
Friday, March 17, 2006
Media: More Fun Mexican Lobby Cards
This post is just the tip of the iceberg... see reason number 6 on our The Top Ten Reasons To Support The A-HAA for links to more great posts about golden age illustration.

Previously, I posted a gallery of images of lobby cards by the master Mexican caricaturist Ernesto Garcia Cabral. Today, I'm presenting a group of images from a variety of science fiction, horror and adventure films released in Mexico. In many cases, these cards are a lot more entertaining than the movies they're advertising. Every one of them makes me curious to see what the movie is all about, which shows that the lobby card is doing its job. It's a shame that lobby cards have gone the way of the dodo in this age of cinema multiplexes and mall theaters.
But that isn't all that seems to have been lost. Check out how these images exude the essence of the fantastic. Science fiction movies today are generally ugly and mundane compared to these crazy creatures and bizarre locales. Instead of cramped, cluttered shoeboxes flying through space, rocket ships should be streamlined and beautiful. The future should be strange and alien, not urban and post-apocalyptic. Creatures should be shocking and otherworldly too. Movies today could use a double dose of fun.












And here's a batch of miscellaneous cards that use cartoons to sell a wide variety of films...

















For more wonderful Mexican lobby Cards, see The Greatest Cartoonist You Never Heard Of Before.
See also... Mid 30s Colliers Illustrations, Mid 30s Advertisements, Wartime Colliers, Late 40s Colliers, Lawson Wood: The Monkey Artist, Casey Strikes Out In Coronet, Bugs Bunny in Coronet Magazine December 1945, Milton Caniff in Coronet Magazine
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive
6.18.08
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Labels: fantasy art, illustration, lobby cards


































14 Comments:
these movies look freaking awesome! i don't know what the exciting titles all mean but i'm sure they are all about action packed adventures filled with sprawled out delicioius women...
and it's nice to see that flower had something of a carreer in between Bambi and Bambi 2, even if only in mexico. thanks again for all the goodies!
by the way King Kong is advertised in "superpanoramica"... any idea what that means? did they matte the top and bottom to re-sell it as something different or something? as far as i know king kong had a 1.33: ratio...
Hi everyone:
The aproximated translation of the movie titles in that lobby cards is:
-Moon Invasion
-The Green Spider Mistery
-King Kong Returns
-The Killer Monster
-100,000 miles Phantom (sort of)
-Resurrected Monster
-Dinosaur Valley
-Sun's Devil
-Bengal's Treasure
-Balaju
-Son of Simbad
-Santo vs. The Evil Mind
-Neutron against The Karate Killers
-Red Ridding Hood
Wow, all this movies are B-class, and i've watched some of these on TV, 'cause I born and live in Mexico City.
The work of Mr. Garcia Cabral is awesome, very far of the poor quality of these movies. Particularly, that Red Ridding Hood version is glorious in a camp way, and even had sequels.
Well, 'til next time.
Daniel Ramirez.
More info on Little Red Riding hood here:
K Gordon Murray
Since no one has mentioned a technique that entices people to buy a ticket yet, I'll mention the obvious one...
Monsters grabbing pretty girls in bikinis or skimpy satin evening wear is a plus!
Anyone have any more to add?
I love the one of El Santo. I have a book with the same type of art but for beer ads and calenders. They all are awsome.
Also the 25 degree juxtaposition of a b&w still - angle and contrast challenge the eye, leading one to think, "action!!". Another is wiggly or "ripped" fonts that imply terror.
Squeeze a babe and you've got a poster! These are delicious.
I'm gonna try one!
I recently wrote a research thesis paper on the classic pose used so often in posters of the era, wherein a beautiful young woman is held in the grasp of a menacing monster. The pose dates back to antiquity, but peaked in the post-war years.
The PDF version of the paper is here if anyone is interested:
Damsels in Distress: The Helpless Female in 1950s Pop Art
I did one!!
http://www.glyphjockey.com/2006/03/my-mexican-lobby-card.html
please take a look!
"The Women of the Atomic Monkeys"
Makes you wonder if the artists even saw these films before drawing the illustrations. The action depicted is somehow related to the film and its theme, but I doubt most of the pictures show an actual scene from the movie.
Loved this article on Mexican Lobby cards!
Ever hear of Dr. Vollin. M.D. (aka Freddie Poe)? He's a classic Universal Horror movie poster expert as well as an expert on Mexican Lobby cards. His articles can be read in the hobby magazine Movie Collecotrs World (www.mcwonline.com) and his web site is located at www.poe.pjangel.com.
In May of 2003 he published an very entertaining article entitled "BLOOD ON THE JALAPENO: COLLECTING MEXICAN LOBBY CARDS", linked here: http://www.poe.pjangel.com/id14.htm
And when you are through with this article you are invited to check out all the others.
Please discover Dr. V for yourself!
Thank you!
pjAngel
bigtownFilmposters
www.pjangel.com
webmaster for Dr V's web "sight"
The las one is a movie from the fifties, I saw it when I was 6. The wolf is played by "El Loco Valdez" in one of his most memorable movies. It is a child movie, but also has some jokes (white ones) intented for the adult audience. It is not your regular bad wolf, but a very multidimensional one and this friendship with "el Zorrillo" adds a lot to the caracter, the voice of "el Zorrillo" is particulary funy
Karaten en Ceilan, 1966; Kalatrava contra el imperio del karate, 1973
Sheesh. They sure knew what people wanted back then!
I am a movie poster collector and have for the last few years, starting buying Mexican movie posters that were done by Cabral. I really like his art, it reminds me of Basil Wolverton and Robert Crumb. I think he is finally starting to get more recognition.
Ralph DeLuca
Madison, NJ
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