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Press Release - October 27, 2009

Universal Horror, a classic vamp and serial sci-fi: Vintage Movie Posters at Heritage Auctions

Never-before-seen Black Cat poster, White Zombie half-sheet, six-sheet Jane Russell Outlaw and Flash Gordon's Trip To Mars anchor Heritage Auctions Nov. 12-13 Movie Poster sale

DALLAS, TX -- When a rare, one-of-a-kind B-style stone litho movie poster for the 1934 classic Universal horror movie The Black Cat, starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, crosses the auction block on Nov. 12-13, as the highlight of Heritage Auctions' Signature® Vintage Movie Posters Auction, the entire hobby will be holding its breath to see if it becomes the most valuable movie poster of all time. It is estimated at $250,000+.

"This is a poster that really does transcend the genre," said Grey Smith, Director of Vintage Movie Posters at Heritage Auctions. "Graphically it's an obvious stunner, and it's the only one of its kind known to exist on the planet. It's as important as a piece of art and pop culture as it is as a movie poster."

The poster comes from the legendary collection of Todd Feiertag, who set the current world's record price for a movie poster a decade ago with the $453,500 sale of a one-sheet for 1932's The Mummy in 1997.

"We're obviously hoping for a world record price," said Smith. "It's easy to throw around the term 'museum-quality,' but this truly fits the bill."

Another incredibly rare classic horror poster, a 1934 White Zombie half sheet, along with four original lobby cards, provides extra heft to the Heritage Auctions sale, with a rarity almost equal to the headlining poster. It is estimated at $75,000+.

"Lugosi's performance as Murder Legendre in White Zombie is one of the great performances of Golden Age Hollywood," said Grey Smith, Director of Movie Posters at Heritage Auctions, "and the poster for the film is one of the most sought after in the realm of movie poster collecting. You simply never see this poster or these lobby cards all together at once."

If classic horror tops the bill in the realm of Vintage Movie Posters, then it's legendary leading ladies that come in a close second. Heritage Auctions fills that bill with a gorgeous six-sheet poster for 1943's The Outlaw, featuring a controversial Jane Russell in the movie, and the seductive pose that made her a household name. It didn't hurt the film's notoriety, either, that Howard Hughes stepped in to finish the movie after the original director, Howard Hawks, stepped down. Heritage Auctions estimates the poster at $30,000+.

"The Outlaw has the reputation of being the most controversial film made during the 1940s," said Smith. "It almost wasn't even released, as the Motion Picture Production Code office refused to approve the original script and then, after seeing a rough cut, deemed the film indecent for its close-up shots of Jane Russell's cleavage."

Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (Universal, 1938) is a classic and highly-desirable serial sci-fi poster representing the second Flash Gordon installment, with the legendary Buster Crabbe as Flash, Jean Rogers as Dale Arden and Charles Middleton as the most-perfect Ming the Merciless of all time. This full color beauty is a real gem, made even more remarkable because the condition is completely original. It is estimated at $18,000+.

A series of three Italian display posters from the premiere of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, crafted specifically for the 1966 Rome premiere of the film are nothing short of the greatest posters ever created for the best and final film of the "Man With No Name" movies that made Clint Eastwood one of the world's great leading men. American audiences had to wait more than a year for the film to hit and by then word had spread that this "Spaghetti Western" was nothing short of sheer genius. The same can be said of these amazing posters. Heritage Auctions has estimated the posters at $16,000+.

Of particular note in the Heritage Auctions sale is an in-depth collection of the best selections of original photographs of the major entertainment stars of the last 100 years that has ever been seen on the market. Within the hundreds of 11” X 14” and 8” X 10” photos are prime examples of iconic stars like Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, Carole Lombard, Hedy Lamarr, Louise Brooks, Clara Bow, and many more, along with photographers like Edward Curtis, Alfred Cheney Johnston, Edwin Bower Hesser, Ruth Harriet Louise, George Hurrell, and Clarence Bull, all the very best glamour photographers of their time.

“This is the third Glamour and Entertainment Photography auction we've run as part of our Vintage Movie Posters auctions," said Smith, "and we believe it’s our best one to date."

Further highlights include, but are not limited to:

Ten Cents a Dance (Columbia, 1931). One Sheet (27" X 41") Style B: The only known copy of this poster from the classic pre-Code movie starring Barbara Stanwyck and Monroe Owlsey in a story of suspicion, sin and theft. Full of racy pre-Code dialogue and sexual innuendo, the film was directed by screen great Lionel Barrymore. Estimate: $15,000+.

Tarzan of the Apes (First National, 1918). One Sheet (27" X 41"): The only known copy of a poster from this movie showing Elmo Lincoln, an important leading man of early Hollywood and the very first Tarzan. Offered here is a beautiful, and extremely rare, stone litho one sheet for this landmark film. It is, in fact, the only one of its type known to exist, with the other one sheets known picturing Gordon Griffith in the role of Tarzan as a boy. Estimate: $10,000+

Spies (MGM-UFA, 1928). Title Lobby Card (11" X 14"), and Spies (MGM-UFA, 1928). Title Lobby Card (11" X 14"): Immediately following his landmark science fiction epic Metropolis (1927), genius director Fritz Lang crafted this smaller film. Based on an original story by Lang's wife, Thea von Harbou (who had also penned Metropolis), this action/espionage film is considered the granddaddy of all espionage thrillers to come. The poster is estimated at $10,000+; the Title Lobby Card is estimated at $4,000+.

Of Human Bondage (RKO, 1934). One Sheet (27" X 41"): The movie that lifted Bette Davis to stardom. Based on the book by W. Somerset Maugham about Philip Carey (Leslie Howard), as a med student and failed artist who engages in a disastrous affair with a morally bereft waitress (Davis) resulting in a relationship that destroys them both. An important and hugely popular pre-Code film, posters from which are virtually non-existent. Estimate: $8,000+.

Lost Horizon (Columbia, 1937). One Sheet (27" X 41"): A highly sought after poster from Frank Capra's wonderful fantasy film with art created by legendary illustrator James Montgomery Flagg. After a plane crash in the Himalayas, Ronald Colman and his fellow passengers are rescued by a mysterious group of sherpas and taken to the legendary land of Shangri-la. There he meets the beautiful Jane Wyatt and the ancient High Lama, portrayed by Sam Jaffe. Posters for this classic film rarely turn up. Estimate: $7,000+.

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $700 million, and 470,000+ 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 www.HA.com.

Want to get the up-to-the-minute updates and breaking news stories about Heritage Auctions? Get them as they happen at: www.Twitter.com/HeritagePress; www.Twitter.com/JimHalperin; Facebook: Heritage Auction Galleries. To view a compete archive of Heritage press releases go to: www.HA.com/PR. To link to this press release on your blog or Website: www.HA.com/PR-1750.

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