A wonderfully detailed painting by the American artist Charles Moll features on this one sheet for the release of the 1976 dystopian sci-fi Logan’s Run. Brit director Michael Anderson, perhaps best known for 1955’s The Dam Busters, helmed this loose adaptation of a 1967 novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. The cast also features a number of British actors, with Michael York appearing as Logan and Jenny Agutter as Jessica, as well as the late Peter Ustinov showing up during the film’s second half. Logan’s Run is noted for its award-winning special and visual effects with some ground-breaking technology in use as well as some excellent model work that still stands up today. It also made liberal use of several locations in Texas, where it was predominantly filmed. 

Set in the 23rd century, earth has been through some unspecified event that has wiped out most of the population, whilst those that remain live inside a vast city covered with glass domes. Inside, a computer controls every aspect of life in the city, with the humans free to enjoy all the pleasures on offer without worry. Unfortunately, life inside the city does come with a cost and that is the rule that each human must submit to a ritual upon reaching their 30th birthday, during which they are ‘renewed’ and supposedly start their lives again with the aim of preventing overpopulation. Each person has a tracking device, or ‘life clock’, fitted into their hands that tells them when their time is due and they all wear different colours of clothing to mark their age range too.

Logan (York) is a Sandman, the equivalent of a policeman, whose job it is to round up anyone who doesn’t accept this ritual and attempts to escape from the city (dubbed Runners). After killing a Runner one day he finds a strange metallic pendant amongst the man’s possessions (actually an Egyptian ankh symbol) and when later scanning it into the computer he is given a mission to find out more about a secret group of people who are offering ‘sanctuary’ outside the city. After having his life clock forwarded by four years so that he’s near to ‘rebirth’ Logan is forced to go on the run to try and track down the secret group. Jessica (Agutter), a woman whom he met earlier, initially tries to lure him to a place where he can be assassinated by members of the group who want their secret kept, but when she realises he genuinely wants to reach sanctuary she agrees to go on the run with him.

The pair are being pursued by Logan’s Sandman colleague Francis (Richard Jordan) who is determined to apprehend them. They eventually arrive at an exit from the city that is opened using the ankh, and after escaping through an ice cave guarded by a silver robot called Box (Roscoe Lee Browne), the pair find themselves outside in the ruins of Washington DC. There they eventually come across and old man (Peter Ustinov) in the crumbling remains of the Senate chamber who makes them realise that it is possible to grow old and that the renewal ritual has been a lie all along. However, it’s not long before Francis catches up with them and Logan and Jessica must make a fateful decision.

The film was met with strong box-office returns and a reasonable critical reception, which greatly pleased the backers at MGM studio. A TV series followed a year later but was cancelled after only 14 episodes.

I’ve struggled to find much in the way of biographical information about Charles Moll but I do know that he only worked on a handful of film posters and is predominantly known for the many book covers he created for science-fiction novels. RaggedClutches.com features a page with a number of his covers and more of his work can be seen on the artist’s own DeviantArt page. In 2011, Adrian Curry’s Movie Poster of the Week column on Mubi.com featured this poster and also showcased several of the other film posters Moll worked on, which includes an excellent alternative style for The Sting. If anyone has any more information about Moll please get in touch.

Note that this is the international one sheet, which means it was printed in the USA for use in English-speaking international territories. Note the lack of an MPAA rating box and the fact that it has no NSS number. I also have the US advance one sheet in the Film on Paper collection, which features some of Moll’s art.

Wes Anderson‘s superb Moonrise Kingdom is my favourite film of 2012 and this American one sheet is in the running for poster of the year too. Arguably the director’s best to date (although I’d have a hard time justifying picking this over Rushmore) the film is set on a fictional New England island in the 1960s and follows the exploits of a pair of young lovers who decide to elope (her from home, him from scout camp) and trigger a series of events as the islanders set out on the hunt for them. The pair at the centre of the film (as depicted on this poster) are played by two unknowns, Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman. They are surrounded by Anderson regulars, including Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman, as well as a handful of first-time collaborators like Bruce Willis and Edward Norton.

This poster is the result of a pairing of two considerable talents; the British artist Michael Gaskell and the American letterer and illustrator Jessica Hische. Gaskell, born in 1963, is an award-winning painter of still-life, landscapes and portraits who has been the subject of five solo shows in London and has twice been awarded second prize in the BP Portrait Award. His official website features a biography as well as a gallery of his work. I’m not sure how his involvement in this poster came about and have been unable to find out any details online. I intend to try and contact him to discover more.

Jessica Hische is responsible for the design of the typography that was used on the posters as well as the credits during the film itself. Hische is a multi-talented letterer and illustrator who has worked on projects for advertising, editorial, branding and books. Her official website features a biography as well as an extensive portfolio of her work. The site used to have a page on which the designer wrote about her involvement in the project:

“I worked directly with Wes and his small team of co-producers to bring his vision to life. […] The initial direction was based on Ed Benguiat’s Edwardian Script, but the direction shifted toward something more hand-hewn looking and lightly referencing titles from a Chabrol film. I was hired to create the 20 or so credits in the beginning of the movie, and a typeface to be used for the end credits. I ended up creating two fonts—a display and a text weight of the same typeface. […] Working with Wes was an absolute dream and I was amazed and impressed at just how involved he is with every aspect of his films.”

The page notes that art direction was given from Jeremy Dawson and Molly Cooper who were producer and co-producer respectively.

The trailer for the film is on YouTube and if you’re yet to see the film I strongly urge you to hunt down a copy of it ASAP, with the only caveat being that if you’re not a fan of Wes Anderson’s output then this film will not convert you!

A man versus giant killer fish film that was released two years after the original summer blockbuster Jaws, Orca was always going to be compared to Spielberg’s classic even if its lead actor, the late Richard Harris, was apparently angered by the links; ‘I get really offended when people make the comparison’, he is quoted as saying at the time of release. The late Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis was determined to one-up the spectacle of Jaws and tasked the screenwriter Luciano Vincenzoni to “find a fish tougher and more terrible than the great white”, which led them to the killer whale and production on ‘Orca’ began.

Harris plays Nolan, the Irish captain of a fishing boat operating in the waters off the coast of northern Canada who hears of a lucrative contract being offered for the live capture of a killer whale and hopes the bounty will pay off the mortgage on his boat. After Nolan and his crew accidentally spear a pregnant female killer whale they drag it onto the ship where it miscarries, and almost dies, before the male (Orca) attacks the ship, killing one of the crew before the female is cut loose and falls into the water. The next morning the body of the female whale washes up on shore and before long it becomes clear that Orca is out for revenge, as he attacks the fishing village and destroys vital fuel lines. The villagers insist Nolan is responsible and task him with killing Orca so he sets off with the remainder of his crew, plus marine biologist Rachel Bedford (Charlotte Rampling) and a native American killer whale expert (Will Sampson). The whale leads the boat away from the village into frozen, iceberg covered waters and the stage is set for a final confrontation.

Unfortunately for De Laurentiis and all involved the film was critically derided and sank quickly at the box office, particularly since the juggernaut that was Star Wars was already smashing box office records around the world. The idea of a vengeful fish obviously didn’t go down too well with audiences, although the people behind 1987’s awful Jaws: The Revenge must have forgotten this by the time it was decided to make a third Jaws sequel. The practice of hunting and capturing killer whales to feed the demand from aquariums in the 1960s and 70s was sadly all too prevalent, as documented in the recent heartbreaking documentary Blackfish, which also points out that there are no documented cases of humans being killed by the whales in the wild.

The artwork on the American one sheet was painted by John Berkey who also worked on the poster for the De Laurentiis produced remake of King Kong a year earlier, and the Orca art was also used for the British quad. The Japanese marketing campaign, however, featured at least three B2-sized posters, including this one, that featured artwork apparently unique to the posters and only the B1 format used the Berkey painting. I’ve called this B2 the ‘style A (black surround)’ and I also have the other two styles which will be added to the site eventually. I’ve been unable to find out who is responsible for this artwork so if you have any ideas please get in touch.

Check out the bonkers original trailer on YouTube.

White Line Fever was made during the heyday of trucking in American popular culture and tells the story of Vietnam veteran Carol Jo-Hummer (played by Jan-Michael Vincent) who returns from the war and takes over his father’s trucking business, only to run up against the corrupt shipping firm Red River who are a front for an organised crime gang. Kay Lenz stars as Carol’s sweetheart Jerri who awaited his return from Vietnam and eventually helps him take a stand against the gang.

It would later be followed by other trucking-based action films such as the Burt Reynolds mega hit Smokey and the Bandit (1977) and Sam Peckinpah’s Convoy (1978). Director Jonathan Kaplan would go on to direct Jodie Foster to an Oscar win in 1988’s The Accused.

This style B US one sheet depicts a moment from one of the climactic scenes in the film and I’m unsure who is responsible for the artwork so please get in touch if you have any ideas.

The original trailer is on YouTube.

A man versus giant killer fish film that was released two years after the original summer blockbuster Jaws, Orca was always going to be compared to Spielberg’s classic even if its lead actor, the late Richard Harris, was apparently angered by the links; ‘I get really offended when people make the comparison’, he is quoted as saying at the time of release. The late Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis was determined to one-up the spectacle of Jaws and tasked the screenwriter Luciano Vincenzoni to “find a fish tougher and more terrible than the great white”, which led them to the killer whale and production on ‘Orca’ began.

Harris plays Nolan, the Irish captain of a fishing boat operating in the waters off the coast of northern Canada who hears of a lucrative contract being offered for the live capture of a killer whale and hopes the bounty will pay off the mortgage on his boat. After Nolan and his crew accidentally spear a pregnant female killer whale they drag it onto the ship where it miscarries, and almost dies, before the male (Orca) attacks the ship, killing one of the crew before the female is cut loose and falls into the water. The next morning the body of the female whale washes up on shore and before long it becomes clear that Orca is out for revenge, as he attacks the fishing village and destroys vital fuel lines. The villagers insist Nolan is responsible and task him with killing Orca so he sets off with the remainder of his crew, plus marine biologist Rachel Bedford (Charlotte Rampling) and a native American killer whale expert (Will Sampson). The whale leads the boat away from the village into frozen, iceberg covered waters and the stage is set for a final confrontation.

Unfortunately for De Laurentiis and all involved the film was critically derided and sank quickly at the box office, particularly since the juggernaut that was Star Wars was already smashing box office records around the world. The idea of a vengeful fish obviously didn’t go down too well with audiences, although the people behind 1987’s awful Jaws: The Revenge must have forgotten this by the time it was decided to make a third Jaws sequel. The practice of hunting and capturing killer whales to feed the demand from aquariums in the 1960s and 70s was sadly all too prevalent, as documented in the recent heartbreaking documentary Blackfish, which also points out that there are no documented cases of humans being killed by the whales in the wild.

The artwork on the American one sheet was painted by John Berkey who also worked on the poster for the De Laurentiis produced remake of King Kong a year earlier, and the Orca art was also used for the British quad. The Japanese marketing campaign, however, featured at least three B2-sized posters, including this one, that featured artwork apparently unique to the posters and only the B1 format used the Berkey painting. I’ve called this B2 style B and there’s also the style A. I’ve been unable to find out who is responsible for this artwork so if you have any ideas please get in touch.

Check out the bonkers original trailer on YouTube.

A man versus giant killer fish film that was released two years after the original summer blockbuster Jaws, Orca was always going to be compared to Spielberg’s classic even if its lead actor, the late Richard Harris, was apparently angered by the links; ‘I get really offended when people make the comparison’, he is quoted as saying at the time of release. The late Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis was determined to one-up the spectacle of Jaws and tasked the screenwriter Luciano Vincenzoni to “find a fish tougher and more terrible than the great white”, which led them to the killer whale and production on ‘Orca’ began.

Harris plays Nolan, the Irish captain of a fishing boat operating in the waters off the coast of northern Canada who hears of a lucrative contract being offered for the live capture of a killer whale and hopes the bounty will pay off the mortgage on his boat. After Nolan and his crew accidentally spear a pregnant female killer whale they drag it onto the ship where it miscarries, and almost dies, before the male (Orca) attacks the ship, killing one of the crew before the female is cut loose and falls into the water. The next morning the body of the female whale washes up on shore and before long it becomes clear that Orca is out for revenge, as he attacks the fishing village and destroys vital fuel lines. The villagers insist Nolan is responsible and task him with killing Orca so he sets off with the remainder of his crew, plus marine biologist Rachel Bedford (Charlotte Rampling) and a native American killer whale expert (Will Sampson). The whale leads the boat away from the village into frozen, iceberg covered waters and the stage is set for a final confrontation.

Unfortunately for De Laurentiis and all involved the film was critically derided and sank quickly at the box office, particularly since the juggernaut that was Star Wars was already smashing box office records around the world. The idea of a vengeful fish obviously didn’t go down too well with audiences, although the people behind 1987’s awful Jaws: The Revenge must have forgotten this by the time it was decided to make a third Jaws sequel. The practice of hunting and capturing killer whales to feed the demand from aquariums in the 1960s and 70s was sadly all too prevalent, as documented in the recent heartbreaking documentary Blackfish, which also points out that there are no documented cases of humans being killed by the whales in the wild.

The artwork on the American one sheet was painted by John Berkey who also worked on the poster for the De Laurentiis produced remake of King Kong a year earlier, and the Orca art was also used for the British quad. The Japanese marketing campaign, however, featured at least three B2-sized posters, including this one, that featured artwork apparently unique to the posters and only the B1 format used the Berkey painting. I’ve called this B2 style C and there’s also the style A and style B. There’s a signature that looks like ‘Dino’ at the bottom of the art (see picture 5) but if anyone knows which artist this belongs to please get in touch.

Check out the bonkers original trailer on YouTube.