2012 March 23-24 Dallas Vintage Movie Poster Auction

In 1930, the African jungle was a popular setting for adventure films. Silent serials such as The Lost City (1920), With Stanley in Africa (1922), Perils of the Wild (1925), and any number of Tarzan films had all ostensibly been set there, although the reality was that the jungle environs used for those pictures were often found much closer to home. With the coming of sound, however, early documentary filmmaker Paul L. Hoefler decided to head the Colorado African Expedition of 1928 - a 14-month journey that ran from July 16, 1928 to September 16, 1929 - and return with the real sounds and images of the Dark Continent, including what many believe to be the very first film footage of the Bushmen of Southwest Africa, as well as fascinating images of the rare white rhino. As a result of his daring efforts, Hoefler was elected to membership in the prestigious Explorer's Club in 1930 and the Royal Geographical Society of London in 1931. A book detailing the expedition was released in 1931, which Hoefler himself described as, "... a chronicle of events; a record of strange peoples and wild beasts; a history of varied adventures, crowded into fourteen eventful months." Africa Speaks! was originally released by Columbia, but that studio quickly sold the states' rights to the smaller Mascot Pictures, who would then distribute the film in local markets. Mascot designed and distributed a more exploitative version of the poster for this jungle epic, complete with an almost fully naked image of an African tribeswoman. It is this second version which is most commonly encountered by collectors today. Offered here, however, is the exceedingly scarce original Columbia version of the poster, the version used to promote the picture during its original release. Due to the extreme rarity of original Columbia-issued paper on this title, this gorgeous stone litho has never before been offered by Heritage in over a decade of vintage movie poster auctions. Expert professional restoration has addressed tears in the right background, and paper loss in the background as well as in the right and left border. Additionally, approximately one inch of white paper from the top border has been replaced. The result is a stunning and exceptionally rare poster that will make an outstanding addition to any collection. Speak now, and place your bid today! From the Berwick Discovery. Fine- on Linen.

An early entry in the "old dark house" genre (it predates James Whale's aptly titled The Old Dark House by two years), this is the story of a master criminal, known only as "The Bat," who terrorizes the inhabitants of a lonely country estate. Starring Chester Morris as the detective assigned to get to the bottom of things, the film was originally shot in a wide-screen format known as "Grandeur," but most exhibitors, struggling after making a recent - and very expensive - investment in sound technology, simply showed the picture in standard 35mm, resulting in the loss of some breathtaking cinematography.
What is perhaps most intriguing about this picture, however, is its connection to one of the 20th century's leading pop cultural icons. Writing in his autobiography, Batman and Me, Bob Kane, the creator of the Caped Crusader and a self-professed movie buff, remembers, "The third influence [after the drawings of Leonardo DaVinci and the classic Douglas Fairbanks film, The Mark of Zorro (1920)] on Batman was a movie I saw when I was fourteen called The Bat Whispers. It was a remake of a silent film called The Bat, which itself had been an adaptation of a novel by the great mystery writer Mary Roberts Rinehart. In the 1931 sound version Chester Morris, who played Boston Blackie in films, had a dual role: he was a detective who tried to track down the mysterious Bat, and was revealed to be the killer himself at the end of the film. The story concerned a number of murders which took place in an old mansion. I remember his shadowy outline on the wall when he was about to kill somebody. They caught up with him in the attic - he wore a costume that looked a little like my early Batman's, with a black robe and a bat-shaped head. This made him look like a bat - very ominous. The film not only helped inspire Batman's costume but also the bat-signal, a prototype of which appeared on the wall when the Bat announced his next victim." With gorgeous artwork by Hap Hadley, this stunning stone litho poster has never before been offered by Heritage. Prior to expert professional restoration, the poster had pinholes in the top right, and a small chip in both the right and bottom border. Additionally, approximately one inch of paper has been replaced in the top and left borders. Strikingly beautiful and exceptionally rare, this one sheet is, perhaps, a once-in-a-lifetime find for one lucky collector. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

In an era when most Westerns were made for horsefeed, Cimarron, starring Richard Dix and Irene Dunne, emerged as a big-budget prestige picture from RKO, and went on to claim the Best Picture Oscar for 1931, as well as Best Actor and Best Actress nominations for its stars. One of, if not the, first big budget Westerns of the sound period, Cimarron is based on the best-selling novel by Edna Ferber. Ferber's novels had proven popular fodder for several previous blockbuster films, so when the book was issued in 1929, RKO barely batted an eye when paying $125,000 to the author for the film rights. Their subsequent $1.5 million dollar budget - an enormous sum in those days; bought them high-powered stars Richard Dix and Irene Dunne, as well as more than 5,000 extras, 28 cameramen, and countless camera assistants and photographers, all utilized in capturing magnificent scenes of wagon trains moving West in search of new land and a new life. It was rewarded by being the first film to receive more than six Oscar nominations, including nods in all five major categories. In spite of its lavish budget and epic scope, the film lost money in its initial release, perhaps a victim of the realities of life during the Great Depression. Although it drew both critical and popular acclaim, it would take a re-release in 1935 for RKO to recoup their investment. The film is about the Oklahoma Land Rush, and tells the story of Yancey and Sabra Cravat (Dix and Dunne), and their adventures traveling West with a group of homesteaders. When Yancey is cheated out of his land by the devilish Dixie Lee (Estelle Taylor), he sets up shop as a newspaperman and two-gunned peacekeeper. However, the lure of adventure proves too strong, and Yancey has to choose between the allure of the wild frontier and the love of his family. It's a powerful film, one well worthy of the praise that has been lavished on it throughout the years. It should come as no surprise, then, that original release paper from this popular film has always been in demand by collectors. Sadly, little, if any, has been available until this momentous discovery. In more than a decade of vintage poster auctions, this is the very first time that Heritage has offered this incredible one sheet. Bursting with color and printed using the stone litho process, the artwork was rendered by illustrator Frederic C. Madan, who portrays the hero and heroine in fine detail against a vivid, sun-drenched background filled with wagon trains, Indian chiefs, and trusty steeds. Interestingly, when RKO re-released the film just three years later, they allowed Madan to sign the poster in the plate, even though they almost covered his signature with the RKO logo! Expert professional restoration has addressed small chips in the right border of this highly desirable poster, a small hole in the bottom right, and minor tears and chips in the bottom border. Additionally, approximately one and one half inches of the top border have been replaced. With the repair of these extremely minor flaws, the poster presents beautifully, and is sure to be the centerpiece of any fine collection. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

Based on a story by renowned hard-boiled crime author Dashiell Hammett and directed by Rouben Mamoulian (in his second turn in the director's chair), this is the story of The Kid (Gary Cooper ), a shooting gallery showman, who falls in love with Nan (Sylvia Sidney), the daughter of mob boss Pop Cooley (Guy Kibbee). When Nan takes the rap for a murder committed by her father, The Kid joins Pop's gang in order to help gain Nan's freedom, and things go downhill from there, ending with a thrilling high-speed car chase.
The role of Nan was originally intended for Clara Bow, and, indeed, represented the last of five pictures she was contractually obligated to make for Paramount. However, a major nervous breakdown brought on by the pressures of fame, overwork, numerous public scandals, and an intense and very hurtful lawsuit against her former secretary and confidante Daisy DeBoe, led Bow to check herself into a sanatorium. Mercifully, Paramount released her from the final picture of her contract, giving the role to up-and-comer Sylvia Sidney instead in one of her earliest screen roles. As such, Bow's career was all but over, while Sidney's would continue to grow, coming to an end only with her death in 1999. The stunning stone litho one sheet offered here, which features portraits of Cooper and Sidney, is rendered in a full-bleed style that Paramount experimented with in the very early 1930s. For another example, see the Style B one sheet for Dishonored (1931), also offered in this auction. This particular gem had tears in the borders, image area, and background, as well as a chip in the top right corner, and one over Cooper's left eye. These minor flaws have all been addressed by expert professional restoration, returning this highly desirable beauty to a like-new appearance. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

By 1931, Will Rogers was one of the most famous - and most beloved - men in the entire world. Noted as a cowboy, a political commentator and satirist, a humorist, a vaudeville entertainer, and a motion picture actor, Rogers began his show business career as a trick roper in "Texas Jack's Wild West Circus," and quickly moved up the ladder of success, appearing in productions for William Hammerstein, and later - in 1915 - in Florenz Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic. He made his first appearance on the silver screen in 1918, playing the title role in Laughing Bill Hyde, and, seeing a future in pictures, quickly relocated to a ranch in Santa Monica, where he formed his own production company. In order to capture his unique humor in silent films, Rogers actually wrote many of his own title cards. Although he scored major successes in silent pictures, it was when the medium of sound films took over that Rogers' career really took off. Now fully able to capitalize on the commentary and home-spun wit and wisdom that had endeared him to millions through his radio appearances and his syndicated newspaper columns, Rogers quickly shot to the top of Hollywood stardom in the early days of talking pictures, a spot that he would occupy until his sudden and unexpected death in an airplane accident in 1935.
Based on the well-known novel by Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee is one of Rogers' most memorable films. He plays Henry Morgan, a hapless radio repairman who is called to the laboratory of a scientist (William Farnum) who believes he can contact the court of King Arthur via radio waves. A convenient blow on the head later, and Morgan finds himself transported to Camelot, where he meets the Once and Future King (Farnum, in a dual role) and proceeds to bring the benefits of twentieth century technology to the British court. When he discovers that one of the courtiers, Emile le Poulet (Frank Albertson) is actually his distant ancestor, Morgan races against time to ensure that Emile is able to marry his sweetheart Alisande (Maureen O'Sullivan) and make sure that history takes its proper course. Also in the cast is a young Myrna Loy, who, like Rogers, was one of a relative handful of stars who made a successful transition from silent to sound films. In an interesting turn that predates The Wizard of Oz (1939) by several years, the characters in both the modern segment and in the Camelot portion are played by the same actors.
This wonderfully simple stone litho image of the star, wearing gold bling that says "The Boss," looking at the two young lovers, Albertson and O'Sullivan, has chips within and throughout the image. The border was trimmed 1/2" on the right and 1" on the bottom and airbrush work used through much of the white background. For such an enormously popular film, paper on A Connecticut Yankee has been exceptionally scarce, with only a window card, two half sheets, and a handful of black-and-white photos from the original American release having been offered in previous Heritage auctions. This, then, represents a rare opportunity to acquire this exquisite one sheet. If you miss out, don't count on traveling back in time for a second chance! From the Berwick Discovery. Good on Linen.

A story of a good man sent to prison to be "broken," this compelling prison drama stars Walter Huston as the warden, Phillips Holmes as a young man incarcerated for killing another man in self-defense, and Boris Karloff as the psychotic, amoral career criminal Ned Galloway. This is an important film in Karloff's career, as it's believed that it was seeing him in this picture that convinced director James Whale to cast him in Frankenstein (1931). Indeed, a number of the mannerisms Galloway exhibits would find their way into the characterization of Mary Shelley's famous monster. During the early years of cinema, the movies began to realize their inherent ability to affect social change. In the 1920s, an overriding theme was that of "regeneration," the belief that criminals weren't born bad, but made bad, and could return to a life on the right side of the law by personal efforts of transformation and with society's mercy and forgiveness. As the 1930s dawned, however, motion pictures cast their eye on the American prison system, and exposed the abuses of an unregulated and often inhumane system. Throughout the decade, films like The Criminal Code, San Quentin(1937), Each Dawn I Die (1939), and particularly I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) - based on a true story - brought the sordid spectacle of sadistic guards, uncaring wardens, and inhuman living conditions to the attention of the movie-going public. Through this raising of cultural awareness, real change was achieved with the arrival of real penal reform on a national level. As one of the earliest talking pictures to take up this banner, The Criminal Code remains an important part of an important struggle. The striking stone litho one sheet offered here, picturing stars Phillips Holmes and Constance Cummings, had pinholes, a small hole beneath the studio logo, chips and tears in the borders, and approximately one inch missing from the top border, all of which have been addressed by expert professional restoration. Paper for this important film is in extremely short supply, making this gorgeous poster a terrific find indeed. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

In this compelling prison drama, Phillips Holmes plays Robert Graham, a man who has been wrongly sent to jail for killing a man in self-defense. When Mark Brady (Walter Huston), the DA who prosecuted Graham, becomes warden, he sees his error and offers Graham a job as his valet as a path to redemption for them both. Graham takes to the position instantly, especially as it involves frequent driving trips with the warden's pretty young daughter, Mary (Constance Cummings). When Graham is witness to a prison murder committed by his cellmate, Ned Galloway (Boris Karloff, just months before being cast in Frankenstein), he must choose whether to follow the letter of the law and tell the warden what he knows, or uphold the criminal code of silence.
Based on a play by Martin Flavin, this picture was an early effort of director Howard Hawks, who was just developing his clever "overlapping dialogue" technique that he would work to perfection a little later in His Girl Friday (1940) and Ball of Fire (1941). After completing The Criminal Code, Hawks would go on to helm Scarface (1931) with Paul Muni, one of the formative gangster pictures of the era, and one that, along with Little Caesar (1931) and The Public Enemy (1931), would set the standard for virtually all gangster pictures to follow. This picture, therefore, is an important stepping stone to Scarface, as it represents Hawks' formative efforts in working out the tropes of the crime film that would become so vital to his next work. As well, one might consider this to be Hawks' exploration of the "regeneration" theme that was popular in movies of the 1920s - the "bad boy makes good" plotline - before moving on to the more hard-edged "gangster as social problem" film that Scarface would embody. This glorious stone litho treasure has been professionally restored to address tears and small holes on the right side, a crease in the bottom section, pinholes in Huston's forehead, and chips in the bottom border. Additionally, approximately one inch was trimmed from the top border and has been replaced. Don't miss your chance to own this stunning beauty. Break your silence and bid now! From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

In 1930, Director Josef von Sternberg helmed what some have called the first major classic of the sound era. The film was Der blaue Engel (The Blue Angel), and starred a radiant young actress named Marlene Dietrich as the irresistible cabaret singer Lola-Lola (prior to her screen debut, Dietrich had worked as a cabaret singer in Berlin in real life). The picture was an international hit, and enabled both Dietrich and von Sternberg to make the move to America, where they set out to conquer Hollywood. They would eventually make six pictures together in America; Morocco (1930) was the first, Dishonored was the second. Although von Sternberg's career would sputter and falter throughout the next two decades, Dietrich would quickly become one of the most glamorous and desirable women in the world, embodying the Hollywood ideal of mystery, allure, and elegance. Set in pre-War Austria, Dietrich plays a prostitute-turned-spy who ends up falling for one of the enemy officers she is meant to betray, a fact that leads to her conviction for treason and her subsequent execution by firing squad. Present throughout, of course, is Dietrich's smoldering sexuality, her raw magnetism, and her unbridled eroticism, all fully on display in this pre-Code classic. The luscious stone litho full-bleed one sheet offered here is the only one of its kind known to exist. It features a gorgeous portrait of Dietrich, perfectly capturing the "bedroom eyes" for which she became famous. The poster had a chip from the left border and extends one and a half inches into the gray background and three inches vertically. There was another chip from the lower left corner which extends just into the copyright information. There was a nail hole in the upper yellow ribbon near the border and general fold wear. There was a small tear in the bottom border. This is an exceptionally rare piece of motion picture history, or as a captivating work of art, this is a highly desirable poster that any collector will be proud to own. Bid now before she gets away! From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

Marie Kolverer (Marlene Dietrich) is the widow of a decorated Austrian war hero, now forced to sell herself to survive. She quickly finds her true calling as Spy X-27, however, as she uses her wiles to seduce and betray enemy officers such as the decorated Colonel von Hindau (Warner Oland). She meets her match, however, when she meets the dashing Colonel Kranau (Victor McLaglen), with whom she rapidly falls in love. Sacrificing herself for the Colonel, Marie allows her lover to escape, resulting in her subsequent conviction and execution for treason. Prior to McLaglen's screen debut in 1920's The Call of the Road, the 6'3" British actor made a name for himself as a professional prizefighter. He toured in circuses, vaudeville revues, and Wild West shows throughout the US, Australia, and South Africa, often offering to fight all comers. During World War I, he claims to have served with the Royal Irish Fusiliers, and as Provost Marshall for the city of Baghdad. Returning home after the war with the intention of resuming his prizefighting career, McLaglen made his first picture, which was well-received. After several years in British silents, he relocated to Hollywood, where he became one of the most popular male stars of the silent era. Unlike so many others, he survived the coming of sound, going on to enjoy a career that spanned nearly four decades. In this stunning stone litho one sheet, Dietrich is literally swept off her feet by the roguish McLaglen, an image bursting with color and power. In more than a decade of vintage movie poster auctions, Heritage has never before offered this exceedingly rare gem. Expert professional restoration has addressed tears in the director's name and the bottom right logo, a chip in the bottom border, one above Dietrich's head, and two in the lower left background. As well, there was approximately two inches of paper loss along the right side, including the white border, which has also been repaired. After restoration, these minor flaws are virtually invisible, making this a real treasure just waiting to serve as the cornerstone of some lucky collection. From the Berwick Discovery. Very Good- on Linen.

In 1897, Irish author Bram Stoker wrote Dracula, the story of a mysterious Transylvanian Count who was also a centuries-old vampire. Although not an immediate popular success, the book received considerable critical praise, and spawned several stage adaptations, most notably a version by actor Hamilton Deane and playwright John Balderston that toured England for several years beginning in 1924. When the play came to Broadway in 1927, the lead role of Dracula was assigned to an unknown Hungarian actor named Bela Lugosi, for which he received overwhelming acclaim from the day's theater critics.
Nevertheless, when Universal Pictures' new studio head Carl Laemmle Jr. announced his intentions to bring a version of the popular play to the silver screen - over the vehement objections of his father, studio founder Carl Laemmle Sr. - Lugosi was far from his first choice to portray the lead role. Other, more bankable actors such as Ian Keith, Paul Muni, Conrad Veidt, Joseph Schildkraut, and Chester Morris, were all deemed more desirable for the part. It was only after the studio determined that Lugosi was desperate enough for the role to work cheaply that they awarded him the plum assignment. In the end, Lugosi received a mere $500 a week for seven weeks work, far from the $2,000 per week received by David Manners, who played Jonathan Harker in a bland and forgettable role. The result was a screen blockbuster, selling more than 50,000 tickets in its first 48 hours of release at New York's Roxy Theater alone, and grossing nearly $700,000 in its first domestic release against a budget of $355,000. In its wake, Dracula would not only make a star of leading man Bela Lugosi, but would usher in Universal's immensely popular - and profitable - franchise of gothic horror films. It is, by any definition, a landmark film, and original paper promoting it is in high demand by collectors worldwide. This lovely Style F stone litho one sheet, with its stunning image of Count Dracula aboard the Vespa en route to London, is a real gem. In March 2009, Heritage sold another copy of this style, from the collection of Nicolas Cage, which realized more than $310,000. At the time, it was noted that the copy offered was one of only three known. The discovery of the poster in this auction brings that grand total to four known to exist in the entire world. The poster had a tear in the upper white border that extends into the image within the green field between Dracula's raised fist and the moon behind him, with a tiny fleck of missing paper at the intersection of the border and the green field. There was tear from the left border into the "D" in "Dracula" and down into the black of the cape. There was two tears in the right border that extend just into the image and there were pinholes in the upper two corners of the artwork. The bottom white border was trimmed just below the black line which delineates the image from the border so no color image was lost and the entire image and all borders were intact other than the lower border. Through careful professional restoration all of these issues discussed were beautifully restored. The colors on the poster are as vibrant as the day it was printed and have not been altered at all. Few posters combine the high degrees of rarity, desirability, and sheer artistic beauty like this scarce showpiece. Any collection, no matter how advanced, will be enhanced by the addition of this almost impossible-to-find gem, a piece of film history sure to be coveted by everyone who appreciates classic film. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

During the early years of the talking picture, a popular sub-genre of film was the newspaper story. Typically set in the bustling newsroom of a great metropolitan newspaper, scores of such pictures were released, including Five Star Final (1931), The Picture Snatcher (1933), Scandal Sheet (1931), Front Page Woman (1935), and Libeled Lady (1936). Films like this played an important role in helping to refine the way in which dialogue was presented in pictures that had just recently learned to talk, and were enthusiastically received by Depression Era audiences. One of the best, and most popular, entries in this category was The Front Page, starring Adolphe Menjou and Pat O'Brien, and based on the popular stage comedy written by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. The picture, set largely in the Press Room of the Chicago Criminal Courts Building with characters based on real-life acquaintances of Hecht and MacArthur, tells the story of young Hildy Johnson (O'Brien), a reporter on the eve of giving up his career in favor of a more "respectable" position, who finds himself harboring a convicted revolutionary and murderer (George E. Stone) whom Johnson comes to believe is innocent. With the aid of Walter Burns (Menjou), Managing Editor of the Examiner, Johnson attempts a bold plan to set things to right. This very rare, highly desirable, and inarguably attention-grabbing one sheet is rich in color and fine detail and includes striking portraits of the main cast members. Restoration, expertly and professionally performed, has addressed a chip in the left background. As well, the right border into the artwork, top, and left borders have been trimmed by one inch, and touchup has been applied to the red background. These flaws are virtually invisible now, as the poster has been returned to a virtually like-new state. An almost impossible poster to find, this is a golden opportunity for some lucky collector to acquire a beautiful - and historically significant - treasure. From the Berwick Discovery. Good/Very Good on Linen.

In this charming romantic farce, wealthy playboy Charlie Floyd (Charles Ruggles) is engaged to lovely society girl Lucy Ledyard (Sue Conroy). That should be enough for any man, but Charlie is a natural flirt, leading to a series of complications that includes a gangster's wife (Tamara Geva), a night in jail, an overbearing mother-in-law (Margaret Dumont, famous as the perpetual foil for Groucho Marx), and much more. This picture was Charles Ruggles' first starring role at Paramount. With a career spanning six decades and more than 100 films, Ruggles first appeared on screen in 1915's Hushing the Scandal. He successfully made the transition to sound films, and worked steadily throughout the years, his final appearance being in a 1968 episode of The Danny Thomas Show prior to his death in 1970. He is perhaps best remembered as Major Horace Applegate, the big game hunter, in the classic comedy Bringing Up Baby (1938), which starred Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. This dynamite stone litho one sheet features a befuddled Ruggles surrounded by multiple profiles of his lady loves. This extremely rare poster has undergone expert professional restoration to address one small chip in the "T" in "Habit," and one on the left side, as well as pinholes in the corners. Additionally, approximately one half inch of missing paper in the top border has been replaced. The result is a brilliant gem of a poster, ready to take its rightful place as the showpiece of your collection. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

Pretty Marcia Cameron (Mae Clarke) has a problem: in an attempt to put her sordid past as a gangster's moll behind her, she marries straight-laced and dependable Bob Henderson (James Hall). Everything is coming up roses until her previous beau, gangster "Dapper" Dan Tyler (Robert Ellis), makes a break from prison and re-enters her life. Convinced that Marcia is the rat who tipped off the cops about him, Tyler seeks revenge, leading to an emotional - and deadly - confrontation, complicated by the presence of Marcia's infant child!
With this film, Columbia tried to craft a gangster picture - the hot and emergent genre of the day - in a way that would connect with female audience members, hence the inclusion of such soap opera elements as the unwed mother, the "bad boy" former lover versus the "good boy" husband, and the attempt at what was known at the time as "regeneration," or the concept of the criminal - in this case Marcia - who seeks re-entrance into lawful society. The regeneration plotline was a common one in early cinema, as it played to the popular sentiment of social reformation, particularly of the working and lower classes, which swept the United States during the early days of cinema. Like The Public Enemy (1931), the inherent message here is that Marcia is really a good girl who just made some bad choices and was influenced by bad people, not that she herself is bad and deserving of condemnation. That her ultimate reformation is achieved without her death, unlike Powers', is one of the main differences between a "man's" picture like The Public Enemy and a "woman's" picture like The Good Bad Girl. The lovely - and exceptionally rare - Style A one sheet shows star Mae Clarke, perhaps best known for her roles in The Public Enemy (1931) and Frankenstein (1931), in the arms of her co-star, James Hall. A unique find, this is the first time Heritage has offered this highly attractive piece. Prior to expert professional restoration, the poster displayed small holes in the right and bottom border, and chips in Clarke's cheek and hair, Hall's coat, and in the title. These very minor flaws have been rendered virtually undetectable, making this a piece that any serious collector will covet. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

After appearing in The Front Page (1931) and The Public Enemy (1931) - each represented by stunning posters in this auction - budding starlet Mae Clarke appeared in this female take on the popular gangster story. As Marcia Cameron, she leaves her hoodlum boyfriend "Dapper" Dan Tyler (Robert Ellis) for a chance at respectability with the upstanding Bob Henderson (James Hall). Sadly, "Dapper" Dan has other ideas, leading to an emotional - and violent - climax. Clarke had already made a name for herself as the girl who got hit in the face with a grapefruit in The Public Enemy, and, shortly after making this picture, would appear as the down-and-out showgirl-turned-prostitute in Waterloo Bridge (1931), and then as the mad scientist's fiancée in Frankenstein (1931), both directed by James Whale. By any reckoning, her career was on a serious upward track. A nervous breakdown in 1932, followed by a serious auto accident in 1933 that left the actress with facial scars, succeeded in derailing her journey to stardom, however, and she spent the rest of her screen career mostly doing bit parts, walk-ons, and cameos. Nevertheless, her pre-Code pictures remind us of a lovely and vivacious star who, sadly, suffered a few bad breaks. This auction marks the very first time that Heritage has offered this lovely stone litho gem, attesting to its exceptional rarity. Expert professional restoration has addressed edge wear, scuffs in the background, and chips in the right and bottom border. Also, approximately one inch of the top border has been replaced. The result is a glorious vintage gem, one that any true collector will be proud to display. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

Blending the Western and gangster genres, both fantastically popular in the early 1930s, this classic film truly is "A Western that's different." When the cops put the screws on a band of urban gangsters led by Kedge Darvis (William "Stage" Boyd), the wily bad guys flee the concrete canyons of the city for the wide open spaces of the American West, intent on continuing their nefarious plans without police interference. They haven't counted on straight-shootin' Brad Farley (Richard Arlen), who sets his mind to running the thieves out of town on a rail. William Boyd, who also starred in the infamous serial The Lost City (1935), had an unfortunate run-in with the law after a night of drunken debauchery, a story the papers were quick to report. For whatever reason, they mistakenly ran the photo of another actor with the same name alongside the salacious story. The guilty party forever after identified himself as William "Stage" Boyd, while the other William Boyd, his career virtually ruined due to the inadvertent scandal, had little choice but to accept a role in a low-budget Western, even though he had never ridden a horse in his life. While "Stage" faded into obscurity (he died in 1935), remembered only by a few obsessed film buffs, the other Boyd rode into cinema immortality as Hopalong Cassidy. The powerful stone litho one sheet offered here captures all the action in the picture, from the hard-bitten hoods of the city to the quiet bravery of the cowboy hero, all in vivid color, and includes exceptional portraits of the two leading actors. The poster has been professionally restored to address a tear in "Smoke," small chips in the borders, and a hole above "Paramount." In addition, approximately one inch of the top border has been replaced. The result is a vintage treasure, one which any collector of fine posters will covet. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

When the King of Belgravia (Armand Kaliz) visits an America seaside hotel run by Mother Murphy (Mary Carr) and her daughter Gerty (Ray Dooley), heroic Tim Dugan (Eddie Dowling) sets himself up as the monarch's official protector, saving His Highness from the evil depredations of gambler Arnold Bookstein (Grant Whitlock) - an obvious parody of notorious organized crime kingpin Arnold Rothstein - and his retinue of gangsters. Based on a popular Broadway play (in which Dowling also starred), this film marks the only on-screen appearance of husband and wife comedy team Eddie Dowling and Ray Dooley. A true Renaissance man, Dowling - who appeared in several pictures without his wife - was an accomplished composer, song writer, lyricist, author, producer, director and actor, who founded the USO Camp Shows and held honorary degrees from four universities, while Dooley - the daughter of a circus performer - enjoyed several decades of success on The Great White Way from 1919 until 1956. This quintessential 1930s couple shines on this rare one sheet, offered here for the very first time in a Heritage auction. Expert professional restoration has addressed signs of handling, such as a chip in the left border, and small holes in the bottom border. Additionally, approximately one inch of paper missing from the top border has been replaced. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

Fredric March and Claudette Colbert, both at relatively early points in their respective careers, star in this exciting pre-Code drama about a successful stockbroker, Jerry Stafford (March), who falls in love with his secretary, Julia Traynor (Colbert), and invites her to go on a cruise with him. She turns him down, and in order to keep him from asking again, impulsively marries Philip Craig (Monroe Owsley), a young securities broker, which leads to a series of complications including embezzlement, jealousy, and lovesick rage. Co-starring Charles Ruggles and Ginger Rogers, Honor Among Lovers was directed by Dorothy Arzner, notable as one of the only - if not the only - female directors in Hollywood throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Her Hollywood career began with a gig as a stenographer for Paramount, but she quickly rose to become a script writer, a film editor, and finally, a director. Best known for her association with actress Clara Bow, Arzner is credited with developing the boom mike when she rigged a microphone on a fishing pole to enable Bow, notoriously intimidated by sound technology, to move freely on the set. In 1936, she became the first female member of the Director's Guild of America. By the early 1940s, however, she gave up feature films, preferring to focus on television commercials and Army training films. Later, she made a name for herself in live theater, and joined the faculty of the UCLA film school, where she taught screenwriting and directing until her death in 1979. She is remembered today as a pioneering woman in an otherwise exclusively male industry, one whose talent and persistence opened doors for every female director to come, from Ida Lupino to Katherine Bigelow and many more. This stone litho beauty has been professionally restored to address pinholes in the top section, small tears in the credits, and a hole above "Paramount." In addition, one inch from the top border and one half inch from the left border were trimmed, but have been replaced. The result is a wonderful poster that appears virtually like new, just waiting to take an honored place in your collection. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

South American diamond smuggler Jack Norton (Conway Tearle) has a problem: he's been strong-armed into obtaining compromising photos of Margaret Townsend (Billie Dove), the neglected wife of American diplomat Charles Townsend (Sidney Blackmer). Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but Norton soon discovers that he's fallen in love with his target! This picture was intended as a "comeback" vehicle for silent film starlet Billie Dove, whose popularity at the height of her career rivaled that of Mary Pickford, Marion Davies, and Clara Bow. Originally a teen model, she was discovered by Flo Ziegfeld, and soon gained a spot in his famous Ziegfeld Follies Revue. In 1926, she appeared opposite Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in The Black Pirate, and starred in The American Beauty in 1927. Dove shared a three year relationship with billionaire Howard Hughes, and was an accomplished poet, pilot, and painter. In 1932, while still popular with movie-going audiences, Dove retired, never to return to the screen save but for a brief cameo in 1962's Diamond Head. She passed away in 1997. The striking one sheet offered here, with its stunning image of Dove, is truly breathtaking. With deep, rich color, this stone litho beauty is a true gem. Professional restoration has addressed tears in the upper right, and a hole and tear that extends into the artwork in the lower left. As well, the borders have been retouched and about three quarters of an inch of missing paper has been replaced in the top border. As a result of the expertly performed restoration, these minor flaws are virtually undetectable, making this a glorious poster to own and display. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine on Linen.

When young lawyer Drake Norris (Clive Brook) discovers that an innocent man (Richard Arlen) has been convicted of a capital crime actually committed by his client (Charles 'Buddy' Rogers), he must decide whether to tell what he knows, or to maintain the sanctity of client confidentiality. Complicating matters is the fact that the real killer is the brother of Norris's lovely fiancée (Fay Wray)!
Although Fay Wray had an impressive filmography behind her by the time she made this picture, she had still not reached the height of fame she would attain just a few years later, after roles in such genre classics as The Most Dangerous Game (1932), The Bat (1933), The Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933), and, of course, King Kong (1933), in which she played the beauty who killed the beast. By the end of the 1930s, her career was waning, but Fray Wray will always be remembered by her legion of adoring fans as Hollywood's first - and some would insist best - scream queen. This very rare stone litho one sheet presents a powerful image of Brook and his co-stars, including Wray, Rogers, and Jean Arthur, who plays the girlfriend of the wrongly-convicted man. Prior to expert professional restoration, the poster displayed a chip in the bottom border, and small holes in the credits. As well, one inch of paper had been trimmed from the top border. After addressing these minor flaws, the poster looks as good as new, and is sure to be a welcome addition to any collection. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

In the 1930s, each studio had their specialty. Universal was known for their Gothic horror films, Paramount for their elegant and artistic European-styled pictures, while MGM was particularly noted for their lavish musicals. Warner Brothers found their niche with the "social problem" film, pictures about crime and criminals ripped from the headlines of the day. Largely lacking the sophistication of Paramount and the respectability of MGM, Warners' focused on films about the working class, and the problems of a nation held in the grip of a crippling depression. Quite naturally, then, Warner Brothers turned to the larger-than-life crime figures who had made a name for themselves during the Prohibition Era - figures like John Dillinger, Al Capone, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd - and used their stories as jumping off points for a cycle of films that celebrated the outlaw as a new type of tragic hero. It was a formula for instant success. Based on the novel of the same name by W.R. Burnett, Little Caesar, the first of Warner Brothers' gangster pictures, is the story of Caesar Enrico Bandello (Edward G. Robinson) who experiences a meteoric rise from two-bit hood to mob boss, followed by an epic fall as he is gunned down in the gutter by the forces of law and order. Originally, Robinson was wanted for the role of Otero, Bandello's right hand man, as the studio favored Clark Gable for the lead role. After a disappointing screen test by Gable, however, director Mervyn LeRoy gave the plum role to Robinson, a role based on the life and crimes of gangster Al Capone (according to some sources, rumors at the time that Capone had a spy on the set to keep track of the proceedings were absolutely true). Unlike James Cagney - whose star-making role in The Public Enemy, released later in 1931, helped solidify Warners' dominance in the "social problem" arena - Robinson was not a tough guy in real life. An avowed pacifist, he was uncomfortable handling firearms, and had to have his eyelids taped open in certain scenes as he had a tendency to blink when his gun fired. As well, in his final scene, in which Rico is gunned down by the police, steel plates were secured under Robinson's clothing around his midsection, plates at which expert marksman George Daly would fire with live machine gun rounds. Nervous and twitchy about the scene, Robinson moved more than he should have, and only survived due to Daly's expert marksmanship. Until now, collectors of vintage gangster material had to be satisfied with the occasional lobby or one of less than a handful of window cards for this film. Larger paper was always elusive to the point of being non-existent. As part of The Berwick Discovery of Lost Movie Posters, however, this lack has been at least partially addressed, as the beautiful Style B one sheet offered here, featuring stars Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Glenda Farrell (Joe Massara and Olga Stassof in the film), one of only two copies known to exist in the entire world, is offered for the first time to the collecting public. With its rich and vibrant image, the poster had one inch trimmed from the top of the large upper white border. Additionally, there were a couple of small holes in Farrell's cheek and in Fairbanks' shirt front, and there was touchup to several dark surface scuffs within the image. We also note a tear extending from the center horizontal fold into the "L" of "Little," and several small holes in the lower white border, as well as one extending into the credits. Finally, there were small pinholes within the artwork in three corners. All of these minor flaws have been carefully addressed by expert professional restoration, resulting in a poster that is a joy to behold. Extremely beautiful, exceedingly rare, and highly desirable... what more could you want from a vintage movie poster? From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

Sam Spade calls it "the stuff that dreams are made of." Caspar Gutman refers to it as a "rara avis," a "rare bird." Both of them are talking about the Maltese Falcon, the priceless, jewel-encrusted statue that is at the heart of Dashiell Hammett's seminal noir novel of the same name, but they could as easily have been referring to this recently unearthed one sheet for the first film adaptation of this classic tale, released in 1931, starring Ricardo Cortez. Most people are familiar with the 1941 version of The Maltese Falcon, directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart in the iconic role of Sam Spade, but fewer are aware that the Bogart version was actually the third time that Hammett's novel had been brought to the screen. In 1930, what would become one of Hammett's best known works was serialized in the pages of Black Mask, a popular detective fiction pulp of the day. An immediate hit, it didn't take long for Warner Brothers to see the potential in Hammett's story, especially as they were beginning to have success with their line of popular crime films such as Little Caesar (1931) and The Public Enemy (1931). Faithfully adapted from Hammett's novel, the film starred Ricardo Cortez as private eye Sam Spade, one of detective literature's greatest creations. Born Joseph Krantz to Austrian parents, the future Sam Spade had been reinvented as a Latin lover when he changed his name to Ricardo Cortez, part of Paramount's efforts to groom him as a successor to Rudolph Valentino during the silent era. Although his career as a heartthrob never took off, Cortez remained a popular actor throughout most of the 1930s before retiring from Hollywood to take on a successful position as a Wall Street investor. When the studio tried to re-release the film in 1936, they were unable to obtain the approval of the Production Code, owing to such "lewd" content as Bebe Daniels' nude bathtub scene, overt suggestions of Spade's sexual involvement with female clients, and the inclusion of strong homosexual themes, like the suggestion that Wilmer the gunsel and Caspar Gutman are involved in a homosexual relationship. Although all of these elements were fine in the less restrictive pre-Code Hollywood era, when the Code grew teeth a few years later, such references and innuendos were enough to have a picture shelved.
Rather than give up on the idea, however, Warner Brothers simply reshot the picture under the title Satan Met a Lady (1936), starring Bette Davis and featuring a script that the Code could accept. Finally, in 1941, Warner Brothers released the definitive version of the film starring Bogart, a picture that ignited the film noir genre. The Maltese Falcon has always been popular with poster collectors, who regularly vie for paper from the 1941 version. One sheets from the Bogart picture, perhaps the most desirable of all film noir posters, regularly sell for $10,000 and up. Paper from Satan Met a Lady is exceedingly scarce; in more than ten years, Heritage has only ever offered a single insert, one window card, and a lone lobby card, all of which were enthusiastically snatched up by genre fans desperate to have an example of this film in their collection.
For true scarcity, however, the prize has to go to the original 1931 version: Almost no paper has survived from this film. In years past, Heritage has offered a lobby card, a title card - which sold for $8,365 and $9,560, respectively - and a few stills, but little else has ever surfaced, making this a title eagerly sought by hungry collectors. This is the only copy of this highly desirable one sheet known to exist in the world. This stone litho beauty, featuring both Cortez and Daniels, showed pinholes, as well as some tears and chipping in the image area, credits, and left border. There was a paper chip into the bottom left corner within the white field only. In addition, approximately one and three quarter inches of missing white paper in the right border and one inch in the top border have been replaced. After expert professional restoration, these slight flaws have been rendered nearly invisible, making this a poster that you will be proud to own and display. How much will it bring? Well, in the words of Caspar Gutman, "The maximum?... I refuse to guess. You'd think me crazy. I don't know. There's no telling how high it could go, sir, and that's the one and only truth about it." From the Berwick Discovery. Very Good on Linen.

Millie is exactly the kind of picture that kept members of the Motion Picture Production Code review board awake at night in the years before the Code grew teeth, with a story teeming with adultery, rape, divorce, abandonment, casual sex, and a murderer who gets away with it in the end. It tells the story of young Millie Blake (Helen Twelvetrees) who, at a young age, falls in love with and marries Jack Maitland (James Hall), a successful businessman who is also a philandering cad. When Millie discovers her husband in the arms of another woman, she takes their daughter and flees. Several years later, she finds her boyfriend Tommy (Robert Ames), with whom she is currently living sans the benefit of marriage, in another woman's apartment, leading to further bitterness and disappointment. Years pass, and a now-hardened Millie discovers that Jimmy (John Halliday), an old flame, is attempting to seduce her now-grown daughter (Anita Louise), and, catching them in flagrante delecto, Millie shoots him dead in a fit of rage. A subsequent jury trial acquits Millie when they find out that the molested girl was her daughter. A real beauty, Twelvetrees, the "electrifying sensation," left a career on the stage for a life in Hollywood in 1929, part of a group of new actors brought to the West Coast to replace established stars who would not, or could not, make the transition from silent pictures to sound. A popular star throughout the 1930s, her screen career was relatively short, extending only until 1939, after which she returned to live theater where her career had begun. Found dead in her apartment in 1958 at the age of 49, the victim of a prescription drug overdose, Helen Twelvetrees is remembered today as a smoldering beauty, a quality captured to perfection on this gorgeous and extremely rare, stone litho one sheet. The very scarce one sheet offered here, featuring Twelvetrees in all of her red-headed glory, displays very well after expert professional restoration to address chips and tears in the borders, and one small hole in each hand. This is a poster that any collector will be proud to own and display. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

As old Sylvanus Heythorp, known as "Old English" to his friends, George Arliss plays a wily octogenarian up to his ears in debt. Beset by creditors on virtually every side, Heythorp devises a somewhat illegal plan to endow his grandsons with an income for life. In order to escape the shame and disgrace he knows will follow the revelation of his plan, he commits an elegant suicide by, against the orders of his physician, indulging in a sumptuous gourmet meal. Arliss was a British actor who found fame in America beginning in the silent era. He made the transition to sound easily, and became the first British actor to win an Academy Award when, in 1929, he was honored for his leading role in the film Disraeli. He is perhaps best known today for his portrayal of the Robin Hood-like vicar in the eponymously titled Dr. Syn (1937). This marks the very first time that Heritage has auctioned this stunning stone litho one sheet for Old English, a fact that attests to its incredible rarity. Like the other treasures in the Berwick Discovery, this poster exists today only by the merest chance, and may never again be offered to the collecting public. It showcases an endearing image of Arliss and one of his beloved grandchildren, played by Leon Janney. Prior to expert professional restoration, the poster had tears in the bottom border, and chips in the left and bottom border. Additionally, approximately one inch of the top white border has been replaced. Strikingly, however, the poster shows no fold wear, a fact that greatly increases its overall lustrous appearance. Post restoration, the slight flaws that were evident have been rendered nearly invisible, making this a poster ready to take its place in the finest collection. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

The screen play for this classic film, which made a star of James Cagney and gave Warner Brothers another massive hit in their series of "social problem" films - a series inaugurated with the release of Little Caesar earlier in 1931 - was based on an unpublished work entitled "Beer and Blood" by John Bright, one of the screenwriters who worked on the picture. Bright's story revolves around real-life Chicago gangster Hymie Weiss, who succeeded the assassinated North Side kingpin Dion O'Banion, and was himself gunned down by hitmen from the South Side mob run by Johnny Torrio and Al Capone. In The Public Enemy, Tom Powers (Cagney) follows a similar trajectory to that of Weiss, in his meteoric rise and subsequent fall at the hands of the very system he helped to build. America in the early 1930s was a country in turmoil. At the lowest point of the Great Depression, audiences had little patience for wealthy and virtuous heroes who had little to do with the realities of bread lines, poverty, Hoovervilles, and unemployment. As such, anti-heroes like Tom Powers, who follows the code that all who live within the law are suckers, were uniquely fascinating to audiences who saw themselves as increasingly powerless in the face of reckless government and oppressive law enforcement. If they themselves could not take the law into their own hands, they could live such a dream vicariously through Cagney and other silver-screen gangsters. Unlike such slick and well-groomed actors as Lew Ayres and Ricardo Cortez, whose tough guy characters never seemed to quite ring true, Cagney's real-life streetwise persona brought a sense of electrifying reality to the characters he played, an electricity that caught on with Depression Era viewers. The result was one of the most important and indelible films of the decade. Still grittily satisfying, it set the standard for virtually all gangster pictures to come. As such, it should come as no surprise that collectors avidly seek original release paper from this historic genre classic. Sadly, little has turned up in the way of posters from The Public Enemy, save for the odd lobby card or window card. Until now. Among the many treasures to be found in the Berwick Discovery of Lost Movie Posters were both the Style A and Style B one sheets for this important film. The Style B shown here is a marvelous portrait of a vicious criminal set against a seething tide of common humanity. Powerful and rich, the colors virtually leap from the poster, grabbing the eye with its chiaroscuro-like juxtaposition of light and dark. Prior to expert professional restoration, approximately one inch had been trimmed from the white upper border, and there was a very small hole - about the size of a pencil eraser - on the end of the hoodlum's cap brim. Additionally, there was a chip in the bottom left corner that just slightly extends into the tip of the artwork. Aside from these extremely minor flaws, this stone litho one sheet is completely intact and the colors are untouched and absolutely brilliant. This is, without a doubt, one of the rarest and most desirable posters in the entire hobby, one that any collector will display with pride. Don't miss out on what may be your only opportunity to acquire this rare gem. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

The release of this landmark film in 1931 accomplished two important things simultaneously: it solidified the "social problem" film - introduced with Little Caesar (1931) - as an important and profitable niche for Warner Brothers, and it made a first-class star of leading man James Cagney through his portrayal of the amoral but affable Tom Powers. A real-life tough guy and former vaudeville hoofer, Cagney was originally cast as Matt Doyle, best friend of Powers, with Edward Woods assigned to the starring role. Apparently, however, director William Wellman had seen Cagney in Doorway to Hell (1930) - Cagney's second picture, in which he played a smart-talking henchman to star Lew Ayres' Capone-like mob boss - and realized that a casting error had been made. Switching Cagney and Woods' roles, Wellman created a superstar who would come to be recognized as one of the finest actors of the twentieth century. The Public Enemy is a stellar example of the classical gangster narrative, incorporating both a "rise and fall" storyline and an emphasis on the main figure as a "tragic" hero. Along with Little Caesar (1931) and Scarface (1932), it cemented the framework that virtually all gangster films to come - including Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The Godfather Parts I (1972) and II (1974), Goodfellas (1990), and even The Sopranos (1999) - have adhered to. As Tom Powers, Cagney created a persona that was to have an indelible impact on the landscape of popular culture, an impact still felt to this day as actors worldwide adopt, consciously or not, mannerisms and beats from Cagney's immortal hoodlum. As both a landmark film and as a resounding cultural touchstone, the importance of The Public Enemy cannot be overstated. For a film of this great magnitude, paper has been frustratingly absent from the marketplace. Indeed, collectors have often wondered whether or not anything beyond the occasional window or lobby card might exist at all. With the unearthing of the Berwick Discovery of Lost Movie Posters, however, the unknown one sheets have miraculously come to light, and are offered here, to the collecting public, for the very first time anywhere. The Style A shown here presents a stunning and evocative portrait of star Jimmy Cagney and blonde bombshell Jean Harlow, who Cagney later remembered as, "... very pleasant to work with." Sadly, Harlow died not many years later, in 1937, her promising career cut short prematurely. Nevertheless, this incredible poster is a glorious testament to two major Hollywood figures at the beginnings of their careers, displaying the presence and allure that would soon rocket them to the heights of Hollywood royalty. The poster has had significant restoration to address missing paper in the upper right side of the image. Almost all of the Cagney image was completely intact other than a chip in his chin, as well as all of the art deco artwork in the upper left of the poster as well as all of the lower credits other than a hole in the "E" of the title. About half of the art deco artwork below the two portraits and a portion of Harlow's image remained intact. Much of the Warner Brothers logo as well as the lithographer's logo and even the writing in the lower right border were intact. The missing area includes a large portion of the upper right corner extending into Harlow's image and reaching down into the large field below the art deco images below the portraits. The professional restoration has been carefully executed using the press book as reference. If you crave the very rarest, and the very best in vintage movie posters, then you must bid on this historic gem. In more than eight decades, it is the only copy ever to surface, despite the diligent efforts of collectors across the globe searching for paper on this landmark film. Who knows? If you pass on this opportunity, it may be another eight decades before this highly desirable stone litho beauty is offered again. From The Berwick Discovery. Fair/Good on Linen.

In this pre-Code delight, silent film heartthrob Douglas Fairbanks Sr. plays Larry Day, a wealthy playboy who knows more about playing the stock market than playing around. In order to land a girlfriend, he solicits advice from his valet (Edward Everett Horton), who attempts to school him in the ways of love. Of course, this leads to some hilarious scenes - several of which would have been unacceptable under the Production Code just a few years later - as when Horton tries to demonstrate a few amorous clinches with Fairbanks in a balcony hammock, resulting in some eyebrow-raising grappling. After a distinguished career as the King of Hollywood during the silent era, this was Fairbanks' second sound film; he would retire from pictures entirely several years later due to the poor reception accorded to his talking releases. He spent his last few years traveling abroad, and in 1939, Fairbanks died of a heart attack in his sleep. Also in the cast is Bebe Daniels as the object of Fairbanks' desire, and a young Bing Crosby, who croons one of the Irving Berlin numbers in the film. As well, the movie is noted for its outstanding Art Deco sets and art design, making it a solid winner on all fronts. This attractive stone litho beauty showcases glamorous portraits of the two leads; it is a rarely sold and eye-catching gem. Prior to expert professional restoration, the poster showed a small hole in the top left corner, and surface paper loss in the bottom border. As well, one and one quarter inch of paper in the top border and one inch of paper in the left border have been replaced. The result is a classic beauty, one that you will be proud to own and display. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine on Linen.

In this harrowing epic, George O'Brien stars as a hard-nosed submarine commander tasked with destroying a German U-boat that has been sinking Allied vessels. As the sub prepares for battle, however, O'Brien learns that his girlfriend is an enemy spy, and that her brother and fiancée are aboard the ship he's about to blow out of the water! Largely filmed in and around Catalina Island, this film was one of three that director John Ford made in 1931. Ford, who begun his directing career in 1917, had a substantial resume by this point, and was one of the pioneer directors of sound films. Perhaps best known today for his sprawling and expansive Westerns, Ford actually abandoned that genre in 1926, when studios began to tire of pictures set on the frontier. After making 3 Bad Men in 1926, Ford would "retire" from the genre for thirteen years, returning to the wide open spaces of the American West to make Stagecoach in 1939. In the meantime, he made such landmark pictures as Arrowsmith (1931), The Lost Patrol (1934), The Informer (1935), and Young Mr. Lincoln (1939). The stone litho beauty offered here displays exquisitely. Expert professional restoration has addressed such issues as a tear in the title and in the image area, chips and tears in the bottom and right border, and a large chip in the middle within the heroine's skirt and within the title word "Seas" as well as much work in the background of the image. Also, approximately 1" of the top border and 1" of the left border have been replaced. Offered by Heritage for the very first time, we are unaware of another copy of this poster and this is your opportunity to add this extremely rare poster to your personal collection. From the Berwick Discovery. Good+ on Linen.

Based on the 1930 book, Seed: A Novel of Birth Control by Charles Gilman Norris, this is the story of a would-be novelist who abandons his family when an old flame reenters his life offering the literary success he has long sought. Starring John Boles, Lois Wilson, and Genevieve Tobin, the film is particularly noted as the second screen appearance of future superstar Bette Davis.
Born Ruth Elizabeth Davis in 1908, Bette got her start on the Broadway stage, but moved to Hollywood in 1930 to pursue a career in motion pictures. After an unsuccessful start at Universal, she signed with Warner Brothers in 1932, and her star began to rise quickly. She received serious critical acclaim in 1934 for her role in Of Human Bondage, and appeared opposite Humphrey Bogart in 1936's The Petrified Forest. Although the "book style" stone litho poster offered here does not picture Davis (about her appearance in this film as one of the children of John Boles and Lois Wilson, she said, "If you blinked for a moment you would have missed me. I should have joined the extra's union."), it does feature a lovely and evocative image of Lois Wilson rendered in bright, bold color. One of three styles released in support of this picture - another style is also presented in this auction - Heritage has never before offered this lovely vintage gem to the collecting public. Prior to expert professional restoration, this poster displayed holes in the right background, as well as in the left and top border, and approximately one eighth of an inch of missing paper in the top border. Two inches of the poster was missing on the right side, which means approximately one half to one inch of the right side image. After addressing these issues, the poster appears virtually flawless, making this prize piece fit to join even the finest collection. Don't miss out on this exceptionally rare vintage beauty. From the Berwick Discovery. Good/Very Good on Linen.

In this emotional tearjerker of a film, Bart Carter (John Boles) is an aspiring novelist married to Nancy (Lois Wilson), with whom he has five children. After a chance meeting with Mildred (Genevieve Tobin), an old flame who now happens to be the manager of the Paris division of the publisher for whom he works, Bart decides to divorce his wife and relocate to Europe. Mildred promises her support for his literary career, but Carter quickly discovers that she plans for him to crank out an endless stream of potboilers, simply to keep her living in the style to which she's become accustomed. Years later, when Bart, now a wealthy man, and Mildred return to the States, he is reunited with his now-grown children (including a very young Bette Davis in her second screen role), leading to a tearful confrontation between Mildred and Nancy, in which the current Mrs. Carter realizes that Bart's heart will always belong to his first family. This beautiful stone litho one sheet is one of three styles produced - this style and one other are offered in this auction for the first time by Heritage, with excellent artwork of Boles, Tobin, and Wilson. Expert professional restoration has addressed pinholes in the top corners, chips in the borders, two holes in the upper background, and one in between the logo and the credits. Additionally, approximately one inch of the white paper in the bottom border has been replaced. This striking piece of vintage poster art is ready to be proudly displayed as a valued part of your collection. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine on Linen.

One of the most important and influential American comic strips of the 20th century, the adventures of eternal fifth grader Skippy Skinner were brought to life by cartoonist Percy Crosby, initially in the pages of Life magazine and, two years later, as a syndicated newspaper strip. Crosby's deft melding of everyday reality and humorous fantasy proved a winning combination, and soon Skippy media and merchandise was everywhere: card games, coloring books, ice cream, toys, movies, novels, articles of clothing, comic books, lamps, and more. The strip was a goldmine for Crosby, who quickly shot from utter anonymity to the dizzying heights of fame, earning at his height a staggering $2,350 per week, an enormous amount at the time. In 1933, California food packager Joseph Rosefield, began to market his new brand of peanut butter under the name Skippy, presumably to capitalize on the success of Crosby's strip. Crosby objected and took Rosefield to court, beginning a legal battle that would last well into the 21st century, pursued by Crosby's heirs. A beloved and long-running strip - it ceased publication in 1945 due to excessive personal problems that would lead to Crosby's institutionalization as a paranoid schizophrenic just a few years later - it is often cited as an early influence on the creation of Charles Schulz's iconic Peanuts. As part of the licensing juggernaut that was Skippy, Crosby sold the motion picture rights to his character to Paramount, who released an eponymously-titled film in 1931, starring nine-year-old Jackie Cooper in his first feature film. The story was about Skippy and his friends (played by Jackie Searl, Mitzi Green, and Robert Coogan) attempting to raise enough money to buy a license for Coogan's pet dog. Bypassing the inherent cynicism of Crosby's strip, the film opted for a more sentimental take on the character, a decision that audiences of the day found most appealing. The result was four Academy Award nominations - including Best Actor (Cooper), Best Picture (the only movie based on a comic book or strip to be so nominated to this date), Best Writing, and Best Director (Norman Taurog) - and a win for Best Director. The charming stone litho offered here is exceptionally rare. Indeed, Heritage has never before offered a copy in more than a decade of vintage poster auctions. With a wonderful image of Cooper, it presents beautifully. Professional restoration has addressed edge wear with small holes near the bottom, a tear in Cooper's hat, face and background, paper lifts with tears, and holes along the left side, top right corner, and in the credits. There was a piece missing from Cooper's right side and ear. Additionally, approximately three-quarters of an inch from the top border has been replaced. These flaws notwithstanding, this is an exquisite find and a true rarity, one that will hold great appeal for vintage movie fans and classic comic connoisseurs alike. From the Berwick Discovery. Good+ on Linen.

An early starring vehicle for Barbara Stanwyck based on a popular song by Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart, this pre-Code classic was directed by the great Lionel Barrymore. As Barbara O'Neill, Stanwyck plays a taxi dancer whose husband Eddie (Monroe Owsley) suspects her of cheating with wealthy playboy Bradley Carlton (Ricardo Cortez). Hurt and angry, Eddie uses his suspicions regarding his wife's infidelity as an excuse to indulge in a variety of sins, including gambling, adultery, and theft; standard fare in a pre-Code vehicle such as this. As such, the film stands as a glorious example of the pre-Code era of moviemaking, in which filmmakers were free to tackle such controversial subjects as adultery, casual sex, gangsters, birth control, rape, gambling, and more. By 1934, with the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code, such movies would be virtually eliminated from the silver screen, victims of a repressive and censorious review board that insisted on a whitewashed and sanitized view of American life. Due to their less inhibited, and less regulated, nature, pre-Code films, and the paper used to promote them, have long been favorites of classic movie fans. The stunning stone litho one sheet offered here, with its lush and vibrant colors and its stunning full-length portrait of a young and beautiful Barbara Stanwyck, is a lovely example of a poster released during this relatively brief but fruitful pre-Code period. In addition to its inherent beauty, it is also notable as one of only two copies known to exist in the entire world, a fact that should prove irresistible to serious vintage movie poster collectors. We note that prior to expert professional restoration, there were pinholes in the corners, tears in the middle background, chipping in the borders, and a small hole in the upper left with an accompanying tear. Additionally, approximately one quarter of an inch of missing white paper in the bottom border and a half inch of missing white paper in the top border has been replaced. The poster presents beautifully, and is an absolute stunner, sure to be the envy of all who see it. Place your bid now, and take this beauty home! From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.

Set in the fast-paced world of big city journalism, this is the story of young reporter Robert Marshall (Lew Ayres) who is assigned to escort beautiful society editor Myra Deane (Genevieve Tobin) to a grand ball. Predictably, Marshall falls for the older Deane, ignorant of the fact that she is the mistress of publisher William Winter (Purnell Pratt). An altercation between the two men leads to Winter's accidental death, and Marshall's conviction for murder.
Prior to this film, Ayres had already gained renown for such roles as Pierre Lassalle in The Kiss (1927) opposite Greta Garbo, and as Paul in the iconic anti-war film, All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). He would prove to be one of the leading actors of the 1930s, particularly remembered for his portrayal of Dr. James Kildare in the popular series of medical dramas. Perhaps influenced by the message of All Quiet, Ayres declared himself a conscientious objector during World War II, a decision that turned many of his fans against him, in spite of his volunteering for the Medical Corp. Nonetheless, offended by his supposed lack of patriotism, theaters vowed to boycott his films, and even after gaining an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in 1948 for Johnny Belinda and both critical acclaim and a Golden Globe Award several decades later for his pro-Eastern philosophy film Altars of the World, Ayres never returned to the top tier of Hollywood stardom he had enjoyed in the 1930s. He did, however, work steadily in both film and television until his death in 1996 at the age of 88. Both Tobin and Ayres look wonderful in this smoldering stone litho one sheet, offered for the first time in a Heritage auction. Expert professional restoration has addressed a small hole in the bottom border, a chip in the left border, and approximately one inch of the top border has been replaced. With these minor flaws repaired, the poster has been returned to virtually "like new" condition, making it a perfect piece to display proudly in your home or office. From the Berwick Discovery. Fine+ on Linen.