Monstrous Marquees

[Monsters For Sale]

Do you remember what they showed instead?

No.  Something family-friendly.

It was years before I found those movies on DVD.  As expected, they were terrible!

[Monsters For Sale]

Here are a couple from 1958:




Haunted Strangler & Fiend without a Face - Rialto - New York City, New York - 1958.

("Karloff King of Monsters"  &  "Brutal Murder of Young Girls" on the same bill.  Who could resist?  I don't think Boris would care for this marquee.)


And on the other side of the Atlantic:




Dracula - Gaumont Haymarket - London, England - 1958.

("Do Not See It Alone!")

[Monsters For Sale]

Here is the last one I have identified for now - But it's a nice one:




Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Rivoli - New York City, New York - 1931.

(Don't you wish we had color photos of all these wonderful displays?)

[Mord]

 Color would be nice, but they look absolutely fantastic in black & white as well.

[Scatter]

No.  Something family-friendly.

It was years before I found those movies on DVD.  As expected, they were terrible!

Terrible? Yes.........but gloriously so.

[Monsters For Sale]

Another version of the last story:




Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Fargo - Fargo, North Dakota - 1941.

[Monsters For Sale]

To our North:




Dr. Phibes Rises Again  &  Death Master, The - Downtown - Toronto, Canada - 1972.

("The Death Master" is a modern vampire story.)

[Monsters For Sale]

A couple Universal films:



Incredible Shrinking Man, The - Globe - New York City, New York - 1957.


And...




Jaws - Rivoli - New York City, New York - 1975.

(I'm calling this big fish a "monster" because it was damn near supernaturally strong - Besides, it IS a Universal film.)

[Monsters For Sale]

Here is a theatre dear to my heart:




Blob, The  &  I Married a Monster From Outer Space - Colonial - Phoenixville, Pennsylvania - circa 1958.

(The studio had intended "The Blob" to be a co-feature for a top-billed "I Married a Monster From Outer Space", seen shortened here to fit on the marquee, but "Blob" was so popular that it was later released on its own.)


And, as if that weren't cool enough...




Daughter of Horror  AKA: Dementia - Colonial - Phoenixville, Pennyslvania - 1957 - (As it appeared in 'The Blob'.)


The Colonial is located at 227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.  It is still in business and looks very much as did in the 1950's.  They have a "Blobfest" every year to commemorate being featured in that sci-fi classic.

Here is their website;  http://thecolonialtheatre.com/category/events/blobfest/

[Hepcat]

To our North:




Dr. Phibes Rises Again  &  Death Master, The - Downtown - Toronto, Canada - 1972.

By the time I moved to Toronto the Downtown theatre had become a second run grindhouse showing four flicks from the sixties in one continuous loop. No newspaper ads with start times or anything like that and although the price was right, the interior of the theater really made you feel as if you had hit the skids. Accordingly, it was just perfect. It lasted until about the turn of the century.

 

[Mike Scott]

The SHRINKING MAN marquee was right!

[Monsters For Sale]

The SHRINKING MAN marquee was right!

Yeah.  Fifty-seven years later and we are still talking about it.

[Monsters For Sale]

Here are a couple from the '60's:




Birds, The - RKO Palace - New York City, New York - 1963.

(If you were not into birds, you could see the dancing girls next door.)




Night of the Living Dead - Fulton - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Oct. 1, 1968 - 1.

(Premier Showing)




Night of the Living Dead - Fulton - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Oct. 1, 1968 - 2.

(Premier Showing)

"Night of the Living Dead" would have been a helluva movie to see cold in 1968.  Imagine being one of the very first to see this movie - and then going home to explain it to family and friends.  I wonder if they would have  believed you?

[Monsters For Sale]

Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Rivoli - New York City, New York - 1978.

(None of the remakes were as good as the original.)




Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Regency #1 - San Francisco, California - 1979




Friday the 13th & Don't Go In the House - Cinerama I & II - New York City, New York - 1980

[Monsters For Sale]

I am re-visiting the first post in this thread:


(Click on picture for full-sized image)

Frankenstein  &  Dracula - Victory - New York City, New York - 1952 - 1


Below the Name DRACULA you will see a rare "Frankenstein" poster.  Here it is in color:



FRANKENSTEIN - Poster - 41x27 - Re-issue - Realart - 1951

(Kinda makes you wonder what the whole picture would look like in color, huh?)


This is the real reason I am re-posting the very first picture:



Frankenstein  &  Dracula - Victory - New York City, New York - 1952 - 2 - Box Office

(I found this un-identified picture and KNEW that I had seen this box office in another picture, somewhere...  So I looked back through my pictures and found it was the Victory in the first post!.  The cashier looks a little anxious at being alone at night.)