#posters 1948

[pasparal]

"The right of return is never to be relinquished" (2019) Artists: Maryam Dabagh Zadeh, Mohammed Farshadian, Zahra Maryam Dabaghzadeh Source: The Palestine Poster Project

[trebo]

the methods of promotional posters for rope 1948 and how its queer identity affects it

you know i see a lot of people in the rope 1948 community analyzing every aspect of the film and stage play and the entire thing in general, but i haven’t seen anyone yet touch on the film posters. which is what i’m gonna do right now, i have something to say about the posters.

(one of) the most prominent patterns found within old hollywood posters— and this doesn’t take a long time of studying to find— is that almost all of them always feature a man and woman, which happen to be the love interests of the said film in question. romance is SO common in nearly EVERY classic movie, regardless of how it is presented or depicted or alluded to. but this of course applies to your heterosexual relationship, heteronormative ideas of cinema at that time. so what happens when you make a movie about queer romance and queer characters? well, if you were a poster designer in 1948, you probably wouldn’t be bold enough to simply plaster two men onto that poster the same way you’d plaster a heterosexual relationship, embracing each other, looking each other in the eyes, etc etc etc… which is why, in the case of rope, it’s always jimmy stewart as the focal point, and him alone. phillip and brandon are in the background, despite them being the protagonists of the film. and in some cases, we get a glimpse of one of the female characters with brandon (as demonstrated below). but of course, we know that they aren’t love interests. but to a passerby who’s just been introduced to the film DURING that year, it wouldn’t be illogical to assume that some people could think that they are. i think this is just another way of hiding the queer theme of the movie through their promotional materials. more subtlety and cleverness rather than having your poster immediately scream “HEY!! HEY!!! THIS MOVIE’S CHARACTERS ARE GAY AND YOU SHOULD TOTALLY CHECK IT OUT!!! BRO!!!!!!!!” to newcomers.

one more thing is i want to analyze a part of this poster specifically, because there was something here that caught my eye. it’s the captions. “in one man’s hands, rope is a deadly weapon… in one man’s arms, love is a shameful thing!” i want to you ask yourself, what love are they referring too??? obviously not heterosexual romance. what other love is most apparent in the film? it’s the gays!!! i thought it was really interesting to say love is a shameful thing, because WE know that it’s probably talking about the relationship between brandon and phillip. but to your average movie-goer in 1948, they might’ve thought it was just referring to another man loving a woman.

but in today’s world, assuming that the only movies you’re gonna watch are about heterosexual couples might ALSO be just a little shameful too.

thanks for coming to my ted talk. what yall think?

[gameraboy2]

Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948)

[driveintheaterofthemind]

Vintage Poster - Les Passagers De La Nuit (Dark Passage) (French)

Art by Pierre Pigeot

Warner Bros. (1948)

[abitofboth]

nothing ever held you like alfred hitchcock’s rope

[jazzplusplus]

1948 - Sarah Vaughan, Illinois Jacquet and his Orchestra - Carnegie Hall, New York

[imkeepinit]

Movie poster by an unknown artist, distributed by the National Screen Service (#48/1454) for the 1948 RKO motion picture The Boy with the Green Hair.

[midnightcowboy1969]

[digitalposterarchive]

1948 Arizona Santa Fe

Source: Pinterest / fabienne.jerot

Published at: https://posterhistory.com/railroad/santa-fe-railroad/

[weirdlookindog]

The Greed of William Hart (1948)

AKA Horror Maniacs

[todaysdocument]

The Tennessee Valley Authority promoted the benefits of electricity with this poster, June 25, 1948. 

Record Group 142: Records of the Tennessee Valley Authority Series: Photographs Promoting the Use of Electricity File Unit: Display Poster Chartorama

Image description: Mid-century-style poster reading “Weather Forecast HOT But that’s outdoors COOL YOUR HOME with PROPER VENTILATION / KITCHEN FAN / FLOOR FAN / ATTIC FAN / VENTILATING FAN” in seven different fonts. There is an illustration of a thermometer with the mercury at the top, and an illustration of a man and a woman looking at a room with billowing curtains. 

Image description: The poster, framed, hanging in an alcove on a trellis with (presumably fake) foliage around it. 

[inmyworldblr]

Anokhi Ada (1948)  //  dir. Mehboob Khan  //  film poster

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[emmieexplores2]

William Lawson - United Airline New York Via Mainliner, c 1948

[gameraboy2]

1970 German poster for Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

[driveintheaterofthemind]

Vintage Poster - Il Romanzo Di Mildred (Mildred Pierce) (Italian)

Art by Luigi Martinati

Warner Bros. (1948)

[saltcherry]

something depressing about how I texted this woman like 'can we get together and talk about this' and she was like 'YES! I am trying to organize with other like-minded people! here they are!' and I was like 'oh yes such and such I haven't seen such and such for a while and wasn't aware of their politics but we know each other! yes I also love so and so who moved! aaaaaand that's everyone.'