1933 King Kong Three Sheet Brings $388,375 To Set House Record In Heritage Auctions $2.21+ Million Movie Poster Event

1942 Casablanca Insert poster brings $191,200 and incredibly rare 1928 Mickey Mouse movie poster realized $101,525 in stellar Nov. 29 auction in Dallas

DALLAS — A stunning, near perfect 1933 Style B three sheet movie poster for the RKO classic King Kong realized $388,375 in Heritage Auctions' Nov. 29 Vintage Movie Poster Signature® Auction, shattering the house record for a price realized for a movie poster in a Heritage event. All prices include Buyer's Premium.

"The stellar price realized for this King Kong poster was fully more than four-and-a-half times the pre-auction estimate of $80,000+," said Grey Smith, Director of Vintage Movie Posters at Heritage. "It's simply an astounding piece of art that transcends its category and subject matter, which just happens to be one of the greatest films ever made."

The Dallas auction, on Nov. 29, realized more than $2.21 million dollars altogether, with a sell-through rate of 94% by value.

While not scaling the same dizzying heights of the price scale as King Kong, another record price was realized for an insert movie poster when a 1942 insert from Warner Brothers Casablanca created a stir in the collecting community by soaring, amidst spirited bidding, to finish the day at $191,200.

International headlines were made in the days before, and certainly just after the auction when the earliest known Mickey Mouse movie poster — the only known 1928 Celebrity Productions Mickey Mouse Stock Poster One Sheet — drew interest from film and Mickey fans alike to soar to $101,575.

"The enthusiasm among collectors was nothing short of tremendous," said Smith, "especially among the best individual examples in the sale, as evidenced by the tremendous heights that collectors were willing to scale to obtain them."

Original paper from early Three Stooges films has been in great demand in the last year, with the offering of a 1938 one sheet from Tassels in the Air, notably from the Leonard Maltin Collection,becoming the latest piece from the legendary comedy trio to break the $50,000 mark as it realized $56, 763, a superb Title Lobby Card from the greatest and most sought-after horror classic of them all, Dracula, realized $41,825.

Further highlights include, but are not limited to:

King Kong (RKO, 1933), French Grande (46" X 62.75") Style A: Realized $44,812.

The Bank (Essanay, 1915), One Sheet (28" X 42"): Realized $35,850.

The Day of the Triffids (Allied Artists, 1962): Joseph Smith Original Movie Poster Art (22" X 27.25"), realized $33,460.

Forbidden Planet (MGM, 1956), One Sheet (27" X 41"): Realized $29,875.

This Gun for Hire (Paramount, 1942), One Sheet (27" X 41"): Realized $19,120.