Imaginary characters, monsters, macabre situations, nightmare atmospheres, mystery and supernatural intertwining: these are all the elements at the base of a good horror film. Since the dawn of cinema, with some incursions already in silent cinema, horror has had an important role within the film industry and was one of the most experimental genres throughout the 20^th Century. 
There were many films that consecrated the genre during the 1930's. Among them: Dracula played by Bela Lugosi (1931), Frankenstein directed by James Whale, with Boris Karloff (1931) − followed by The Bride of Frankenstein in 1935 and Son of Frankenstein in 1939, always with Karloff playing 'the creature' −, Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) and The Walking Dead (1936), both directed by Michael Curtiz. 
These are just some of the most famous titles that are still today counted among the most significant cult movies of the genre. They owe their timeless fame to their protagonists' extraordinary interpretations, and to impeccable direction.
Not only the film itself, but all things which revolved around the movie − such as the advertising production for theatrical promotion − are now true cult objects for collectors from all over the world. On the rare occasions when the posters or the lobby cards realized at the time are put up for auction, international records are beaten and, nowadays, first editions of Frankenstein and Dracula are considered among the most sought after in the gotha of movie posters. It is easy to understand why these posters are considered so important, and it is not a mere matter of rarity or designer's skill: they were made with the same obsessive care that was applied to the sets, costumes, make-up and stage music.
Unlike the film, however, graphics had an ulterior task: the poster had to convey all the power of the characters, let the plot be understood without revealing the ending, fascinate the spectators, enticing them to buy tickets and come sit in a dark hall and visit all the hidden corners of a scary and, at the same time, electrifying world. The power of visual communication in the film industry is all here. This is why, in order to illustrate these titles pictorially, the major illustrators on the market were hired, talented creators who often realised extraordinary masterpieces of advertising graphics, inspired by the most avant-garde artistic currents of the time. 
An extraordinary example is the first edition of the four-sheet poster created for Frankenstein in 1935 by Raffaele Francisi for the film's release in Italian cinemas. It is a masterpiece of expressionist graphics in which the lithographic greens and purples, deliberately kept saturated, acidic and dramatic, perfectly form the background for the two elements that Francisi has chosen to visually interpret
the entire plot of the movie: the fire of the windmill and the face of the 'monster', so human but at the same time frightening.
These two key elements − depicted with wise mastery – are the summa of the entire film. As always, Italian posters make an impression on account of the care they were produced with and their beauty, at times surpassing materials produced for the American release of the movie. A timeless masterpiece, which will be auctioned for the first time in Turin, and in Italy, on February 18th in Sala Bolaffi, accompanied by a catalogue entirely dedicated to movie posters.
A catalogue rich in rarities, such as the first editions by Martinati of Mystery of the Wax Museum and The Walking Dead directed by Curtiz, another two undisputed masterpieces of the horror genre, and the four-sheets from the successful sequels in the Frankenstein trilogy (Bride of Frankenstein and Son of Frankenstein), but also the one-sheet format of Werewolf of London, the first film in which the character of the werewolf is encountered.
An incredible selection that includes much more than horror movie posters. The catalogue also presents timeless classics such as the four-sheet of Modern Times illustrated by Anselmo Ballester, two formats of Stagecoach posters illustrated by Rino, and much more. A cult auction that will take your breath away!

(by Francesca Benfante)

BROWSE THE AUCTION CATALOGUE