[The Big Heat (Columbia, 1953). Lobby Card (11" X 14"). Film Noir. Starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Lee Marvin, Carolyn Jones, Alexander Scourby, Jeanette Nolan, Peter Whitney, Willis Bouchey, Robert Burton, Adam Williams, Howard Wendell, Chris Alcaide, Michael Granger, Dorothy Green. Directed by Fritz Lang. An unused, unrestored lobby card that might have one very minor flaw, such as a slight corner crease. Grades on all restored items are pre-restoration grades...Near Mint/Mint. This card sold for $51.00]
[The Big Heat (Columbia, 1953). Lobby Card (11" X 14"). Film Noir.Starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Lee Marvin, Carolyn Jones, Alexander Scourby, Jeanette Nolan, Peter Whitney, Willis Bouchey, Robert Burton, Adam Williams, Howard Wendell, Chris Alcaide, Michael Granger, and Dorothy Green. Directed by Fritz Lang. An unrestored lobby card with good color and an overall very presentable appearance. It may have tears, edge wear, pinholes, slight paper loss, and minor stains. Please see full-color, enlargeable image below for more details. Fine+...This card sold for $28.00]
Happy Birthday! To actor Glenn Ford [Pictured]...as I Take a look at Glenn Ford's Personal Movie Poster Collection. A group of 28 framed vintage movie posters and lobby cards, each kept as a memento by Ford from some of the numerous movies he appeared in...Here on my Ning Darkness To Light:
actor Glenn Ford's Collection
Included are posters for "So Ends Our Night..." (lobby card), Affair in Trinidad, Cowboy, The Loves of Carmen (lobby card), Adventures of Martin Eden (pair of matching lobby cards), Blackboard Jungle (two posters), Appointment on Honduras, Texas, Trail, The Fastest Gun Alive, Gazebo (two), The Big Heat, Jubal, Experiment in Terror, Love is a Ball, Cry for Happy, It Started with a Kiss, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, Cimarron, Torpedo Run, Is Paris Burning?, Human Desire, Pocketful of Miracles, Americano, and 3:10 to Yuma.
THE HISTORY Of THE LOBBY CARDS...
[Pictured: The "Jewel in the Crown" the title card from the film "Odd Man Out..." Starring actor James Mason]In the days before multiplexes, movie theaters generally only had one screen and one movie. To boost ticket sales, studios printed paper advertisements of their films to entice potential audience members.
One of the more collectible forms of these ads was the lobby card, a small piece of card stock that theaters posted in their lobbies to promote a featured film. In a sense, the lobby card was the small relative of the movie poster.
The first lobby cards, introduced around 1910, measured eight by 10 inches and were printed in black and white. Eventually, with advances in heliotype and photogelatin techniques, these cards had three colors (blue, yellow, and pink). Other cards were hand-colored using a stencil.
The eight- by 10-inch cards quickly gave way to 11- by 14-inch cards, which became known as the “standard” size. In the 1920s, a “jumbo” size was introduced which measured 14 by 17 inches. Finally, the “mini” size was introduced in the 1930s as a rebirth of the eight by 10 size (another version was printed on eight- by 14-inch stock).
Jumbo cards were printed on their own, not as part of a series, but mini and standard lobby cards generally came in sets of eight, though sets of nine, 12, and even 16 or more were not uncommon.
The first card in these sets was almost always the title card, which included an attention-grabbing image alongside the film’s title, slogan, and main acting credits. As a notable exception, Paramount never printed title cards.
To Check-Out "Odd Man Out" Lobby Cards Up Close and Personal Just Follow This Link to...Shadow Street The Best Of British Film Noir
Following the title card [The Jewel in the Crown] were several “scene” cards, which featured still shots from the film. The first two or three scene cards generally promoted the major stars; the two or three after that usually showed minor actors.
[editor's note: What makes the eight lobby cards from the 1947 film "Odd Man Out" unique is the fact, that the title card is in colour and the other 7 cards are in black and white...]
The last card or two in the set are known today as “dead cards,” a phrase coined by movie-art collectors because these cards are generally the least desirable in the set. These cards depict extras or scenery from the film.
All of these cards were numbered in the order they were supposed to appear in the series. Before the 1960s, a card’s identifying number could be found in the corner of the artwork. In the ’60s, the number was moved to the bottom border of the card.
Collectors generally prize lobby cards based on the order they appeared in a set—title cards are considered the most valuable, followed by those with major actors, those with minor actors, and finally the dead cards. Collectors generally only bother with dead cards when they are trying to complete a full set.
[Film Noir and all Of it's gritty "Grittiness..."]
This work by
The items range in size from 13" x 10.5" to 29" x 42", are in overall Fine to Very Fine condition, and are accompanied by seven color snapshots of Ford with many of the posters visible in the background. Fantastic items with some great history behind them.From the Glenn Ford Estate. Accompanied by a letter of provenance from his son Peter Ford.
[Editor's Note: Unfortunately, I didn't see the poster for "The Redhead and the Cowboy," and the lobby cards among Mr. Ford's collection for "So Ends Our Night..."...Therefore, I plan to post separate items for the films "The Redhead and the Cowboy," and "So Ends Our Night..."here:The Big Heat Memorabilia among other Things...
...By the way, I just watched for the first-time the 1941 film "So Ends Our Night..."over there on you-tube.]