"I discovered this heavy paper stock card (approx playing card size) advertising the first screening of the movie in Sydney at the Haymarket Theatre in 1920. I believe this would have been a card/flyer handed out to the public to get them to the cinema. I literally found this only yesterday by chance in an old diary I had bought at a market about 6 months earlier, and presume it was used as a bookmark or the like. As I was repacking some of my paper ephemera collectables into plastic tubs, it just fell out as I flicked the pages of the diary/journal of what appears to be diary of a road works workman. This may well be the only copy of this item?"
This is certainly the only one of these I've ever seen. I've also never seen this artwork and ad copy. And as it references a single day screening, I think this is an ultra rarity indeed.
Coincidentally, this was discovered two days before The Grim Game had a special screening at the Brisbane International Film Festival in Australia. "Houdini's message from the clouds"? Believe.
Thank you Noel for the share and congrats on the find!
Related:
Being Houdini's "Message from the Clouds" I think these might have been dropped by airplane.
ReplyDeleteYou could be right about that! And Noel did say this was in the diary of road workman, so maybe he found it on the ground?
DeleteI could totally see this happening as well. Aerial drop promotional advertising is such a Houdini thing to do! But, wow, that movie synopsis on the back of that card is far from being spoiler free!
DeleteWRT to being spoiler free, Noel who discovered the card had this to say: “Just further to the article in the paper advertisement, I have to laugh at how they kind of spoil the plot by freely announcing the end of the movie, imagine if they did that in today's movie advertising, no one would bother watching it lol”
DeleteGranted that this was early in motion picture publicity, but I can't help but notice that what we see as spoilers was actually an invitation to see how Houdini triumphs in the end. I don't think Houdini would even pretend that he wasn't going to overcome all odds. Even in a movie promo. Also, keep in mind we're seeing this through the perspective of watching commercials for movies on TV. With apologies to Noel and his lol there's a BIG difference reading about a plane crash on a card and seeing it for the first time on the big screen. Also there was a pretty big spoiler in the trailer that Apollo Creed was going to die in the ring in Rocky IV and I seem to recall that did pretty well at the box office. Or it's like spoiling the end of Tora, Tora, Tora (the Japanese win).
ReplyDeleteWRT to being dropped by airplane:
ReplyDeletehttp://harryhoudinicircumstantialevidence.com/?p=7437
Fantastic!
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