As someone who literally wallpapered his room with movie posters when he was in high school and had a longbox full of promo photos, I can appreciate a book like Ira M. Resnick’s STARSTRUCK: VINTAGE MOVIE POSTERS FROM CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD. From the silents to the ’60s, the book contains nearly 300 examples of eye-popping art from the author’s collection of 2,000 posters and almost as many stills.
Providing the introduction is none other than director Martin Scorsese — someone who knows something about classic film. He laments the loss of posters and lobby cards as part of today’s moviegoing experience, saying that the art “carr(ies) the DNA of their era.” All we get nowadays are Photoshopped floating heads.
Resnick’s own experiences as a collector are every bit as intoxicating, as he provides a shorthand history of Hollywood by way of his possessions. It’s one-sided, to be sure, with him not attempting to hide his love for, say, Katharine Hepburn, but he knows his stuff.
Of course, his opinions wouldn’t mean anything without the art to back it up, and there’s plenty of it, including some you’re not likely to ever have seen before. Consider …
• LOVE BEFORE BREAKFAST, which depicts Carole Lombard with a black eye, and apparently proud of it.
• Louise Brooks’ areola popping out of her dress on a painted image for DIARY OF A LOST GIRL — something that wouldn’t be allowed today.
• TEN DAYS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD has all the makings of a propaganda poster.
• Jeanette MacDonald gets her bust measured for LOVE ME TONIGHT — a seemingly salacious choice of visuals for 1932.
• CITIZEN KANE, in no danger of winning advertising copy awards with the unattributed headline, “It’s Terrific!”
More genre fare can be found in the later “Classic Films” chapter, from KING KONG to FRANKENSTEIN, which is followed by a brief but interesting rundown of awesome art from virtually unknown films. For the appendix, Resnick even picks his favorite 50 one-sheets — no easy feat, given all on display, and some even autographed.
Whether your graphic eye leans toward the pulpy (GUN CRAZY), Art Deco (42ND STREET), avant-garde (THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI), opulent (LITTLE CAESAR), cartoony (BRINGING UP BABY) or even creepy (A DAY AT THE RACES), there’s plenty here for your retinas. —Rod Lott
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