The Lost Art of Ballyhoo :: Amazing Lobby Displays, Publicity Stunts and Promotional Campaigns for Eugène Lourié's The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

Seminal is such a great word that's thrown around a lot when talking about film but I wonder if people realize that the root of the word comes from semen; ya know -- sperm, seed, source of life and all that. When relating it to film, we're talking about the originators of the species: films that spawned sequels, imitators and countless copycats. And The Beast from 20000 Fathoms (1953) definitely fits that bill, and in a lot more ways than you'd think both onscreen and off, triggering an avalanche of independent productions looking to cash-in of various sizes and budgets. Would you like to know more? Then follow the linkage below. (Images courtesy of the indispensable Zombo's Closet.)

Other Points of Interest:

Full review of Beast from 20,000 Fathoms at 3B Theater.

Poster campaign for Beast from 20,000 Fathoms at the Archive.

Newspaper ads for Beast from 20,000 Fathoms at the Morgue.

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) Jack Dietz Productions :: Warner Bros. / P: Jack Dietz / AP: Hal E. Chester, Benard Burton / D: Eugène Lourié / W: Fred Freiberger, Robert Smith / C: Jack Russell / E: Bernard W. Burton / M: David Buttolph / S: Paul Hubschmid, Paula Raymond, Ken Tobey, Cecil Kellaway

Favorites :: Inks and Paints :: A Coloring Book. A Coloring Book as Big as a Battleship!

Wohoo! Time to break out the Crayolas!

And I never noticed it before, but, yes, according to the majority of the poster and ad artwork for the The Giant Claw, the Anti-Matter Buzzard's head is shoved up its own Anti-Matter ass. (That thing trailing off the top is not the neck, folks. THAT'S THE TAIL!)

Other Points of Interest:

Full film review of The Giant Claw at 3B Theater.

Poster Campaign for The Giant Claw at the Archive.

Newspaper ads for The Giant Claw at the Morgue.

 
The Giant Claw (1957) Clover Productions :: Columbia Pictures / P: Sam Katzman / D: Fred F. Sears / W: Samuel Newman, Paul Gangelin / C: Benjamin H. Kline E: Tony DiMarco, Saul Goodkind / M: Mischa Bakaleinikoff / S: Jeff Morrow, Mara Corday, Morris Ankrum, Louis Merrill, Robert Shayne, Edgar Barrier

Pressbooks :: The Thing from Another World (1957 Re-Release)

The Thing from Another World (RKO Pictures 1951): Not my favorite B-Movie. Not my favorite Monster Movie. Not my favorite Gonzoidal Alien Invasion Flick. Nope. Howard Hawk's adaptation of John Campbell's "Who Goes There" is just my favorite movie. Period.

(Click on pages to see larger image.)

Other points of interest:
The Newspaper Ads for the original release.