Rare ‘Metropolis’ insert anchors Heritage’s poster auction March 19-20

Live Auctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.

“With the release in 1927 of Metropolis, director Fritz Lang set the standard for all epic science fiction films,” said Grey Smith, director of movie posters at Heritage Auctions. “Following its premiere in Germany in 1927, Metropolis was released in a truncated version in America, which essentially cut the heart out of the film. Audiences did not understand it and it was not popular here. The posters from this film are the rarest of rare and it is especially true of U.S. material. No one sheets or three sheets have ever surfaced, and offered here is an extremely attractive insert poster for this ground-breaking film.”

A classic horror poster, also from the Kirk Hammett Collection, comes from what many consider to be the single greatest horror/fantasy film ever made, a Swedish oversized poster for RKO’s 1993 King Kong – certainly one of the most innovative films ever to come out of Hollywood’s Golden Age. It is estimated at $30,000-plus.

“This rare oversized Swedish poster, reminiscent of the U.S. three sheet with its striking image of Kong atop the Empire State Building, is just a brilliant piece,” said Smith. “It displays vibrant color, classic graphics and impeccable condition – everything a collector could want in such a superb poster from one of the greatest films ever.”

Choice lobby card sets are always in demand with top level collectors, and Heritage Vintage Movie Poster events always feature new and exciting lobby card finds, and the March auction is no exception. The offer of the only existing Spanish language Dracula lobby card featuring Carlos Villarias in the title role, straight from the 1931 Spanish adaptation, estimated at $15,000-plus, is also from the Kirk Hammett Collection.

In terms of rare and desirable lobby cards, few are more fervently sought after than any representation from MGM’s 1932 controversial Freaks, and a card featuring the wedding scene from the movie is bound to open collectors to some serious bidding. It is estimated at $12,000-plus.

“This exceptional and rare Freaks lobby card is perhaps the best of the infamous set,” said Smith, “showcasing the scene where the guests chant ‘We accept her! One of Us!’ to the horror of the scheming bride, Cleopatra. This is one of the true gems of the hobby.”

Further horror highlights include an Australian Day bill for MGM’s 1935 Tod Browning classic Mark of the Vampire, considered one of the great non-Universal horror classics of all time, estimated at $10,000-plus. Another Kirk Hammett collection offering in the auction is the only MGM 1927 London After Midnight lobby card to feature Lon Chaney in Vampire makeup. This lost film is regarded by many as one of Lon Chaney Sr.'s greatest roles, and a dual role at that. This is the only time that Heritage has ever offered a copy of this card, estimated at $10,000-plus.

Collectors will also have a exceptional chance to acquire a massive and exceedingly rare 24-sheet movie poster from MGM’s 1929 The Mysterious Island, an important early part-talking film loosely based on the Jules Verne novel of the same name, the earliest adaptation of the famed science fiction tale, which was written in 1874. Assembled from its 12 original lush sections, this poster is estimated at $6,000-plus. Also offered is a rare Polish poster for Godzilla, the famous Toho monster movie that is actually best described by poster collectors as “charming” – an adjective rarely used to describe the great monster – with art by Waszewska, estimated at $1,200.

“We also have a great selection of Hitchcock posters,” said Smith, “always an area that has a significant following in our Signature auctions.”

A three sheet poster for The 39 Steps, 1935, the first film in Hitchcock’s celebrated “Spy” trilogy, represents one of the director’s first major international major successes, and is estimated at $15,000-plus, while a 1936 one sheet for Secret Agent, the second in the trilogy, starring a young and dashing John Gielgud as British novelist Edgar Brodie, is also estimated at $15,000-plus. The one sheet movie poster for The Woman Alone, the U.S. release of Hitchcock’s English Sabotage, represents the third part of his “Spy” trilogy and is expected to bring $7,000-plus. Rounding out the Hitchcock offerings is a one sheet for his 1940 MGM release Rebecca, the Best Picture Oscar winner of that year and the first in a long line of successful collaborations between Hitchcock and legendary producer David. O. Selznick. It is estimated at $6,000-plus.

Further highlights include, but are not limited to:

- 2001: A Space Odyssey (MGM, 1969): One Sheet (27 inches by 41 inches). When MGM decided to revamp the advertising campaign for this blockbuster film in 1969 they chose the tagline "The Ultimate Trip." The Eye poster, as this poster is most often referred to, was conceived for the 1969, 70mm relaunch in New York while the film was still playing around the country in its original 1968 standard 35mm format. This poster was primarily used for wilding, i.e. posting on building sites. It was therefore printed in a smaller quantity than the Star Child poster, the campaign's principal image. The Star Child was retained for subsequent releases for the next decade. Some of the Eye posters were displayed at the Ziegfeld Theatre, but as a secondary image, and never for newspaper ads, etc. It is therefore the rarest of all the U.S. one sheets for Space Odyssey. It has an estimate of $10,000-plus.

- She Done Him Wrong (Paramount, 1933): one sheet (27 inches by 41 inches) Style A. Although directed by the actor-turned-director Lowell Sherman, this bawdy precode classic is all Mae West. Based on the play West wrote for herself, Diamond Lil, this is her first feature film and arguably her best. One of the most beautiful and colorful stone litho posters Heritage has seen. Estimate: $7,000-plus.

- You're Telling Me (Paramount, 1934): one sheet (27 inches by 41 inches) Style A. Comic genius W.C. Fields plays the down-and-out inventor Sam Bisbee in this gem of a film. Posters for the early Paramount Fields’ movies have always been scarce and very desirable and this beautiful stone litho poster is no exception. Estimate: $4,000-plus.

- A Sainted Devil (Paramount, 1924): one sheet (27 inches by 41 inches) Style A. The original "Latin Lover" Rudolph Valentino is one of the silent era's most magnetic stars, whose devilish good looks and mysterious eyes still captivate audiences even after eight decades. Valentino's popularity reached its zenith in the mid 1920s, and when the 31-year-old actor unexpectedly died in the summer of 1926, it set off a wave of hysteria among his many women admirers. This film, based on a book by Rex Beach called Rope's End and made at the height of Valentino's popularity, is believed lost yet this fabulous poster is one of only a very few copies known to have survived. Estimate: $15,000-plus.

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $600 million, and more than 500,000 registered online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.

For details call 800-872-6467.

View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

Click here to view Heritage Auction Galleries' complete catalog.