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The Shock-O-Rama Poster Show -- Classic Collection #8


Greeting! I'm back again with more of my "Classic Collection," which is posters I had BEFORE I started posting online. (Remember, I have been collecting since I was 11 back in 1976.) Although there is nothing about the original KING KONG in this post (I didn't get my 1956 re-release poster until after I started posting online. My 60's international poster I got a second copy of while I was already online as well---so those will not be included in the "classics collection"). However, there are a few later KONGS and a KONG wanna be. So why not salute the BIG guy anyway? Here are 10 more "classic" finds from closet...






KING KONG ESCAPES:

Zowie! It's KING KONG VS MECHA KONG in this wild Toho take on the great ape. The 2nd (and final) Japanese Kong is still obviously a man in a (bad) monkey suit---but hello? It's KING KONG! You gotta love it.







KING KONG (1976 remake):

The 1976 remake may not hold a candle to the original, but it did introduce us to (future) Oscar winning actress, Jessica Lange and di have several other things going for it (like an incredible score by John Barry),. It also had a great poster. This image was EVERYWHERE in the fall of 1976. It was on magazines, on T-Shirts, on beach towels, on lunch boxes, on Slurpee cups at 7-11 and even on trading cards. True--everything is out of scale (the girl, the ape, the aircraft and the buildings), but it is still an awesome look at what the movie promised. (And it was so ingrained in people's minds that it was borrowed for GODZILLA VS MEGALON, with the two monsters duking it out on the World Trade Center, even though that scene never takes place in the film!) I actually got to go up on the roof of one of the towers once (in 1998). I am terrified of heights, so I didn't stay up there long. (I also visited the Empire State Building---hitting all of Kong's hangouts, ya know...) I never got close to any railing to look down (if that was even allowed), but I did go to a widow back down in the visitor's center (top floor) and look down. YIKES!






A*P*E (aka SUPER KING KONG) (Turkish):

Made quickly to cash in on all of the publicity surrounding the new KING KONG remake in 1976, A*P*E was sued by RKO when it was first announced (originally it was to be called THE NEW KING KONG), before receiving its title change for US markets. But overseas, it was marketed as a KING KONG film, as you can see by this wonderful Turkish poster below. A*P*E was also made in 3D amazingly, especially considering that this movie only had a budget of $23,000 (in 1976) and was shot in 14 days. TV's "GROWING PAINS" mom, Joanna Kerns, stars in the film (although she is billed as Joanna Deverona (or something like that) in the movie...  God knows where they came up with Gilda McDonall for the poster, though! Ha!)







CARRIE:

This is one of the oldest (meaning I've had it the longest) posters in my collection, probably the 2nd poster I ever owned or so. I love this poster for CARRIE. I wanted to see it so bad as a kid---but got taken to AIRPORT '77 instead when my chance came. Drat it all. The movie is a true classic and holds up so well, despite the clothes and the hair. Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie both deserved their Oscar nominations for this amazing film. Forget the remakes and sequel (Yes, there really was a sequel. THE RAGE: CARRIE 2. Look it up!). The original is still queen of the prom.








A NIGHT IN HEAVEN:

Normally I probably would have passed on this flick, but when I had the chance to meet Christopher Atkins once, I snagged this poster and had him sign it (see close up of signature below). I actually got two copies for him to sign (thinking I could maybe sell one down the road---have not done so yet).








ZOTZ:

William Castle was the king of the gimmicks. Everything from Percepto (tiny shocks to the seats of audience members) in THE TINGLER, to a death by fright insurance policy for MACABRE, or a ghost that floated over the audience (EMERGO) in THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL helped him sell his little horror films back in the 1950s and 60s. I'm a Castle fan and have all of his horror movie posters (with the exception of the beautiful and terribly expensive HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL poster). ZOTZ is about a magic coin...and plastic ZOTZ coins were given out to theater patrons. I have one somewhere (an ebay find many years ago).








MY BLOODY VALENTINE:

Here's the poster for a classic 80's holiday slasher flick. I think I've picked up other copies over the years (it's always nice to have a spare). Apparently this original version of MY BLOODY VALENTINE was savaged by the MPAA to get an R rating. I thought I had heard talk of a special edition video release or something like that with the censored parts restored, but I don't think anything has come of it. The remake was a lot more gruesome and bloody (and in 3D to boot) than the original ever thought of being. 









ALICE IN WONDERLAND ('70's re-release):

'Tis Brillig! I got this poster at the Disney MGM Studios (I think it has since changed its name) in Florida at a small shop that was there (back in 1989) that sold original movie memorabilia for Disney flicks. ALICE IN WONDERLAND was always one of my favorites because it is so nonsensical. The color on the poster is wild, too. 








CREEPSHOW:

Although I may have picked up another copy of this a while back (and I know I got the original version with the boy reading the comic book---before Warner Bros bought the film), I know I have had this particular poster since long before I started posting online. This was a fun film, too. Great use of color and a great musical score. 








HOUSE OF WAX (1970's re-release):

Although I have the original release poster and the 80's re-release poster, this 70's re-release poster for HOUSE OF WAX is my favorite. This is the poster that was displayed outside of the Country Squire Theatre (no longer in existence) when I went to see it. This film is a fun classic and the 3D in the flick made me a die hard fan of the process and of gimmicks of all time. The fire in 3D made it look as if the chairs right ahead of us were burning (amazing) and the paddle ball sequence was just fantastic. Wow! Wow! Wow! I am ever so glad I got to see this as a kid in proper old school 3D. It was sooooo in-your-face fabulous!






Okay--that is another 10 classics. I need to sign off. And remember, It wasn't airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast.


CHEERS!

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