Metropolis and King Kong S2 3-sheet posters
Metropolis 1927: Film Archive |
King Kong 1933: 3-sheet poster | Novelisation | Promotional material | SEX! poster 1967 |
Contents
- The S2 copies 1997-2006
- Artists Heinz Schulz-Neudamm & Glenn Cravath
- Metropolis 1927
- King Kong 1933
- Auction Sales
- Conclusion
- Endnotes
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1. The S2 copies 1997-2006
Between 1997 and 2006 the S2 Art Group in the United States worked with the Bruce Hershenson Movie Poster Archive, the American Film Institute and various collectors and institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York, to create a series of traditionally printed, lithographic reproductions of ‘100 American Classic Movie Posters’[1]. Two of the most spectacular examples arising from the project were the German 3-sheet for Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) and the United States 3-sheet for Merian C. Cooper's King Kong (1933). Only one of these posters – the German, and a singular version at that - bore the responsible artist's signature, reflecting the constraints imposed by major film studios such as UFA and RKO in which rights and attributions were tightly held. Then, as now, the distinctiveness of the two posters was evident and, as a result, the identity of the artist responsible for the King Kong poster can be readily identified. The inclusion of the foreign Metropolis poster in the S2 reprint / recreation program was due to its international recognition as a classic of the genre, if not THE classic, and the absence of a known American equivalent for a film which was produced and released by the German UFA studio in collaboration with the American Paramount Pictures. In a similar vein, S2 also reproduced two Russian Constructivist movie posters – Journey to Mars (1918) and the Sternberg Brother’s The Love Triangle (1927).
The King Kong poster was chosen from a group of equally famous posters associated with that movie's original release and is referred to as the Style A 3-sheet [2]. The image was immediately recognised as iconic and featured in a variety of promotional posters, heralds and newspaper advertisements during 1933 and subsequent re-release campaigns around the world [3]. It is a stunning piece of graphic art and continues to be used in the promotion of products related to the original film, such as DVD and Blu-ray discs.
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| New York Times 1 March 1933 |
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| The Herald, Melbourne, 22 July 1933. |
Both S2 Art Group posters were produced using traditional stone and metal plate lithographic techniques and restored nineteenth and early twentieth century rotary lithographic presses. To distinguish them from the originals, they bore a Ré society trademark, a blind stamp of S2 Editions Atelier, the signature of chromists Amy Bergin (Metropolis) and David Copson (King Kong) and an edition number in pencil on the lower left corner of each poster [4]. They were accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity which described the production process and background to each poster. These statements are reproduced below. In both instances, whilst the original artist is listed as ‘unknown’, they have nevertheless been identified by the current author within the discussion that follows, and inserted within the Certificate text below.
S2 Art Group Ltd. – Certificate of Authenticity – “Metropolis”
This is a fine art lithograph and was produced at S2 Atelier, New York City, in 1997 under the auspices of the Ré Society, Ltd. It was inspired by a movie poster created in 1926. The artist is unknown [Heinz Schulz-Neudamm]. Pulled on 3 sheets of Coventry paper, one color at a time from separate plates, this image has been sequentially numbered in pencil in the lower left border, by a curator at S2 Editions. The American chromist, Amy Bergin, re-created the image in 1997 by hand-drawing directly onto specially prepared surfaces that were transferred onto lithographic plates, one plate for each color. The resulting lithograph of pure color is without the dot structure which occurs in the mass-produced photographic process of modern high-speed printing. "Metropolis" was printed on an old German made Dufa press under the supervision of the Atelier's Technical Director Raymond Mazza and senior pressman Vincent Smith. The overall size of the lithograph is 36 1/2" x 83", the same size as the vintage poster. Great care was taken to precisely re-create the artist's original image. The chromist utilized as the model, original posters and other historical materials obtained to insure that this recreation captures the feeling and style, as well as the color and size of the vintage work. This lithograph bears the trademarks of the Ré Society, plus the imprimatur emblem of the S2 Atelier. The signature of the chromist is printed unobtrusively on this lithograph in order to distinguish it from the original Golden Age poster. This limited-edition lithograph preserves a classic work of art from the Golden Age of Posters {1865-1939). It is a testament to the original artist's compelling vision and the painstaking artistry of Ms. Bergin and the contemporary artisans and chromists of S2 Editions.
Considered the "high point of German Expressionist cinema," "Metropolis" was inspired by a visit to New York City in 1924 by Director Fritz Lang. Written by Lang and his wife, Thea von Harbou, it is a vision of technology as master. Lang framed his story of the fight for individual freedom against an overpowering and amoral cityscape of subterranean factories, skyscrapers, and ever-present hordes of blank-faced workers. The film’s most memorable scenes involve Rudolf Klein-Rogge's mad scientist, Rotwang, and his robotic creation, "the false Maria." The movie was described as "a mighty, surging love-drama of the two worlds that work out their turbulent destinies within the confines of a great, imaginative city. The rich live in towering skyscrapers hundreds of stories high. The poor live in squalid caves underground. When a millionaire's son falls in love with a beautiful cave girl, a typhoon of riotous emotions is set loose which climaxes with a devastating flood that destroys the metropolis." "The year 1927 belonged to the sci-fi masterpiece "Metropolis," the Fritz Lang/Thea von Harbou vision of the world one hundred years in the future, with its magnificent architecture, monumental machinery, ravishing robotrix, fabulous special effects, and brilliant mad scientist, Rotwang." From "Graven Images," Grove Press, 1992. Published by S2 Art Group, Ltd.
A similar description also exists for the King Kong poster.
S2 Art Group - Certificate of Authenticity – “King Kong”
This lithograph is a remastered work of fine art which was produced at the prestigious S2 Editions Atelier, New York City, in 1997 under the auspices of the Ré Society and S2 Art company. It is based upon a vintage poster first printed in 1933. The artist is unknown [Glenn Cravath]. Pulled on 3 sheets of Rives BFK hand-made paper, one color at a time from separate plates, this lithograph has been sequentially numbered in pencil in the lower left corner, by a curator at S2 Editions. The noted American chromist, David Copson, re-created the image in 1997 by hand-drawing directly onto specially prepared surfaces that were transferred onto lithographic plates, one plate for each color. The resulting lithograph is in pure color, without the dot structure which occurs in the photographic process of modern printing "King Kong" was printed on a 19th century French-made Marinoni Voirin press under the supervision of the Atelier's Technical Director, Raymond Mazza The overall paper size of the 3 three lithographs is 41 1/2" x 83", the same size as the vintage poster. Great care was taken to precisely re-create the artist's original image. The chromist utilized as the model, vintage posters and other historical materials to insure that this re-mastered work of art captures the precise feeling and style, as well as the color and composition of the vintage work. This lithograph bears the trademark of the Ré Society, plus the blind stamped emblem of the S2 Editions Atelier. The signature of the chromist, David Copson, is also printed unobtrusively on this lithograph in order to distinguishes it from the Golden Age poster. This lithograph preserves a classic work of art from the Golden Age of Posters (1865-1939). It is a testament to the artist's compelling vision and the painstaking artistry of Mr. Copson and the contemporary artisans and chromists of 52 Editions.
The virtuoso animation of Willis O'Brian dazzled the audiences when "King Kong" premiered in 1933. Decades later, the film continues to amaze audiences who marvel at the humanity the King Kong possesses. Although the artist who created this classic movie poster is unknown, it is among the most important and beloved movie posters of all time. This "King Kong" lithograph combines the most important elements one looks for in a movie poster - it is from a classic film; it is a magnificent art work; and it depicts the most memorable scene in the film - one of the most remembered images in movie history. The few "King Kong" vintage posters of this image that are known to have survived, are in very bad condition due to folds, tears, and paper deterioration. Yet, in spite of bad condition, auction prices for this image exceed $100,000. This "King Kong" lithograph is in perfect condition and is printed on three sheets, exactly the size and the way the original movie poster was printed in 1933. Published by S2 Art Group, Ltd.
The traditional lithographic technique utilised by S2 is in sharp contrast to the photolithographic (colour offset) process which replaced stone and metal plate lithography in the production of American movie posters during the 1930s, and later in countries such as France (1950s), Argentina (1970s) and Australia (1970s). Photolithography - distinguished by the numerous dots of colour which make up the printed image – is, as the name implies, based on a photographic process in which original artwork is photographed and colour separation plates are produced for use in high speed printing presses. The latter are able to run off thousands of prints from a single set of colour separations, with little or no deterioration in the quality of the image. On the other hand, the stone, metal or mylar-based lithographic process as applied by S2 and its forebears is limited in the number of prints generated - usually in the order of hundreds - before degradation of the colour separations occurs as the image on the plate deteriorates. The resultant printed image is, however, more painterly, as it is based on an artist – or chromist – drawing directly onto the stone or other type of lithographic plate prior to the prints being registered, and hand pulled or singularly passed through a mechanical (rotary) press for each and every colour separation.[6] In addition, the image contains solid or subtly textured blocks of colour, as with an original painting, and is therefore closer to a singular work of art than one produced using the photolithographic process. In a similar vein, the manual silkscreen printing process has been used for the production of limited runs of posters, and though the result is often of a high quality, it is uneconomical and rarely used for movie promotional campaigns, as in the production of posters or flyers. For reasons of quality, artistry and intensity of colour, alongside issues of age and scarcity, stone and metal plate lithographed movie posters from the 1920s and 1930s are often highly valued as original works of art.
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| Unknown newspaper, 24 March 1933. |
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| Screen Book Magazine, February 1933. |
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2. Artists Heinz Schulz-Neudamm & Glenn Cravath
The original Metropolis and King Kong posters are two of the finest examples of modern movie poster graphic design and the lithographic art, and noted as such in published histories and collections of movie posters.[7] This especially applies to the individual artistry of Heinz Schulz-Neudamm in the production of Metropolis, and that of the original artist and those chromists and technicians from the Morgan Lithograph Company responsible for King Kong. [8] To date, the name of the artist who drew the original image used for the King Kong poster has not been widely identified (cf. the S2 Group Certificate of Authenticity), apart from within fan literature. For example, in a 2014 Vanity Fair article entitled ‘The best graphic movie posters of all time’, both Metropolis and King Kong are included amongst the 27 listed. [9] However, the artist for the latter is given as ‘Unknown’, whilst for all the other posters this is not the case. Among fans it is generally accepted that Glenn Cravath (1897-1964), an American movie poster artist and illustrator, was responsible for the majority of the King Kong promotional campaign artwork.[10] Though quite prolific during his lifetime, and working on a number of significant film promotion campaigns, it was only following the death of his son in the late 1990s that his archive became available and the importance of his work was realised. The Internet Movie Database has broadly attributed King Kong poster design to him. [11] Most significantly, he is specifically identified as illustrator of the King Kong cartoon strip in the original release press sheet of early 1933. Though his name does not appear on any of the posters within that publication, the style of the cartoon strip and large poster imagery is similar. Therefore, attribution is reasonable pending confirmation through the discovery of original, signed preliminary artwork.
Cravath worked as an illustrator based in New York from the early 1920s, before turning to movie poster design later that decade. His experience as a comic strip illustrator held him in good stead when commissioned to do large scale, full colour posters. Both the comic strip and movie poster of the period required an often cartoonish and exaggerated portrayal of action and individuals within a single, largely painted image. Furthermore, Cravath excelled at the adventure genre, of which King Kong was the epitome. As part of this process, he would prepare preliminary designs in watercolour or oil. These would then be passed to the studio for approval and forwarded on to firms such as the Morgan Lithograph Company for conversion into posters and final printing through the stone or metal plate lithograph process.
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| Cover of King Kong novelisation, December 1932. Art work by Glenn Cravath. |
Further evidence suggesting Cravath's involvement in the King Kong campaign comes from an entry in a 2007 Heritage Auctions sale of the related comic strip art referred to above. It reads as follows:
All of the original artwork for the 1933 release of "King Kong" was presumed not to exist. [Glenn Cravath’s] son (and heir) passed away in the late 1990s and the world was treated to a great surprise! In addition to some color preliminaries for the poster art, the actual originals used for the King Kong comic strip were among the find. A set of six dailies, to be published in black and white, Monday to Saturday, were created for the local papers to introduce and advertise the movie and prepare the audience for the spectacle. The studio was expecting a major hit and created one of the most elaborate press books of all time to promote the movie. The six strips were prominently featured in the press book, taking up most of a whole page, directly following a full-color centerfold insert. Exhibitors were expected to provide these strips, with the typeset captions, to their local newspapers. [12]
Judging from these comments, we can assume Cravath is in large part responsible for the Style A King Kong 3-sheet poster art. Furthermore, he is known to have worked for RKO Pictures during 1932 on a poster for the movie Carnival Boat, with the original artwork having survived. [13] King Kong was produced by RKO during that year and released at the beginning of 1933. Cravath's art also features on the dustjacket of the original novelisation of King Kong by Delos W. Lovelace, published in December 1932. Therein the profile of a fierce Kong, standing atop the Empire State building holding Fay Wray (Ann Darrow) in one hand and a wrecked fighter plane in the other, bears striking similarity to that seen in the 3-sheet. The dustjacket is busier than the poster, less stylised and, in fact, less dramatic as a finished artwork.
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| Glenn Cravath, cover of the novelisation of King Kong, published December 1932. Three separate images are included, on the front, side and rear. |
It is possible that the artisans at Morgan's Lithograph Company played a role in refining the image for the 3-sheet, though we will never know without the evidence of the preliminary drawing by Cravath. It is unfortunate that generally his signature was not included on the many posters he produced for Hollywood production companies such as RKO, Columbia, Paramount and MGM over the years, though it does appear on many of his preliminary sketches and cartoon strips. Cravath corrected this to a degree when he worked on numerous Jungle Jim movies featuring Johnny Weissmuller in the 1950s. Drawings by Willis O’Brien were also used for some of the early promotional material, such as in the Australian herald reproduced above. It also was largely unattributed.
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| King Kong herald, Alhambra Theatre, Brisbane, Australia, 19-20 December 1933, 4 pages. Images by Glenn Cravath (top) and Willis O’Brien (bottom). Note the censorship warning at the bottom right. [5] |
Both the Metropolis and King Kong 3-sheet posters are now extremely rare and priced accordingly, with Metropolis the most expensive movie poster of all time as of December 2019, having sold for US$690,000 in 2005, whilst a copy of King Kong brought US$244,500 in 1999. [14] A detailed description of each poster in its original form is included below, alongside reference to the modern S2 reproductions.
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| Newspaper advertisement, premiere of King Kong, New York, 2 March 1933. |
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3. Metropolis 1927
“The crown jewel of the poster world” (Sean Lickenback 2012)
The most notable of all Metropolis promotional material issued since the film’s Berlin premiere in January 1927 is the monochrome German 3-sheet poster with art by Heinz Schulz-Neudamm. It features the head of the movie's female robot / android staring blankly out at the viewer, before a backdrop of tall, stylised skyscrapers and overhead thoroughfare, plus distinctive art deco lettering at the head. Though originally ephemeral items, movie posters such as this are now highly prized amongst collectors and art galleries, recognized as fine examples of graphic art and, in this specific instance, exhibiting elements of German Expressionism, Art Deco, Bauhaus, Cubism and Futurism, all within a single image.
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| Heinz Schulz-Neudamm, Metropolis, German 1-sheet, 1927. Source unknown. |
The Metropolis poster is one of the rarest and most valuable of all movie posters, with only four copies known to have survived the years. It was originally printed in Berlin during the latter part of 1926 and early 1927 to promote Fritz Lang’s monumental film. Released by UFA in Germany on 10 January 1927 and Paramount in the United States the following March, Metropolis received mixed reviews at the time. Though flawed in regards to its narrative and contemporary acting style, the set design and technical elements were ground breaking, as was its basic premise concerning the creation of an artificially intelligent android and the threat that posed to society. Metropolis is now considered a classic of the science fiction and fantasy genre and, as a result, related ephemera is highly valued, including posters, lobby cards, books and booklets, postcards, advertisements and photographs from its initial and subsequent releases. The re-release of the film in 1984, once again coloured and with a rock music soundtrack compiled by Georgio Moroder, brought a new, young audience to Metropolis. Its restoration in 2010 to a near complete version of the director's cut of 1927, has renewed interest in this Weimar era cinematic relic, taking it beyond the purview of fandom into the wider field of international cultural icon. As a result, it is now, for example, studied as part of secondary and tertiary curricula and referenced in art history texts. It was also placed on the UNESCO Memory of the World list in 2001. Though the film ran for 3 ½ hours in the original German form – on tinted 35mm nitrate film, projected at 16 frames per second as originally shot, and accompanied by sound effects and Gottfried Huppertz's full orchestral score - the negative reviews resulted in its re-cutting by a American playwright Channing Pollock to run for 90 minutes at a speeded up 24-26 frames per second. [15] Paramount's planned poster and promotional campaign – as evidenced by a rare, extant press sheet - was also apparently curtailed and, as a result, only an insert, window card, lobby cards and newspaper advertisements are known for its original American release. [16] None of the German artwork was apparently used in the United States campaign, though it did appear in connection with European and other overseas releases. For example, a single UFA image of the city's towering skyscrapers was utilised as part of the 1928 Australian release. [17]
The Schulz-Neudamm poster – one of two original German 3-sheets produced for Metropolis, with the other by Werner Graul - has been cited as “arguably the most beautiful poster ever designed”, such is the artistry evident in its creation.[18] The poster was printed by the lithographic firm of Paul Grasnick, Berlin, and the artist was Paul Heinz Otto Schulz, born in Neudamm, a district of Königsberg Neumark, in 1899. Working until the 1940s in Berlin, the young artist added Neudamm to his name and dropped the Paul to become Heinz Schulz-Neudamm. At the time of the production of Metropolis he was head illustrator within the UFA publicity department, responsible for the production of a variety of promotional material.[19] His own skill as an artist is evident in the numerous movie posters he designed through to the 1960s, many for the German release of American movies such as Anna Karenina (1935, with Greta Garbo) and Mutiny on the Bounty (1935, with Charles Laughton and Clark Gable). Following the end of the war he moved to Wiesbaden, Germany, where he died in 1969.[20] A gallery of his work can be seen at the CineMaterial website and the German-language Archiv fur Filmposters.[21]
The Metropolis poster is a lithograph printed in 3 sheets. It is large – approximately 3 feet by 7 feet, or 1 metre by 2 metres. Either singularly, or grouped with other 3-sheets, it is an impressive piece of promotional material. The poster was initially made available for domestic distribution and bore German language text across its lower section referencing the director, the stars of the film and aspects of the production. It also included the name of the artist. This poster would have been heavily used in the local release campaign during 1927. An aspect of this is revealed in a scene within Lang’s subsequent film Spione [Spies] (1928), filmed at the Berlin UFA studios around August 1927. It includes a set in which one of the main characters is seen running through a back street of Berlin. On the wall in the background is a group of large posters, including three of the Werner Graul Metropolis 3-sheets on the lower left, and four of the Schulz-Neudamm posters on the upper right. The scene takes place approximately one hour into the film and lasts only a few seconds. It is a rare example of film posters featuring in a contemporary film and is reflective of the innovation and artistry of German cinema and set design during the 1920s.
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| Frame still from Fritz Lang (director), Spione, UFA, 1928. Metropolis posters can be seen in the background on a wall. |
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| Sendlingeter Lightspiele, Munich, August 1927. Note the two Metropolis 3-sheet posters on the front of the building. |
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| Werner Graul 3-sheet Metropolis poster, 1927. |
An example of the original Werner Graul Metropolis poster is included above, along with a photograph of a Munich theatre featuring the two posters, amongst others. It features the head of the unconscious Maria, lying in Rotwang’s transformation machine just prior to the transfer of her essence to the mechanical robot, which then takes on her form. We know that originally there were three variants of the Werner Graul poster:
1) one for the premiere presentation at Berlin’s UFA-Pavilion am Nollendorfplatz;
2) another with generic text for distribution throughout Germany, referring to the director, stars and production elements (reproduced above); and
3) a third with no specific text along the bottom apart from two UFA logos.
The third poster was for use both inside and – possibly - outside of Germany, with the blank space allowing individual theatre owners to insert relevant local details in promoting the film. Only the latter two variants are known for the Schulz-Neudamm poster. In another scene from Spione, which takes place just around the corner from the previous scene, the man stands before a row of the Werner Graul posters. These number some six or more and, as an extension of the previous scene, suggest that up to 12 were used by Lang and UFA in the film’s set design.
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| Frame still from Fritz Lang (director), Spione, UFA, 1928. Werner Graul Metropolis 3-sheet posters seen in the background. |
The potential impact of the large Metropolis 3-sheet posters in situ is thus revealed in dramatic form within Spione through their use en masse in a public arena whilst ever the film was showing nearby. The ephemeral nature of the poster is also suggested, as they were often exposed to nature and eventually defaced, torn down or pasted over. In this instance, leftover posters were made use of by Lang as elements of the set design of his latest feature. In typical circumstances very few posters were preserved, and their artistry largely went unrecognized amongst the wider community beyond the direct movie-going experience. Fortunately, since the days of the French La Belle Époque and the production of high-quality lithographic prints by artists such as Jules Cheret and Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, interest in poster graphic design and collection had developed amongst a small group of individuals and institutions. Despite this, only a single copy of the Metropolis Schulz-Neudamm poster with full text is known to have survived, having been donated by UFA to the Museum of Modern Art, New York, at some point prior to its exhibition there in 1959. A generic, international version was also produced in 1926-7, but without the German text at the base. Three copies of this latter poster are known, with two held in public collections in the United States and Austria. The third came to light from a German collector in 2000 and sold at auction on eBay for US$200,000, then in London during 2005 for £395,000, or US$690,000, to American collector Kenneth Schachter, possibly as an agent for film star Leonardo da Caprio.[22] It was later offered for sale in March 2012 and finally in December of that year as part of a bankruptcy sale. Therein, along with a group of other posters, it sold to Ralph DeLuca of Movie Archives Inc. for US$1.2M (Lewis 2012, Kelsey 2012).[23] As an aside - it can be noted that Glenn Cravath was the artist for the US release 1-sheet poster of Fritz Lang's Spies in 1928. He may, in fact, have worked on the Metropolis campaign the previous year, judging by similarities in style of some of the artwork. [24]
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| Glenn Cravath, Spies, UFA / Paramount, 1-sheet poster, 1928, and next to it a newspaper advertisement from the Lawrence Journal World, Kansas, 22 October 1927. Note the similarity between the two male figures clutching the women - they are identical. The image below featured in the original Paramount Metropolis press book of 1927. |
The Metropolis poster is both artistically of merit and a fine example of lithography as then practiced in Europe. Details of the four known surviving copies are as follows:
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1) Metropolis – Ein Film Von Fritz Lang ... [With text], lithograph printed in black (dark sepia) ink on 3 sheets of grey to brownish coloured paper, size 36 ½ x 81 inches / 92.7 x 205.7 cm, printed by Paul Grasnick, Berlin, 1927. Bearing the name of the artist – ‘Schulz-Neudamm’ – on the right middle section of the poster, adjacent to the head of the robot. Collection: Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of UFA, date unknown. Object number: 80.1961.1. Exhibitions: MOMA, 30th Anniversary Special Installation, 18-29 November 1959; MOMA, Film Posters, 14 December 1960 – 23 February 1961. Illustrated: Edwards 1988. Reproduced below, left. The S2 reproduction is a 3-sheet lithograph of identical dimensions, produced in 1997. This is the only known surviving copy of the poster with full text.
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2) Metropolis / UFA / UFA [No text], lithograph in black (dark sepia) ink on 3 sheets of grey to brownish coloured paper, size 36 ½ x 81 inches / 92.7 x 205.7 cm, printed by Paul Grasnick, Berlin, 1927. Collection: Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of UFA. Object number: 80.1961.2. Reproduced above, right. The absence of text in the lower section enabled individual theatre owners to localise the poster in their promotion of the film by the placement of their logo or simple text revealing location and/or screening time.
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3) Metropolis / UFA / UFA [No text], lithograph in black ink on 3 sheets of grey to brownish coloured paper, size 36 ½ x 81 inches / 92.7 x 205.7 cm, printed by Paul Grasnick, Berlin, 1927. Collection: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek - Austrian National Library, Vienna. Part of a collection first developed in 1929 by Joseph Gregory. Below are two online images of the poster – one presents in an obvious sepia tone similar to the MOMA copies above and closer to the true colour, whilst the second, from the World Digital Library site, presents the poster in a steel grey colour and reveals multiple creases, fold lines and scanning irregularities. [25] It is perhaps an earlier image taken prior to restoration. This specific poster has toured internationally, including to Australia in 2011, and is included in a number of catalogues of famous film posters and compendium of the history of graphic design.[26]
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4) Metropolis / UFA / UFA [No text], lithograph in black (dark sepia) ink on 3 sheets of grey to brownish coloured paper, size 36 ½ x 81 inches / 92.7 x 205.7 cm, printed by Paul Grasnick, Berlin, 1927. Collection: Private. Provenance: German collector circa 2000; eBay, 2000, sold for $200,000; Unknown sale venue, 2002, sold for US$357,750; Reel Poster Gallery, London, 2005, sold to Kenneth Schachter for US$690,000, though Leonardo DiCaprio was rumoured to be the buyer at the time; Movie Poster Exchange March 2012 – offered for $850K then withdrawn; US Bankruptcy Court, Los Angeles, December 2012 – purchased by Ralph DeLuca as part of a lot, for US$1.2M. This copy is the world's most expensive movie poster sold to date, based on the 2005 sale. Although it subsequently sold in 2012 as part of a collection along with other notable posters, the $1.2M price tag therein cannot be allocated to Metropolis alone.
Heinz Schulz-Neudamm’s Metropolis poster is a cultural icon, for many reasons apart from its pure artistry. One factor in this is the ongoing and increasing fascination with robots and artificial intelligence, as reflected in films such as Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and especially Japanese anime. The latter identifies Metropolis as a foundational element of the canon, dating back to at least 1949 through Osama Tezuka's Metropolis manga and creation of the Astro Boy character.[27] The poster itself features in numerous texts dealing with movie poster art, German Expressionism and graphic design. Its three dominant elements – the jagged, lightning bolt-like text at the head; the soaring, stylised skyscraper elements in the middle; and the beautiful head and shoulders portrait of Rotwang's robot on the lower part – individually and in combination have all been influential in areas of movie poster and movie set design. The poster image is also exquisitely drawn and printed, exhibiting subtle gradations in light and shade throughout, making best use of the lithographic process. The face of the robot, or machine woman, is Mona Lisa-like in its captivating beauty and subtle use of light and shadow. The ragged and angular edges of the buildings and headlining text in the upper part of the image is in sharp contrast to the sensual, curvaceous lines of the robot’s head and bare shoulders. The fact that, at this stage, a single copy of the Metropolis 3-sheet will only ever be available for sale on the private market means that its value will continue to rise, despite the poster's ephemeral origins.
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4. King Kong 1933
The King Kong, Style A 3-sheet poster of 1933 (reproduced above), likely designed by Glenn Cravath and printed by Morgan Lithograph Company of Pittsburgh, Cleveland, is the epitome of United States poster art prior to World War II. Colourful and dramatic, it features the two main characters of the movie – Kong and Fay Wray - in the top two thirds of the image, and large, bold text in the bottom third.
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| Cover of King Kong press sheet, RKO Pictures, 1933. Shown on the right is a copy of the design used for both the Style A 3-sheet and the then-new so-called Upright 6-sheet. |
The poster breaks away from the mould of early, silent era posters in no longer being constrained by thick borders. Kong is unrestrained here, just as he was in the movie (for a part, at least). The intensity of the action in the upper section of the poster is also reflected in the large, curved, yellow and red title text at the base. This poster does its job in attracting the attention of the passer by. “What the heck is going on here!” is the natural reaction as we are presented with the image of a gigantic, angry ape clutching a semi-naked woman in one hand and a military fighter bi-plane in another, as it balances precariously on the top of New York's iconic Empire State building, all the while being shot at by other fighter planes. The artist has replicated within the poster one of the most exciting pieces of film ever produced, and for this reason alone the poster is memorable. It plays on the sexual tension associated with the apprehension of a beautiful, young female by a gigantic ape. This has existed in the Western imagination through literature, art and later film since the 1860s when such encounters were first reported, though they were subsequently proved to be without substance. Kong's kidnapping of Ann Darrow is the most well-known of the iconic representations of a now antiquated element of the African adventure scenario which was popular in Hollywood film making from the 1920s through to the 1950s.
Like the Metropolis 3-sheet, few copies of the King Kong poster apparently survive. This is in large part due to its size, paper-based fragility and the fact of its practical, contemporary use in promoting the film. The latter could involve exposure to the elements such as wind, rain and sun, and other destructive factors. Movie posters were not freely available on the open market at the time of their release, but only accessible to theatre owners and staff for use in promotion of a film. In many instances they had to be returned to the film distribution companies for re-use at different venues. The distinct Style A 3-sheet image itself was widely used in newspaper advertisements and reproduced as a poster, both in the US and internationally, at the time of the movie’s original release and within subsequent re-release campaigns. For example, large Austrian and Swedish versions of the poster from 1933 are known, as are smaller Australian day bills from the late 1930s and 1949 re-releases. There was also a giant, upright 6-sheet poster produced for the United States market in 1933, bearing the same image as the 3-sheet. It can be seen in a contemporary photograph of the historic Murphy Theatre, Willmington, Colorado (reproduced below).
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| Original release of King Kong, 1933 – Murphy Theatre, Willmington, Ohio. Source: Byrne Robotics [listserv], posting by Joe Hollon, 3 April 2015. |
According to the original King Kong press sheet, both the 3-sheet and 6-sheet were ‘designed for cut out’ and mounting on display board, with the latter ‘towering over 10 feet in height’. Within the Murphy Theatre photograph we can see atop the awning the square 6-sheet (81 x 81 inches) poster on the left, next to the taller, 10+ feet high, ‘upright’ 6-sheet featuring a cut-out image identical to the Style A 3-sheet. On the opposite side of the awning we see the rear view of two additional 3-sheets, whilst underneath the awning is one of the King Kong 12 feet long banners, plus lobby cards and perhaps one of the smaller coloured inserts in a stand next to the entrance.
Judging from the designs reproduced in the press sheet, Glenn Cravath was responsible for nine major pieces of King Kong poster art. They comprise: 1) the fight scene between Kong and the T-Rex in the jungle, as seen in the Style A 24-sheet; 2) the scene of panic in the New York street in the Style B 24-sheet; 3) another panic in the street scene in the square 6-sheet (seen in situ in the Murphy Theatre photograph); 4) the combination of characters, T-Rex fight and Kong climbing the Empire State building with Fay Wray in the Style B 3-sheet; 5) the previously described artwork in the upright 6-sheet and Style A 3-sheet (seen in situ in the Murphy Theatre photograph); 6) the circus-style Style C 3-sheet; 7) a 1-sheet with a different perspective of Kong fighting on top of the Empire State building; 8) another 1-sheet with Kong behind a fleeing city crowd; and 9) the artwork in the 12 feet long banner (also seen in situ in the Murphy Theatre photograph). All of these, apart from the latter banner, show Kong as angry and dangerous, creating fear and terror, and not as a character naturally garnering sympathy, even though obviously deserving of it following capture, confinement and removal from Skull [Mountain] Island. The ‘It was beauty killed the beast’ epitaph at the end of the film plays on the latter theme.
Those known surviving copies of the original US 3-sheet are listed below. Unlike the Metropolis poster, none are known to be preserved in institutional collections such as libraries, museums or art galleries – the closest being a copy supposedly donated to the American Film Institute in 1999 by Cecile B. deMille’s granddaughter. [28]
1) King Kong, US 3-sheet poster, Style A, size 41 ½ x 83 inches, printed in multiple colours on 3 sheets of paper by ‘Morgan Litho Company, Cleveland, USA’, 1933. Provenance: Rock, Pop and Classic Cinema Posters auction, 15 December 1996, sale price: US$79,500. Illustrated on the Bruce Hershenson emovieposters.com website. This copy was un-restored as of 1996, being heavily folded, torn in places and marked. It is reproduced below.
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2) King Kong, US 3-sheet poster, Style A, size 41 ½ x 83 inches, printed in multiple colours on 3 sheets of paper by ‘Morgan Litho Company, Cleveland, USA’, 1933. Provenance: Sothebys, New York, 17 April 1999. Sold for US$244,500 to the granddaughter of Cecil B. DeMille, who proposed at the time donating it to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science Foundation. It is possible that this is the restored version of item #1. The style B 3-sheet subsequently sold at auction in 2012 for US$388,375.
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3) King Kong, US 3-sheet poster, Style A, 41 ½ x 83 inches, printed in multiple colours on 3 sheets of paper by ‘Morgan Litho Company, Cleveland, USA’, 1933. Collection: Everett Collection. Source: Pulver 2012.
The Morgan Lithographic Company was responsible for production of the King Kong 3-sheet and other promotional material as seen in the original press book.[29] The firm had been in the business of producing posters since the 1860s. By the time King Kong came along in 1933 it was the premier producer of movie posters in the United States. The quality of the King Kong 3-sheet is evidence of this, alongside some of the outstanding posters of the 1920s and early 1930s, including those for silent films by Charlie Chaplin and later for Hollywood’s Carl Laemmlle, producer of Dracula (1931) and The Mummy (1932). Morgan was able to produce a wide range of promotional material, including posters up to 24-sheet in size and 12 feet long banners – all seen on offer within the King Kong press book. The Style A 3-sheet artwork was immediately recognised as iconic and appeared on the right side of the first set of 8 lobby cards.
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| King Kong lobby card, 1933, size 11 x 14 inches, one of a set of 8, RKO Pictures, 1933. |
Other, non-US versions of the full-colour, King Kong Style A 3-sheet image include the following posters – the majority were apparently printed as stone or metal-plate lithographs:
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| 1) Sweden, 1933, oversized 1 sheet, size 25 x 47 inches. Sold at auction for US$31,000 in 2015. |
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| 2) Austria, 1933, size 49 ½ x 111 inches. Sold at auction for US$39,000 in 2010. Note the absence of the planes in the upper right of the image. |
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| 3) Sweden, 1933, 1 sheet, 27 x 40 inches. Lithograph in black and red only. A redrawn image with slightly different perspective. |
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| 4) Spain, 1933, petit magazine poster, size 9 x 14 inches. Listed on eBay December 2019. Printed in red and blue only. |
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| 5) Australia, circa 1937, pre-war day bill, size 13 x 37 inches. Sold at auction for US$9,600 in 27 July 2019. This copy is obviously faded due to light exposure. |
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| 6) Australia, 1949, re-release day bill, size 13 x 37 inches. Sold at auction for US$3,738 in 2005. |
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| 7) Sweden, 1950s, stope, 13 x 28 inches. Offered for sale for US$600 by MPB Auctions, December 2019. Printed in black on dark pink-brown paper. |
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| 8) Argentina, 1950s, Astor Films re-release 1 sheet, size 29 x 43 inches. Printed in red and black. Offered on eBay for US$2,285 in December 2019. A roughly redrawn image. |
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5. Auction sales
A number of auction sales have been identified that feature the Style A 3-sheet and its variants.
15 December 1996, Bruce Hershenson, US$79,500. US 3-sheet (Illustrated above and described as #1).
17 April 1999, Sothebys, New York, US$244,500. US 3-sheet (Illustrated above and described as #2).
5 May 2001, Greg Manning Auctions. US 3-sheet.
18 March 2005, Heritage Auctions, US$3,737. Australian day bill (Illustrated above).
6 March 2006, Christies, London, GBP 10,800. Swedish oversized 1-sheet (Illustrated above).
19 March 2010, Heritage Auctions, US$26,680. Swedish oversized 1-sheet.
12 November 2010, Heritage Auctions, US$38,838. Austrian oversized 3-sheet, 49 ½ x 111 inches.
23 March 2013, Heritage Auctions, $26,290. Swedish oversized 1-sheet.
21 November 2015, Heritage Auctions, $31,070. Swedish oversized 1-sheet.
7 April 2018, Heritage Auctions, $26,290. Swedish oversized 1-sheet.
27 July 2019, Heritage Auctions, US$9,600. Australian day bill (Illustrated above).
1 December 2019, 1stdibs (online), Aus$172,388. Swedish oversized 1-sheet.
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6. Conclusion
As a pair, the Metropolis and King Kong 3-sheets are very different, representing the opposite ends of the spectrum in regards to movie poster graphic design of the 1920s and 1930s – one is monochrome, cold, clinical, artistic (pretentious even), singular in design, austere and solemn, with an innate beauty; the other is colourfully vibrant, energetic, cartoonish and graphically varied. One is German, the other American. Both are high quality examples of the art of lithography. There is no doubt that the spectacular nature of both films lent themselves to the creation of such distinctive imagery. As such, the differences between the two posters are primarily superficial, for, in regards to the artistry displayed by Glenn Cravath and Heinz Schulz-Neudamm, design elements utilised, and production standards that went into these examples of the by-its-very-nature ephemeral movie poster, they achieve their initial purpose and, thankfully, have survived. In this modern era of digital design and reproduction, the thought and inspiration applied by graphic designers and artists remains, though the technical aspects lithography brought to the production of movie posters has changed. The S2 Group reproduction of both posters reminds us of the quality of the originals, and of what has taken place in the interim. The large, billboard size, single sheet digital print on vinyl we observe in the subway as we wait for a train may be hardy, informative and impressive, however the photo-shopped faces, landscapes and products featured therein are a long way from the often magical and phantasmagorical imagery, and corresponding thoughts engendered, experienced when we look upon Kong atop the Empire State building, or stare into the eyes of the beautiful android of Metropolis. And as print gives way to video, the 3-sheet of old is slowly being replaced by the gigantic, live screens as seen in the ‘futuristic’ Blade Runner cityscape, wherein a movie trailer or 30-second advertisement is run before us as we stand on that subway platform. In such a world there still remains a place for the S2 recreation of King Kong and Metropolis, as both reminder of the past and relic of the timeless artistry entailed therein.
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| King Kong [advertisement], Vancouver Province [newspaper], 4 May 1933. [30] |
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| 1933 English wooden King Kong jigsaw puzzle, The Chad Valley Co. Ltd., Harborne, England, 1933. Manufactured for RKO Pictures. The 200 piece puzzle featuring the Style A 3-sheet poster image measures 7 ¾ x 16 inches. |
Endnotes
[1] Scottsdale Art Group - A Gallery Alternative [website], Scottsdale Art Group, Nevada, accessed 12 December 2019. Available URL: http://scottsdaleartgroup.com/. This is a site which as of writing (December 2019) sells the collection of S2 reproduction movie posters. They are also available through the DaVinci Emporium website – refer link below.
[2] Within the original King Kong press book issued by RKO at the time of the film’s release in March 1933 there are coloured illustrations of all of the available posters, heralds, lobby cards and banners. Where there is more than a single type of promotional poster, they are referred to as Style A, Style B etc.
[3] Anthony & Chris, Vanished New York City Art Deco: R-K-O Roxy / Centre Theatre Part 3: Change of Policy, Name & Fortune, Driving for Deco [blog], December 2019. Available URL: https://www.drivingfordeco.com/tag/king-kong/.
[4] Hand Pulled Vintage Movie Poster Lithographs, Da Vinci Emporium [website], accessed 12 December 2019. Available URL: https://davinciemporium.com/. This is an online retail site which sells copies of the S2 reproduction movie posters.
[5] A censorship warning was introduced during the initial Australian release, with the following text: Nervous temperaments are warned of intense excitement in ‘King Kong’.
[6] This process can be seen in the video available at the Scottsdale Art Group website, wherein the example of The Creature from the Black Lagoon poster is used. Duration: 3.50 minutes. Available URL: https://youtu.be/j6zOVZXMMy8.
[7] Gregory J. Edwards, The Book of the International Film Poster, Tiger Books International, London, 1988, 224p.
Tony Nourmand and Graham Marsh, Film Posters of the 30s: the essential movies of the decade, from the Reel Poster Gallery collection, Aurum Press, 2003, 128p. [King Kong illustrated].
[8] Morgan Lithograph Company, Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, Case Western Reserve University, accessed 12 December 2019. Available URL: https://case.edu/ech/articles/m/morgan-lithograph-company.
[9] Alex Beggs, The Best Graphic Movie Posters of All Time, Vanity Fair, 7 February 2014. Available URL: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/photos/2014/03/best-graphic-movie-posters-all-time.
[10] Glenn Cravath, Lambiek Comiclopedia [website], 2019. Available URL: https://www.lambiek.net/artists/c/cravath_glen.htm; Glenn Cravath, CineMaterial [webpage], 2019. Available URL: https://www.cinematerial.com/artists/glenn-cravath-i191.
Glenn Cravath, Internet Movie Database [website], accessed 10 December 2019. Available URL: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2262568/.
[12] Glenn Cravath (1897-1964) - King Kong, circa 1933, original promotional daily newspaper strip-styled illustration, Heritage Auctions, New York, December 2007. Available URL: https://fineart.ha.com/itm/glenn-cravath-1897-1964-king-kong-circa-1933-original-promotional-daily-newspaper-strip-styled-illustration-ink/a/677-58135.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515
[13] Glenn Cravath, Carnival Boat, movie poster illustration, RKO Pathé Pictures, 1932, oil on canvas. Heritage Auctions, New York, 11 February 2011.
[14] Mark Seifert, Is this impossibly rare 1927 Metropolis German 3-sheet about to set a new world record for movie posters?, Bleeding Cool [blog], 5 March 2012. Available URL: https://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/03/05/is-this-impossibly-rare-1927-metropolis-german-3-sheet-about-to-set-a-new-world-record-for-movie-posters/
[15] Michael Organ, Berlin Babylon – Apocalyptic Visions in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis [blog], 30 April 2015. Available URL: https://metropolisbabyon.blogspot.com
[16] It is unclear whether Paramount offered for sale 24-sheet, 6-sheet and 1-sheet posters for the US premiere release campaign of Metropolis in March 1927, as the available low-resolution copies of a few pages from the press book do not provide the relevant information in regard to this. Some large images are seen in that document, though whether they were merely black and white advertisement material for placement in newspapers, or copies of posters, in not clear. The fact that no large posters have surfaced, would suggest that the few items that survive – the biggest of which is an insert - are all those that were printed. The film did have a relatively successful run in the US at numerous theatres, though not to the degree that Paramount or UFA would have liked. The absence of surviving US posters for such a significant film is somewhat of a mystery.
[17] Michael Organ, Metropolis Australian Release 1928 [webpage], Metropolis Film Archive, 5 April 2023. Available URL: https://metropolis1927archive.blogspot.com/2023/04/metropolis-1927-section-5-film-35mm.html.
[18] Jose Juan Barba, Metropolis – the most expensive movie poster, Metalocus [blog], 16 January 2017. Available URL: https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/metropolis-most-expensive-movie-poster [illustrated]
[19] Heinz Schulz-Neudamm, Wikipedia – Germany, 2019. Available URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinz_Schulz-Neudamm. This is the most comprehensive biography available on the internet.
[20] Guilty Novin, A History of Graphic Design: Chapter 86 – A History of German Expressionist Movie Posters and Afterward, The Online Textbook [blog], 2015. Available URL: http://guity-novin.blogspot.com/2015/10/chapter-86-history-of-german.html.
[21] Heinz Schulz-Neudamm – Gallery of Movie Posters, CineMaterial [website], accessed 11 December 2019. Available URL: https://www.cinematerial.com/artists/heinz-schulz-neudamm-i216.
Heinz Schulz-Neudamm, Archiv fur Filmposters [website], Available URL: https://www.filmposter-archiv.de/kinoplakat-grafiker.php?id=10. [Metropolis illustrated]
[22] Andrew Pulver, The 10 most expensive film posters – in pictures, The Guardian, 15 March 2012. Available URL: https://www.theguardian.com/film/gallery/2012/mar/14/10-most-expensive-film-posters-in-pictures. [Metropolis and King Kong illustrated]
[23] Eric Kelsey, World’s most expensive movie poster seized in bankruptcy case, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 June 2012. Available URL: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/metropolis-movie-poster-valuable-seized-bankruptcy-40740; ‘Metropolis’ poster leads $1.2 million auction of movie memorabilia, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 December 2012. Available URL: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/metropolis-poster-leads-12-million-402242 [Illustrated]; Rare ‘Metropolis’ poster fetches high price in U.S. auction, Bankruptcy News, 14 December 2012. Available URL: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/metropolis-poster-record-leonardo-dicaprio-298114.
[24] Scott Marks, Vintage ads from Fritz Lang's Metropolis celebrate the legacy of Kino International's Donald Krim, San Diego Reader, 23 May 2011. Available: https://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/big-screen/2011/may/23/dig-a-hole-barbara-stuart-miss-bunny-on-emthe-gome/#.
Michael Organ, Metropolis – Posters, Lobby Cards, Postcards. Part 1: 1927-8 [webpage], 24 February 2011. Available URL: https://documents.uow.edu.au/~morgan/Metroja.htm.
[25] Metropolis, World Digital Library, 2015. Available URL: https://www.wdl.org/en/item/4316/. [Metropolis illustrated]
[26] Herausgegeben von Peter Mänz, and Christian Maryska, Christian, Das Ufa-Plakat. Filmpremieren 1918-1933, Edition Braus, Heidelberg, 1998, 140p.
Jacqueline Strecker, The Mad Square: Modernity in German Art 1910-1937, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2011. Catalogue of an exhibition. [Metropolis illustrated p.193].
[27] Michael Organ, Metropolis Japanese Release 1928 [webpage], 27 January 2011. Available URL: .
[28] Associated Press, ‘King Kong’ poster is sold for $244,500, The New York Times, 17 April 1999. Available URL: https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/17/nyregion/king-kong-poster-is-sold-for-244500.html.
Ronald V. Borst and Margaret A. Borst, Graven Images: The best of horror, fantasy and science fiction film art, Grove Press, New York, 1992, 240p.
[30] John Mackie, This week in history: 1933 – a giant ape climbs the Empire State, Vancouver Sun, 8 March 2019.
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Last updated: 26 October 2023
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