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Friday, April 23, 2010

Friday's Top 5... Posters of the 1930s


#5: Gone With The Wind

It's only appropriate that the most epic romance of all time should have a poster that is, itself, pretty epic. I think the poster captures the large scale scope of the narrative, foregrounding the romantic plot against the film's biggest set piece, the burning of Atlanta.


#4: Top Hat

A jaunty, fun poster. It's kind of an obvious interpretation - Fred and Ginger dancing on a top hat to advertise a movie called Top Hat - but I think that's part of its charm.


#3: M

The movie is creepy, the poster art is creepy. The poster makes for an interesting contrast with the film, though, in that it kind of makes Peter Lorre look like the story's victim, rather than the perpetrator. The giant hand that looks like it's about to close over him is particularly unsettling.


#2: Modern Times

A simple, minimalist poster but very evocative. I haven't been fortunate enough to see Modern Times yet, but every time I see this poster it makes me want to. It's a beautifully rendered piece of work.


#1: The Sin of Nora Moran

Love this poster, even though I also find it kind of disquieting. There's not much to it, but the mood it creates makes it one of the most startling and unforgettable posters I've ever seen.

2 comments:

M. Carter @ the Movies said...

It's so cool that you had "M" in here -- I saw that one years and years ago (a film class, I think) and was thoroughly freaked out by Peter Lorre's performance. I'd never seen the poster, though, and I have to say it makes light of the creepiness of the film.

Norma Desmond said...

I don't think I've ever seen a Peter Lorre performance that didn't at least leave me midly creeped out.