The Lady and the Monster, 1944
Eric von Stroheim plays the mad scientist in the first adaptation of Curt Siodmak’s novel, Donovan’s Brain. Von Stroheim rocks this gig. John Alton, noir cameraman extraordinaire, is also here in one of his early cinema efforts. A pairing in horror noir heaven.
Enter Republic Pictures studio head Herbert Yates and his baby chick ice champion Vera Hruba Ralston.
Ralston’s talent was all in her feet. And, maybe someplace else. Yet Yates was determined to provide his inamorata with a starring debut vehicle. He bought the rights to Donovan’s Brain and proceeded to redo the script to revolve around the scientist’s comely assistant. (Hence the name change to The Lady and the Monster. Ditto the poster featuring Hruba in a slinky silk.)
Witness to Murder – Original Half Sheet. (Click here to enlarge)
Two of my faves, Barbara Stanwyck and George Sanders pair up in this thriller. Noir Cinematography god John Alton crafted the black and white world. Need to find it and rent it. Or download it, stream it . . . something.
The graphics in this poster are tres smokin’! Check out the the Vertigo-ish yellow and orange square spiral . And the black and white photo with the pale blue mezzotint overlay effect looks like rain. I don’t know why they repeated the same graphic on the left side of the poster under the movie title, surely they could have come up with something new. Other than that, a super cool poster.
Near Mint. This poster was folded at one time, but the fold lines are nearly invisible. It was originally displayed in a frame, and there are faint ripples in the paper that would be easily flattened out either by mounting to an acid-free backing or a proper framing. No pin-holes, tears, stains or fading present.
