very text-boxy (such being Universal’s way in the 50’s), with some painted over cut’n'paste pics of Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie in a romantic embrace, as well as plenty of illustrations of dancing harem girls (which I’ll never complain about – ever).

Our version features a good ensemble sill photo, no pinholes and decidedly little abuse collected over the last 50+ years, which is nice. 

Spanish title: La Dama y el Vagabundo
Stars: Barbara Luddy, Larry Roberts, Peggy Lee
Directed by: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson
Distributor: MGM (for Disney)

"She’s from the leash and license set… he’s footloose and collar free!"

With the Walt Disney company not running an office in Mexico, it was left to MGM to distribute this undeniable animation classic south of the border, and more’s the pity. You’d have to think the artistic boffins at Disney would have put together a better lobby card than this collection of cut’n'paste stock imagery.

The film is obviously outstanding, and that’s why it has a place in our collection, but it would be nice to have seen promo art for this film that was as creative as those that made it in the first place.

Spanish title: Moby Dick
Stars: Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, Leo Genn, Orson Welles, Herman Melville
Directed by: John Huston
Distributor: Warner Bros (for 20th Century Fox and United Artists)

"The White Whale had almost destroyed him…"

The second of our two lobby cards for John Huston’s Moby Dick, this design is by far the superior of the two.

The first relies on photo art and cheap reproductions of the original artwork shown here, whereas this one is just an A-1 design, beautifully put together, with an amazing recreation of Gregory Peck in action, as well as a breaching whale crushing a whaling fleet.

The colors are vivid, the title is well worked into the design, and even the black and white still image is framed with color, so as to work it into the overall design more fully.

The pity of this particular card is that, by the time we got it, someone in a Mexican theater somewhere had used it for a little doodling – there’s ink smudging in the white title font, as a result, along with the hand-written words, "La Panzona" (or "The Fat One"). Why? It’s all a bit of a mystery.

Oh well. With a design this busy, you barely notice a little biro here and there, especially in a frame (which is where we keep it).

Spanish title: Beso de Fuego
Stars: Jack Palance, Barbara Rush, Rex Reason, Martha Hyer, Alan Reed, Leslie Bradley
Directed by: Joseph M. Newman
Distributor: Universal Pictures

"It was the kiss that changed the course of an empire!"

You’ve gotta love the supreme tackiness that was Jack Palance in the 40’s and 50’s. Whenever you needed a bad guy with a heart of gold – a Roman Emperor you loved to hate, or a gunslinger who gets the girl in the end, or a Robin Hood-like rogue in dark green tights – Palance was your man.

This film focused on the story of a Spanish Princess, mourning her recently deceased father, who must get back to Europe from… uh… Santa Fe, New Mexico? …so that she can claim her rightful crown before a contender takes her place. To get there, she needs the help of El Tigre (Palance), a rough and ready guide who can navigate the perils of the assorted bad guys out to stop her from getting home.

And of course, she hates him. And of course, she learns to love him.

Universal lobby cards of this time often followed a similar design template as this one, with a large fonted title up top, a small white box listing cast members off to the side, and several cut’n'paste still images scattered about, that were then painted over to appear like original art.

Despite the unimpressive nature of the film, this is one of the most beautiful lobby cards in our collection, featuring Palance in several dramatic poses; one romantically embracing his co-star, and another on the attack with a pair of knives at hand. And you’ve gotta love the shot of Babs Rush up top, showing a little regal thigh – she puts the ‘rush’ in ‘rush of blood’, don’t you think?

The copy in our collection features three smudges of green ink, likely a result of an awry print run, but because of the dramatic, deep color that abounds in the design, you barely notice them.

One interesting thing to note is a tiny inscription that says "Contreras" on the bottom left hand corner, right by Palance’s tightly-clad behind. We assume that’s the name of the designer of the lobby card, but as they were so rarely signed by the artist in this era (especially when the original art was based on stills and not hand-painted), it could also be the name of the printing company. Any info from readers in the know would be much appreciated.

UPDATE: We were just looking through our collection and noticed something on the back of this lobby card – a hand-scrawled ad for a 1954 film called El Rapto (translated: The Kidnapping), starring Jorge Negrete and Maria Felix.

This was a Mexican western comedy/drama, directed by Emilio ‘El Indio’ Fernández, who served as the model for the Oscar statuette of the Academy Awards… seriously!

"Además" means ‘in addition’, so this was likely some theater manager’s effort at alerting customers that there was a second feature attached to the main bill. Funny what you sometimes find on these lobby cards…

Spanish title: Los Tambores de la Muerte (The Drums of Death)
Stars: Clay Moore, Phyllis Coates, Johnny Spencer, Roy Glenn
Directed by: Fred C. Bannon
Distributed by: Distribuidora Sotomayor, for Republic Pictures

"Jungle thrills and voodoo madness in the heart of the dark continent – a Republic super-series!"

We don’t see a whole lot of Distribuidora Sotomayor lobby cards around, but more’s the pity, as this is one high quality piece of promo art. Nice thick card stock, dramatic comic book-style art, stark colors (even if they only budgeted for one in this case)… you can just imagine kids lining up for hours to get their ‘jungle thrills’.

This series was directed by Fred C. Bannon, who enjoyed a lengthy career as a maker of pulp film. With titles such as Zombies of the Stratosphere, Radar Men from the Moon, Flying Disc Man from Mars, and Federal Agents vs Underworld Inc, you just know the guy was hired for his willingness to work on the cheap, rather than what skills he brought to the table.

The story in this series, which had a working title of Robin Hood of Darkest Africa, focuses on a group of nice upstanding people who go to an African territory looking to win a mining concession so they can pull uranium out of the ground. Only, they’re constantly foiled in their attempts by a trading post operator who just won’t leave well enough alone and seeks the uranium for an unnamed evil government. Cliffhangers ensue. 

The entire 12-part series was shot over three weeks for a budget of around $160,000, as was the way with Republic serials, and though the Saturday morning matinee fare usually featured copious amounts of stock footage and woeful cliffhangers, this one actually shows a little commitment to quality… at least compared to others of its ilk.

The card art is fantastic – it’s done in a comic book style with nothing more than black and white with a splash of red to fill out the design. As a result, it’s a real eye-catcher… though the ‘native’ in the still image seems to resemble a corn-fed Mississippi boy more than a Masai warrior.

For those interested in Distribuidora Sotomayor, their address is listed as Reforma 503, S.A. – that’s all I’ve got.

Spanish title: Orgullo y Pasion
Stars: Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Sophia Loren
Directed by: Stanley Kramer
Distributor: United Artists of Mexico

Okay, so the depiction of Frank Sinatra looks more like Ronald Reagan than Ol’ Blue Eyes – at least nobody could deny that Sophia Loren looks like Sophia Loren, and that makes up for just about anything else the artist could throw at you.

A great still image of Loren and Grant sets this fiery design off, with Grant’s navel-high pants and cumberbund practically announcing to the world, "Behold my thunder" while Sophia Loren matches him with her gravity-defying shirt potatoes.

Yes, there was a movie at the center of all this – a movie that revovles around a giant cannon, that is abandoned by the Spanish Army as it retreats from the French, only for Spanish peasants to snare the big gun and drag it across the country to help defeat the bad guys – if they can steer clear of Cary Grant’s English Army, who want the weapon for themselves. Sophia Loren’s hips ensue.

This particular lobby card is not in A-1 shape, with tears on every corner from being ripped of the original theater wall. If that’s not enough, it looks like it was hung a second time by the sides, top and bottom of the card, and a pair of 2cm rips on the top and left hand side of the card don’t add to its value. Alas.