| SLOT
MACHINES FEATURED ON LOBBY CARDS: Clockwise from the upper left: ¶ "Damn Citizen" (Universal, 1958). The police are destroying slot machines with sledgehammers. ¶ "Street Bandits" (Republic, 1951). The room is full of disassembled slot machines. ¶ "I Cover the Underworld" (Republic, 1955). ¶ "City of Shadows" (Republic, 1955). Victor McLaglen starred. |
| GARISH
TITLE CARDS (Usually one of the 8 lobby
cards in the set [often designated card #1] would have large
bold titles and credits, and would have scattered small hand
drawn artwork, often copied form the larger posters). The
title cards usually have a greater value than the other seven
cards. Clockwise from the upper left: ¶ "Black Dice" (1952), starring Jack La Rue. British made American gangster movie. Note the two dice near the center bottom. ¶ "Two-Dollar Bettor" (1951). ¶ "The Green Pack" (1934). ¶ "Mr. Soft Touch" (1949). Glenn Ford is handling two dice. |
| WESTERNS
are a fertile source of gambling scenes,
especially of faro games. Clockwise from the upper
left: ¶ "The Lawless Breed" (1953) starring Rock Hudson and Julia Adams. Roulette. ¶ "Four Faces West" (1948) starring Joel McCrea. Poker. ¶ "Jackass Mail" (1942) starring Wallace Beery and Marjorie Main. Faro. ¶ "Badlands of Dakota" (1941) starring Richard Dix (dead at table with 'deadman's hand' showing -- here 2 aces, 2 eights and a queen -- all black), sheriff Robert Stack (standing, blue shirt) and Andy Devine (blue suit, next to Stack). |
| COWBOY
STARS: Clockwise from upper left: ¶ "Aces and Eights" (1936) starring Tim McCoy, shown raking in a big pot in the lower right of the LC. ¶ "Frontier Justice" (1936) starring Hoot Gibson. ¶ "The Showdown" (1940) starring William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy, seated at lower right of the LC in his usual black Hoppy outfit. ¶ "Rhythm of the Saddle" (1938) starring Gene Autry, in the blue shirt. |
| CRIME
DRAMAS: Clockwise from the upper left: ¶ "The Basketball Fix" (1951) starring John Ireland. ¶ "5 Against the House" (1955). Starring Guy Madison, Kim Novak and Brian Keith. The signs at the upper left say "Harolds Club" and "The Stag" -- both, Reno. In the lobby card actor William Conrad is being held up as he pushes a money/chip cart in the casino. ¶ "Life at the Top" (1966). Follow-up film to the successful "Room at the Top," also starring Laurence Harvey. British. Sign at upper left says, "All bets must be covered by chips on the table." ¶ "Unholy Partners" (1941). Starring Edward G. Robinson and Edward Arnold, shown above on left and right. |
| DRAMAS.
Clockwise from the upper left: ¶ "The Blond from Singapore" (1941), starring Lief Erikson. ¶ "The Other Love" (1947), starring David Niven, Barbara Stanwyck and Richard Conte (the latter two are on the right, facing the camera). ¶ "Aces and Eights" (1936), starring Tim McCoy. ¶ "Midnight Cowboy" (1969), starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight. Lobby card scene is of Dustin Hoffman in, I guess, a crap game. |
| OLDIES,
Clockwise from the upper left: ¶ "Sinner Take All" (1937). I spot Joseph Calleia (standing, left). ¶ "Gambling With Souls" (1936). ¶ "Ports of Call" (1925). William Fox silent film starring Edmund Lowe. Cards and chips on the table. ¶ "Showboat" (1929). Poker game. Entire card is hand colored. This is the first of three movie versions of Showboat. It stars Joseph Schildkrant (seated in center of table) as Gaylord Ravenal and Laura La Plante as Magnolia. (Be sure to see the great 1936 version with Irene Dunne, Allan Jones and the great Helen Morgan.) |
| SILENT FILMS. Clockwise
from upper left: ¶ "Winning a Woman" (1927, Rayart Pictures). Starring Jack Perrin. (The film, like all of this era, is in black and white. The lobby card has been colorized, though.) ¶ "The U.P. Trail" (1920, Benjamin B. Hampton Production). Starring "Beauty" Stanton. ¶ "The Beautiful Gambler" (1921, Universal). Starring Grace Darmond. Roulette table. Man in suit is telling girl, "So you were trying to double cross me -- eh!" The sign on the wall states the maximum limits -- $5 on numbers, $20 on columns and $50 on colors. ¶ "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" (1919, Universal). Starring Harry Carey. This film has been remade many times. |
| MORE SILENT FILMS. Clockwise
from upper left: ¶ "A Parisian Scandal" (1921, Universal). Starring Marie Prevost. ¶ "When Danger Smiles" (1922, Vitagraph). Starring William Duncan and Edith Johnson. ¶ "The Seal of Silence" (1918, Vitagraph). Starring Earle Williams and Grace Darmond. The man at the right is holding a corner of a heart playing card, and he says. "Everywhere my wife's one weakness -- gambling -- stares me in the face." Looks as though this is my oldest lobby card! ¶ "The Broken Violin" (1923, Arrow Pictures). Starring Joseph Blake. Roulette table, colored chips, man at center-right is pointing accusingly at man on other side of table. |
| Detour (1945). Great lobby card
and movie. Not mine. Seller listed it on eBay for $650
in 2007. Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake, Edmund MacDonald,
Pat Gleason, dir: Edgar G. Ulmer; Producers Releasing Company.
Brilliant film noir, one of the genres top titles. Written by Martin
Goldsmith and based on his own novel it is told in flashback and is
the story of a New York nightclub pianist Al Robert who hitchhikes to
Hollywood. The gambler driving him dies on the ride and Roberts, afraid
of the police, assumes the dead mans identity. He is then blackmailed
by Vera, a hitch hiker he picks up and he plunges deeper into trouble.
Wonderful card design with border art worked into the title treatment
and theme. This is a legendary film noir, and one of the only two good
scene cards from this classic, with this image of Neal and Savage playing
cards. NEAR MINT. |
| I paid about $90 for this one, Oct. 2007, on
eBay. Universal's |
| "Amazing Colossal Man" rampages Las Vegas
& Sands Hotel Casino. I collect movie lobby cards with
gambling themes. This one doesn't exactly fit the bill, but I couldn't
resist buying it. In this 1957 movie, "Army Colonel Langan was exposed
to massive amounts of radiation after a nuclear experiment backfires,
causing him to grow at the rate of 10 feet per day.... One of the first
atomic mutation horror films of the fifties, it is also one of the
most absurdly entertaining. The scenes detailing Langan's growth
and his attack on Vegas are quite memorable" (per TV Guide review).
YouTube clips: here
and here.
Hard to read, but under Danny Thomas' name on the billboard is the famous "Opening Act" names of Augie and Margo (Rodriguez), who "have been celebrity performers since the Mambo days of the 1950's. They opened shows in North America and around the world for the Rat Pack and just about every famous person during the 1950's, 60's and 70's that one can name; and the list includes three Presidents and the Queen of England. They were recently invited to dance with the world famous Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, and that is what they are presently (2007) doing," (per http://www.augieandmargo.com/ ; web site is defuct now (Sept 2011)) |
| Rita Hayworth in "Gilda." In a
January 2008 auction on eBay, this lobby card, in poor condition,
ended up at $257! It is known today mostly for Rita Hayworth's
sensational, sexy, dance-song performance. I saw the movie recently.
Chock full of gambling scenes and talk. Story seemed too soap opera-ish
for me. The movie did very well, and helped make her famous....
...... Back to the lobby card -- they are at a roulette table.
Stacks of chips in front of Rita. The tall guy on the right is
holding chips. Guy on the left of Rita is popular character actor, Joseph
Calleia. I didn't win this auction. But in April 2011 I finally
got one in nice condition for $150 on eBay. |
| In the same auction as the Gilda one, above,
I won this lobby card for $153. "An Original Vintage Theater-Used
Movie Lobby Card (measures 11" x 14") from The Testing Block,
the 1920 Lambert Hillyer romantic love triangle gambling cowboy
western (about an outlaw who falls in love with a beautiful female
violinist, which causes him to go straight and have a child, but
she falls for a gambler passing through, and he not only steals Hart's
wife, but he also bankrupts him while gambling!; Hart goes crazy and
gets vengeance, and returns a sadder, but wiser man; the movie was both
written and produced by star William S. Hart) starring William
S. Hart, Eva Novak, J. Gordon Russell, Florence Carpenter and Richard
Headrick." .... .... .....I was certain not to be outbid on this lobby
card. It went for $153. From a silent 1920's William Hart western. The
guy on the left (dealer/banker) has the chip rack and special faro cards
dealing box near him. There is no faro case-keeper to be seen. The all
important faro layout (where the bets [stacks of chips] are placed) is
shown in the center, where Wm. Hart is standing, menacingly. He doesn't
look like a happy camper. |
| I
finally got this lobby card (Frank Sinatra in the original
Oceans 11), for about $50 on eBay. The above is the
eBay auction picture. |
| PolaNegri
in 1928 movie -- went for $181 at auction in May 2008.
Baccarat. |
| Marlon
Brando in "A Streetcar Named Desire" lobby card, playing
StanleyKowalski doing two of his favorite activities -- screaming
and playing poker. Miracles can happen: I won this
card on eBay in Sept 2008 for only $10.50! |
| "NIFTY
NUMBERS"--CONFESSIONS OF A CHORUS GIRL. BAD GIRL / SILENT
COMEDY SEXPLOITATION EXPLOITATION. RARE AS HEN'S TEETH!!!!
Strip poker scene. Vintage 1928 Paramount Famous Lasky
Corporation / Christie Film Company silent comedy (4th. in the series
of 2 reel comedy shorts) lobby card (NOT a repro) made in U.S.A. for
original first release film distribution within the movie / grindhouse
industry. 11 inches x 14 inches. The movie starred Frances Lee, Billy
Engle, Jimmy Hertz and Eddie Barry. I got this for $11 each on eBay March
2009. |
| The
Black Panther's Cub (1921) . My lobby card. Starring Florence
Reed (1883-1967) as The Black Panther / Mary Maudsley / Faustine.
Scene per lobby card: "The table of fate, of fame, of fortune
and often of death," gambling table shown. IMDb synopsis: The daughter
of the former queen of a Paris gambling house impersonates her mother
and reopens the establishment when she finds herself in dire need
of funds. |
| Ryan
O'Neal -- Great faro scene from the movie "Barry Lyndon." One
of a set of 25 11" x 14" lobby cards on eBay May 2009, going for
over $100. I passed. ... ... .... BARRY LYNDON (Warner Brothers,
1975) Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrcik Magee, Hardy Kruger, and
Steven Berkoff. ... ... ..... With ornate imagery reminiscent of paintings
from the story's 18th century period, Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of
William Makepeace Thackeray's novel depicts the rise and fall of a sensitive
rogue in the British aristocracy. .... ....... I finally obtained
the card in June 2010 when I bought a "Barry Lyndon" 24-card lobby card
set (25 different Lyndon ones were made, by the way) for about $85. |
| James
Cagney and Humphrey Bogart in "The Oklahoma Kid" (1939). This
lobby card (not mine) went for $311 at auction in February 2010. |
| Charlie
Chan at Monte Carlo (20th Century Fox, 1937). Title Lobby
Card (11" X 14") (not mine). This movie marked the final silver screen appearance of Warner Oland, whose film career stretched all the way back to 1912. Shortly after making this picture, Oland returned to his native Sweden, and passed away a year later. Oland portrayed Earl derr Bigger's renowned Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan in 16 features between 1931 and 1937. Offered here is a lovely title card in superb condition condition; restorative paint has been applied to the borders, but there are no condition issues to note. If you demand the best, this card is for you! Very Fine. Estimate: $1,000 - up. Opening bid was $500. |
| Close-up, on
right, shows Geometric inlaid chips (triangle in circle). |
| Clara Bow
in her last movie "Hoop-La" (1933), shooting dice. Notice her
rubbing the dice for luck! This picture (a reproduction) is from
an eBay listing. "Hoop-La" is the way IMDb spells it, and describes the
plot as "A hula dancer at a carnival sets out to seduce the son of the
show's manager. " Her IMDb biography has this trivia tidbit: "Preferred
playing poker with her cook, maid, and chauffeur over attending her movie
premieres." |
| Tim McCoy.
I own the lower lobby card -- unusual to see the hero (or anyone)
handling a chip rack! Paid about $30 for it. |
| John Wayne at
blackjack table. I bought this for about $50 in December 2010. |
| John Wayne at roulette
table in "The New Frontier" (Republic, 1935). Not my lobby
card. |
| John Wayne -- "Originally
released by Paramount Pictures in 1937 under the name "Born To The West",
this oustanding gambling table scene features a young John Wayne protecting
a wounded Johnny Mack Brown as Syd Saylor keeps the rest of the gang at bay
on this ORIGINAL, 11x14, 1950 release, Lobby Card, with the new title "Hell
Town," per seller. Not mine. |
| Roy Rogers -- "JESSE JAMES
AT BAY / GREAT ORIGINAL LOBBY CARD 11X14 FROM THIS 1941 WESTERN. ROY ROGERS
HAVING TROUBLE AT THE POKER TABLE," per seller. Went for $78. |
| Paul Newman
in famous poker game scene in the classic "Cool Hand Luke" (1967). The
scene went as follows: (Luke won a game of poker on a bluff) Dragline (played by George Kennedy): Nothin'. A handful of nothin'. You stupid mullet head. He beat you with nothin'. Just like today when he kept comin' back at me - with nothin'. Luke (Newman): Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand. This lobby card usually goes for a high amount (I got mine for well under $100). The best card is the famous egg-eating scene. |
| RONALD
COLMAN, JOAN BENNETT -- In May 2011, the eBay seller wanted $1120
for this; it did not sell. Nice card. He said, "MAN WHO BROKE THE
BANK OF MONTE CARLO - 1935 Dir STEPHEN ROBERTS Cast: RONALD COLMAN
JOAN BENNETT COLIN CLIVE_NIGEL BRUCE USA - US -L.C.-28x36-Cm.-11x14-In." Per Rivi site, Hal Erickson: "The old British musical-hall ditty "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo" provides the title for this lightweight Ronald Colman vehicle. Colman, playing a refugee Russian prince, is the "man" in question, and the owners of the "broken bank"--that is, the proprietors of the Monte Carlo casino where Colman scored the big win--are anxious to get their money back. They dispatch the beautiful Joan Bennett to lure Colman back into the casino. He falls for her and loses his winnings in the process, but she has pangs of remorse when she learns that Colman had been gambling on behalf of his impoverished countrymen. Bennett joins Colman as he merrily heads off to chase another rainbow." |
| Alice Faye, Cesar
Romero and Carmen Miranda at roulette table in "Week-End
in Havana" (1941). "A ship company employee, Jay Williams [John Payne],
is sent to Florida where one of the company cruise ships is stuck on a
reef off of the coast. He obtains waivers from all of the passengers with
the exception of Nan Spencer [Faye], a department store salesgirl who wants
her vacation NOW, not later. Jay is instructed to take Nan to Havana and
set her up in the best hotel and keep her entertained. She visits a night
club where the star attraction is Rosita Rivas [Miranda], and meets Rosita's
worthless manager, Monte Blanca [Romero], who makes a play for her. Trouble
also comes in the form of Jay's fiancée, Terry McCracken, when a romance
develops between Nan and Jay.," per IMDb. |
| I got this at auction for $27.00.
"Red Dice, the 1926 William K. Howard silent gambling insurance
fraud romantic murder crime melodrama (a wacky story of a man who offers
to kill himself at a future date to collect on an insurance policy, if he
can have money now in return for the proceeds of the policy!; he rolls
a pair of dice, and because they come up with a 2 and a 4, he agrees to kill
himself on December 24, but the person he makes the deal with wants him
to be married so that the wife can inherit the money and turn it over to
him, but during the time he is awaiting the date to kill himself, he falls
in love with the woman, and refuses to go through with the deal) starring
Rod La Rocque, Marguerite De La Motte, Ray Hallor, Gustav von Seyffertitz,
and George Cooper." |
| Outside the 3-Mile Limit (1940). Jack
Holt, starring, and on the left. "Rare, Original 1940 Movie Poster Lobby Card (14"x11") of OUTSIDE THE 3-MILE LIMIT. The film stars JACK HOLT, HARRY CAREY, SIG RUMAN, EDUARDO CIANNELLI and PAUL FIX. PLOT: Government Agent Conway (Jack Holt), posing as a crew member of a ship, is investigating the flood of counterfeit money that seemingly is originating from a gambling ship, moored off-shore beyond the three-mile limit and operated by gangsters," per ebay seller. -------600---------------------------------- |
|
| The Girl of the Golden West (1923) "Her lover wounded, she staked her life and her heart on the throw of a card," as captioned in lobby card. |
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