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The Shootist / quad / UK

10.07.13

Poster Poster
Title
The Shootist
Year of Film
1976
Director
Don Siegel
Starring
John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, James Stewart, Richard Boone, Hugh O'Brian, Bill McKinney, Harry Morgan, John Carradine, Sheree North, Rick Lenz, Scatman Crothers
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard, James Stewart, Richard Boone, Hugh O'Brian, Bill McKinney, Harry Morgan, John Carradine, Sheree North, Rick Lenz, Scatman Crothers,
Type of Poster
Quad
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
UK
Year of Poster
1976
Designer
John Raymer
Artist
Roger Coleman
Size (inches)
30" x 39 14/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
The unforgettable drama of a legendary gunfighter's last days.

A superb portrait of the late, great John Wayne on this British quad for the release of The Duke’s last film, 1976’s The Shootist. Directed by Don Siegel, the film depicts the last days of a legendary gunfighter named J. B. Books and it actually begins with a montage of clips from Wayne’s earlier cowboy films. In the early 20th century, at the ‘end’ of the wild west, Books arrives in Carson City, Nevada and, after seeking an audience with a doctor, is told that he has terminal cancer and has only a couple of months left to live. He rents a room from the widow Bond Rogers (Lauren Bacall) and her son Gillom (Ron Howard) with the intention of planning a quiet and dignified end to his life, but his mere presence in the town sets of a chain of events with various characters keen to take advantage of Books’ predicament. Before long, the legendary shootist realises that he’s going to have to end his life with bang, not a whimper.

This British quad was designed at the London advertising outfit Lonsdales by a gentleman called John Raymer and was painted by the freelance artist Roger Coleman. Unique to the UK campaign, the intimate portrait of a grizzled Wayne was commissioned by Paramount Pictures UK as they felt that the original US poster, painted by Richard Amsel, had contributed to the film’s poor domestic box office performance.

As detailed in Sim Branaghan’s superb British Film Posters book, John Raymer was born in 1933 in South Norwood, South London, and went on to attend the nearby Croydon School of Art where he gained a National Diploma after specialising in book illustration. After completing his National Service he returned home in 1955 and was taken on by a design agency called Greenly’s situated on Berkeley Square in central London. The agency had held the Paramount account since 1922 and Raymer was finally given the opportunity to work on it in 1967, which was a year before the designer Frank Pickford, who had been on the account since day one, retired from the agency.

By the mid 1960s Richard Lonsdale-Hands had taken over the agency and there was clear recognition that the traditional model of adapting a US campaign for the UK market was no longer working. Sim’s book features a fascinating account from Raymer on the way Lonsdales dealt with being given more freedom to create publicity better suited to UK audiences. In 1975 the designer moved to the rival agency Downton’s where he apparently found the change of pace quite difficult to adapt to initially, with the requests for multiple designs per week being quite a change from his experience at the more sedate Lonsdales. When the illustrated cinema poster work began to slow down in the 1980s he started, like many other designers and artists, to work on video covers as well as a handful of quads, often in collaboration with the illustrator Brian Bysouth. He finally retired in 1993, and at the time of the publishing of Sim’s book was painting local scenes that were being sold in local galleries in his native Surrey.

Roger Coleman, one of several freelance illustrators used by Lonsdales, was born in South Wigston, Leicestershire in 1930 and studied painting at Leicester College of Art before winning a national portrait competition in 1952. He then went on to study at the Royal College of Art in London and eventually joined the editorial staff of Design magazine where he wrote about art and design and organised several exhibitions. In 1960 he was taken on by the agency Artist Partners and thus began several years of working on film campaigns, which included posters for films such as Catch 22 (1970) and Bad News Bears (1976) as well as concepts for the posters for Kubrick’s 2001. The Shootist is probably Coleman’s most famous printed poster, which the artist recalls was painted in six days, and the striking image of Wayne undoubtedly helped the film to success at the UK box office.

Timerider / one sheet / USA

14.11.16

Poster Poster
Title
Timerider
AKA
Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (alternative full title)
Year of Film
1982
Director
William Dear
Starring
Fred Ward, Belinda Bauer, Peter Coyote, Richard Masur, Tracey Walter, Ed Lauter, L.Q. Jones, Chris Mulkey, Macon McCalman, Miguel Sandoval
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Fred Ward, Belinda Bauer, Peter Coyote, Richard Masur, Tracey Walter, Ed Lauter, L.Q. Jones, Chris Mulkey, Macon McCalman, Miguel Sandoval,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
USA
Year of Poster
1982
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Unknown
Size (inches)
27 3/16" x 41"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
820171
Tagline
Lyle Swann is a champion off-road racer. But to the people of 1877, he's something very, very different...

Timerider is a largely forgotten genre mash-up from the early 1980s starring Fred Ward (probably best known for Tremors). Directed, co-written and scored by William Dear, the film deals with the concept of time-travel and sees a cross country dirtbike champion accidentally sent back in time to 1877. Whilst competing in a race, Lyle Swann (Ward) rides through an area which is being used by scientists to try to send a monkey back in time. He’s unaware that he’s gone back in time over a century and doesn’t understand why the people he meets are terrified of him and his bike. Eventually he realises the situation but not before he’s being pursued by a gang of outlaws. He’s taken in by a woman called Claire (Belinda Bauer) who hides his bike before seducing him. Meanwhile, the scientists in the future are desperately trying to retrieve Swann from 1877.

The films ends with quite a creepy payoff which I won’t spoil but made me exclaim ‘Eh?!’ at the screen. Think: what happens in the first Terminator but even weirder. The film is largely forgettable and features some truly terrible performances with mumbled dialogue making it hard to follow in parts. Fred Ward is good value, as always, and the head outlaw, played by Peter Coyote, is a decent enough villain.

I’m unsure who is responsible for the design or artwork on this US one sheet so if anyone has any ideas please get in touch.

Dead Man / quad / UK

18.05.11

Poster Poster

Joe Kidd / B2 / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster

High Plains Drifter / one sheet / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Goin’ South / one sheet / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Giant / one sheet / 1983 re-release / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

For A Few Dollars More / screen print / Stainboy / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

For A Few Dollars More / screen print / Jay Vollmar / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

El Topo / screen print / variant / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

El Topo / screen print / regular / USA

21.05.11

Poster Poster

Duck, You Sucker / one sheet / 1980 re-release / international

13.08.11

Poster Poster
Title
Duck, You Sucker
AKA
Giù la testa ['duck', literally 'down the head'] (Italy - original title) | A Fistful of Dynamite (UK, Australia, USA alt.)
Year of Film
1971
Director
Sergio Leone
Starring
Rod Steiger, James Coburn, Romolo Valli, Maria Monti, Rik Battaglia, Franco Graziosi, Antoine Saint-John, Giulio Battiferri
Origin of Film
Italy
Genre(s) of Film
Rod Steiger, James Coburn, Romolo Valli, Maria Monti, Rik Battaglia, Franco Graziosi, Antoine Saint-John, Giulio Battiferri,
Type of Poster
One sheet
Style of Poster
Re-release
Origin of Poster
International (USA)
Year of Poster
1980
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Robert McGinnis
Size (inches)
27 2/16" x 41"
SS or DS
SS
NSS #
--
Tagline
--

This is the international re-release (1980) poster for Sergio Leone Duck, You Sucker which uses the same design as the original release poster (1971) with only a handful of changes to the credits block and a lack of NSS details.

The artwork is by Robert McGinnis, one of the all time great poster artists, who is perhaps best known for his work on some of the best James Bond posters, including Thunderball (with Frank McCarthy), Live and Let Die and Diamonds are Forever. This great gallery showcases many of his finest pieces.

If you look closely at some of the images of this poster you’ll see the fold lines from the original poster that United Artists must have copied in order to print this re-release (this version is rolled). I’m assuming this is because the original printing plates were lost and it would have been too expensive/impossible to recreate them.

Whilst not as beloved as the films that make up Sergio Leone’s ‘Dollars Trilogy’, this is still an excellent action adventure featuring many memorable scenes and I’m hoping that it will get released on blu-ray soon with both of the versions on the disc.

The original US trailer can be watched on YouTube.

Dead Man / B2 / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Dead Man / one sheet / boat style / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Dead Man / one sheet / gun style / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Dances With Wolves / one sheet / advance / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Convoy / one sheet / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson / one sheet / advance / USA

18.05.11

Poster Poster

A Fistful Of Dollars / screen print / Jesse Philips / variant / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

A Fistful Of Dollars / screen print / Heads of State / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

A Fistful Of Dollars / screen print / Jesse Philips / regular / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

3:10 To Yuma / one sheet / advance / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Pale Rider / one sheet / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster

100 Rifles / B2 / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly / screen print / Billy Perkins / The Ugly style / USA

17.05.11

Poster Poster