Introduction
Check out the introductory montage clip.
It’s been a year since we last produced a web page at hamptonscinemaposters. I live in two houses. The house in West Hampton Beach is small and only one room is allowed (wife’s permission required) to display movie posters. For those of you out there who are married and whose spouse has no interest in movie posters I need say no more. To boot that room is the master bedroom which I converted to my inner movie poster sanctum. Thanks Sara you are the best. The posters hanging in West Hampton are not necessarily my favorite posters but they fit into the available wall space nicely. I thought it would be fun to accompany each of the posters with a clip from the movie and a short comment on the film and the posters. All the posters, except for the mummy, were photographed behind glass or plexiglass. The video clips were taken from a variety of source material ranging from good to poor. So without further ado…a whole year (actually 2 months) in the making and with a cast of thousands (actually just me and Matt) and on a shoe string budget we present If These Walls Could Talk. For your further viewing pleasure I concocted a little test. On page two are pictures or partial images from posters and lobby cards. The names of the films have been removed. You have to match them up with the appropriate sound bite. Some are straightforward, some are tricky and some don’t have a match…Good luck.
Also, Check out Matt's video homage to legendary cowboys, old western movies and outlaws.

The Mummy 1932
A horror movie is defined as depicting terrifying or macabre events. Macabre would have to be the term employed here. Even by 1932 standards this is not terrifying. We see very little of the mummy in this film as compared to the others. Both Karloff and Price would be aptly called masters of the macabre. None come close to these two except for Elvira but she is mistress of…. but I digress…Karloff is perfect in his physical attributes to portray the mummy and his restrained performance is perfectly delivered to portray a lifeless soul. This film really made Karloff a star, credited as Karloff the uncanny. Zita Johan, chosen after Kate Hepburn was unavailable is more than adequate as his lost love. This film has been over analyzed, even garnering such comments as, it’s a film based on necrophilia or it’s really about sexual domination of the female. Give me a frikin break was it directed by Freund or Freud? Video Clip

Posters: Original Universal posters for this film are considered holy grail. To own one immediately elevates you to demi god status. Lobby cards, though not as rare, are also highly prized. The Realart re-release materials are attractive, more available and affordable though the half sheet pictured here rarely surfaces at auction, however there is one in the March 2007 Heritage auction.

Dr. Cyclops 1940
This film starred Albert Dekker. It was directed by Ernest Schoedsack who also gave us King Kong. It received an Oscar nomination for special effects. The plot: mad scientist uses shrink ray on remaining characters in film when he thinks they will steal his work. Most gruesome scene: Dr. Cyclops murders his most ardent critic, another biophysicist with a chloroform drenched cotton ball. Being the pathologist I am I give that scene two scalpels up (He was an annoying LITTLE chap). When I’m flipping TV channels looking for a movie to watch I’ll always take a look at any movie Dekker is in. I don’t know why exactly. He was a very versatile underrated stage and screen performer. Two of his most memorable performances are in The Killers 1946 and the Wild Bunch ( his last ). He was an outspoken critic of McCarthy era politics. He death at age 64 was shrouded in autoerotic mystery.
Video Clip

Posters: The poster depicted here is an Italian 59 x 35 duo foglio and the best artwork for this film. I’m not sure if this was an alternate first release poster or a second release poster. Italian film posters of the late 30’s, 40’s and early 50’s are superior to many of their American counterparts. The recent book by Dave Kehr is a must for Italian poster enthusiasts.

.The Killers
This movie and posters were discussed in my first article (see archive )
Video Clip

King Kong
Comments on Peter Jackson’s Kong and the original were made in the previous article (see archive). Focusing on the last scenes in the film, though close, I think the ’33 version still tugs more at the heart strings then PJ’s version. In particular in the original Kong bends down and wipes his brow with a sorrowful look letting us know he realizes he’s fighting an enemy he can’t defeat. In the final moments, in PJ’s version, we see Kong’s pupil dilate, he’s dead and slides off the building. In the original one can imagine he decides to let go and falls. I have a good imagination if nothing else.
Video Clip

Posters: This movie had a number of re- releases. Apparently an abundance of advertising material was generated for the film and is avidly sought after. The lobby card set for the 38 release does not surface frequently and is one of the better sets produced for this film. The rare style A 3 sheet is my favorite. The poster shown here is a nice reproduction measuring ~ 40 x 60. There are some very fine and pricey reproductions and strikes available. I was at the Sotheby’s auction where a style A 3 sheet sold for $250,000. That was exciting. I believe on the following days news it was said that the poster was purchased by a Demille relative and was going to be donated to a museum.

Horror of Dracula 1958
As I mentioned in a previous article Chris Lee is not my favorite Dracula. However, when teamed with Peter Cushing the pair is irresistible. The richness of color and period settings gives the Hammer films a special charm and this is one of the best. Likewise this French Grande is the best poster for this film. Video Clip

Stalag 17 1953
The likely progenitor for Hogan’s Heroes, this film has an unsettling back and forth between comedy and drama. Unsettling because the comedic sequences especially the fore into the Russian women’s part of the compound is way over the top. Anyway, who am I to question Billy Wilder’s genius. Besides he’s a carbon copy of my long departed uncle Max…cigar and all. My uncle Max had a wonderful command of the English language…my favorite uncle Max expression…”they’re all a bunch of himmpocrimps”…I never knew if he was talking about liars or a new animal species. Anyway the film is stolen by Robert Strauss’s character (the animal) with the worst case of Betty Grabelitis portrayed on film. Holden is at the top of his game and gets the Oscar to boot. The Germans are portrayed in a rather benevolent fashion in this film. If Preminger was directing and not starring things might have been different.
Video Clip

Posters: None of the posters for this film are particularly noteworthy. The French Grande shown here is one of the more desirable pieces.

Casablanca
A great story, script, actors and theme song make for an iconic movie. In glorious black and white without an alternative ending.
Video Clip

Posters: Available and pricey as one might expect. Classic images as the one shown here struck from a pristine negative are relatively cheap. My favorite poster is the French 47 x 32 inches, art by Pierre Pigeot. I have not seen it offered for sale or auction since the Christie’s East auction in NOV 2001. The estimate was $40,000 - $50,000. The poster passed at $28,000

Mysterious Mr. Wong 1935
Ginger or Mary Ann the debate rages on. Bela vs. Boris, now mind you my mother’s name is Bella. However when it comes to non- Asian actors depicting nefarious Chinamen I’ll take Boris in the Mask of Fu Manchu. The mysterious Mr. Wong is largely comedic thanks to Wallace Ford’s incessant quips, the Clara Bowish Arlene Judge and Bela’s dialogue as a Chinese herbalist “MAYBE”. Thankfully when in full regalia as the evil protagonist of the story, we have a few moments of the Lugosi we want to see. Von Scherbach’s interrogation of Dunbar in Stalag 17 pales in comparison to what Bela is planning to do to Ms. Judge at the end of the movie. If you’ve seen the movie I recommend you read the review at www.coldfusionvideo.com/m/mysteriousmrwong.html and have yourself a good chuckle. By the way, Mary Ann hands down
Video clip

Posters: The 3 sheet shown here nicely depicts Bela in costume. The poster shows Bela with a long menacing arm reaching for the other characters. While aptly portraying the story of the film, in my opinion, this is poster art gone wrong. His arm is so long and thick that the whole scale of the image is thrown off. None the less any die hard Lugosi fan would enjoy having this poster in their collection, “MAYBE”

Bringing Up Baby
The epitome of screwball comedies, gaining recognition after an initial flop at the box office. This film is a guilty pleasure. Rarely is Hepburn cast in this type of comedy and Cary Grant is at his best in one of the three roles where he cross dresses (only briefly here and in the Philadelphia story) and for the central character in I was a Female War Bride. Maybe he could have been a third in Some Like It hot. Anyway this classic battle of the sexes film is probably one of the most enjoyable for Grant fans.
Video clip

Posters: The poster pictured here is Danish with a wonderful portrait of the stars. The American one sheet which is the best for this title, combines black and white star portraits along with color cartoons aptly portraying the nature of the film. I hope to own one someday.

Black Magic (aka Meeting at Midnight) 1945
One of the later Monogram films with Sidney Toler continuing in the role of Chan. This film is as much a comedy vehicle for Mantan Moreland as a Chan mystery. Most Chan enthusiasts prefer Oland over Toler. I personally enjoy watching both of them, though clearly the quality of the films had declined by the mid 40’s. After Toler’s demise things significantly went south with Roland Winters. Possibly the best of all the Chan films is At The Opera in no little part due to a very scary looking Karloff. Best line in that movie is delivered by the stage manager, Mr. Arnold, played by Maurice Cass. “This opera is going on tonight even if Frankenstein walks in." ”Video Clip

Posters: Well Mopoers know who is the expert on Charlie Chan posters and it ain’t me. I was not looking for a particular Chan movie but was looking for a sort of quintessential Chan image and thought this Spanish poster obtained at the Cinevent auction fit the bill.

On the Waterfront
Tour de force for Brando this film and Street Car Named Desire are widely recognized as masterpieces of acting and film making. If it was Kazan’s answer to those who criticized him for his testimony to the HUAC it only adds to its brilliance.
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Posters: Without a doubt Anselmo Ballesters quatro foglio is the best poster for the film, contrasting Brando with the bloody longshoreman’s hook and Doves in the background. It is somewhat reminiscent of the French poster for the Grande Illusion 1937.

The Lucky Texan 1934
One of a long list of B westerns before Wayne’s breakthrough performance in Stagecoach.
In addition to the normal complement of fist fights and horsemanship ,this movie has a wonderful car chase seen, a cross dressing George (gabby) Hayes and what I like to call the invention of the jet ski. The poster shown here, which is a 1930's reissue, showing Wayne fighting with Lloyd Whitlock, a scene which never occurs in the movie, is the more uncommon of the one sheets.Video Clip

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