Category Archives: 1940s posters

Ciriello Movie Posters!

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Although he is generally not mentioned in the same breath as the incredible Italian trio of Ballester–Capitani-Martinati, it is without debate that fellow Italian artist, Averardo Ciriello, is right up there with the poster kings of design when you take a peek at his astonishing résumé of Hollywood classics.

My only guess is that the illustrator’s choice of doing girlie pin-ups for the Italian erotic comic book, Maghella, perhaps soiled his splendid reputation later in life. Whatever the case may be, his gorgeous work cannot be denied. (via MoviePosterDB)

Throw Capone A Bone!

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To finish off mob week, I figured we should go right to the top dog by featuring cinema’s most notorious gangster, Al Capone.

Several biopics have tried to capture the killer Capone, but I would pick out DeNiro’s performance in The Untouchables and Boris Grinsson’s French affiches of Rod Steiger as the best in the lineup — even though John Solie’s one-sheets of Ben Gazzara do make him look like a pretty badass version of the 1920’s kingpin…even if he is wearing spats!


Dillinger Movie Posters

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Contemporary film fans were gunned down by Chicago gangster, John Dillinger, last summer with Johnny Depp’s dead-eye portrayal in Public Enemies. But there have been plenty of other pics profiling the charming Depression-era bank robber over the years…

Scarfaces!

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Everybody’s favorite Scarface or, at least, the most popular is Al Pacino. But a lot of different actors have tackled the part of the notorious gangleader, or some B-movie bastardized version of the character.

So say hello to my little friends, which were created by the likes of such notorious poster artists as Osvaldo Venturi (bottom, left), Michel Landi (top, 4th on right), Rinaldo Geleng (top, far right), and Constantin Belinsky (bottom, middle).


Hervé Morvan, French Poster Genius!

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No, I’m not talking about former Fantasy Island star, Hervé Villechaize — although you could say that Monsieur Morvan (1917-1980) has created a visual oasis with his designs that will be forever tattooed in our minds.

Similiar in style to Savignac, Morvan was known primarily for his playful, color print ads as his illustrations were stamped on everything from Perrier to Panzani Pasta, as well as beer, wine, and cigarettes. In 1942, he got his first crack at designing movie posters — and never looked back, covering such classics as The Grande Illusion and Casablanca. And now thanks to the recent PieBooks release, Herve Morvan: The Genius of French Poster Art, you can let your eyeballs soak up his scrumptious feast! (via FishInk)

Motorin’ Movie Posters

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To paraphrase a line from Stripes, “I like fast cars and fast women!”

Well, if you’re Paul Veysey, you might amend that to “fast movie posters”, as the author of Motor Movies – The Posters! has put together a turbo-charged collection of some of the hottest one sheets on wheels on his website, DrivePast, which also includes a nice vintage selection of pre-1950’s models…Vroom, vroom!

Noir City Lights

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Can’t make it to Sundance? The Noir City Film Festival unspools in San Francisco this weekend with plenty of oldie but goodies like Gaslight, Don’t Bother To Knock, and Sorry Wrong Number…and you can also buy some noiry-themed woodcuts!

The Art of Péron

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René Péron (1904-1972), the dynamic French artist who was highlighted yesterday for his Caine Mutiny masterpiece, established himself and his art deco style in the 1920’s and never looked back as he designed posters for some of the era’s most memorable films (King Kong, 1933), mixing his rich, vibrant colors and elegant portraiture for six decades. Viva el Péron!

When Péron Met Bogey…

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The Caine Mutiny was not René Péron’s only collaboration with Humphrey Bogart as these other movie posters below show this was more than just the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Here’s looking at you, kids…