Robbie cost a lot, but MGM did get a lot of mileage out of him. In addition to being reused in The Invisible Boy (I have a 3 sheet), Robbie appeared in over 30 TV shows over the years.
Oldster finally posted a pic with my help and emailed me a ditty:
As You can see, the movie poster is very, very Beautiful. I bought this in 1970 at a convention that I put on in Oklahoma City. It was called, MULTI-CON 70. We had Buster Crabbe as our main guest. Back then, you could buy an ACTION ONE FOR BETWEEN $200 AND $500. So my money did not go too far because there was so much wonderful stuff to be bought. This Con was the First in The Southwest to have over 500 people attend, the First to have more than 100 Dealers Tables and the First one to have a big name Movie Star as a guest.
By auctioning off a rare poster from Bela Lugosi’s 1931 classic, two local brothers may reap a six-figure windfall this weekend.
Arthur
and James Mitchell grew up in a La Mesa home that resembled a Hollywood
back lot, stuffed with props, projectors, 16-millimeter films, movie
magazines, posters. As a teen, Arthur hung one of the latter on door of
the bedroom he and his brother shared.
“I thought it was cool,†he said.
That’s
an understatement. One of only two known versions of this poster for
the 1931 film “Dracula,†the one-sheet shows Lugosi’s vampire glowering
against a cobalt blue background.
Last month, Heritage Auctions
opened online bidding for this scrap of Hollywood history. A live
auction is set for Saturday and Sunday in Dallas.
Mitchell and his
brother, who is now a San Diego lawyer, figured the aged but undead
Prince of Darkness might fetch $10,000. Other items from their late
father’s collection, such as a poster for a 1924 Walt Disney short,
“Alice Gets in Dutch,†might earn a few dollars more.
Like
Jonathan Harker, the fictional character who treks to Transylvania in
hopes of closing a simple real estate deal, the Mitchells wildly
miscalculated. Bidding for “Dracula†started at $75,000, hit $160,000
last week and is expected to rise as high as $300,000. Even “Alice†will
bring in far more than pocket change, opening at $5,000.
“We were actually quite stunned to see how much they were worth,†Mitchell said. “My brother and I really can’t fathom this.â€
‘Oh my heavens!’
Formerly
the dorm room decoration of choice, vintage movie posters now command
fine art prices at Sotheby’s and Christie’s. They’ve become a specialty
of Heritage where the record price, $478,000, is shared by two posters.
The
first to hit that height was the only known one-sheet for a 1927 Lon
Chaney chiller, “London after Midnight.†That figure was recently
matched by a poster for the initial postwar Italian release of
“Casablanca.â€
“Beautiful artwork,†said Grey Smith.
As
Heritage’s director of vintage of posters, Smith can recall when the
market for movie posters was limited to fan conventions and the odd
collector. (He was one of the latter. He bought his first film poster 50
years ago, at the age of 10.)
Top auction houses didn’t touch these materials until the late 1980s, Smith said, with Heritage entering the market in 2001.
In
his position, Smith is part film historian and part art critic. He
noted that four posters were made for the 1931 “Dracula.†The others
relied on black-and-white production photos, one showing the sinister
count at the center of an enormous web ensnaring his victims.
“But
this style,†he said of the Mitchell’s poster, “is the one which many
people recognize as outstanding. It’s an accurate artistic rendering of
Lugosi.â€
About 25 years ago, a single example of this poster was auctioned off to a private collector.
Since then, Smith said, “no one has seen it in recent years.â€
When
the Mitchells contacted Heritage, claiming to have this poster, Smith
was skeptical. His doubts persisted — until he inspected the work.
“Oh my heavens!†he said to himself. “This is the real deal.â€
Although
the 86-year-old work had been framed, it was not in pristine condition.
A small hole marred one of the horizontal folds, under Lugosi’s jutting
jaw. The poster’s lower half had lighter colors than the upper half.
“We had the best people in the world brought in and, with great care, restored this,†Smith.
The poster is now graded fine/very fine. For ordinary collectors like Smith, it may be too fine.
“It’s way out of my league,†he said. “If I were to place a bid, my wife would probably divorce me.â€
Silent movies
As
boys, Arthur and James heard their father’s recount his first meeting
with “Dracula.†George J. Mitchell Jr. attended a screening with his
father at a theater in his hometown of Charlotte, N.C.
Conspicuously parked outside the movie palace was an ambulance.
“In case anyone was so scared they needed medical attention,†Arthur explained.
George
J. Mitchell Jr. survived this introduction to Hollywood’s most
notorious vampire unscarred, but he was bitten by the movie bug.
Throughout his life, which included 20 years in the Army and service in
World War II, Lt. Col. Mitchell was smitten by the silver screen. He ran
a film production company, worked on videos for the AFL, NFL and San
Diego Zoo, and wrote for American Cinematographer and other film
magazines.
Movies were a serious pursuit in his home, where even the talkies were silent movies.
“Growing
up,†Arthur said, “we weren’t allowed to talk during the first 10
minutes of a movie because he was watching the credits roll by.â€
Before
his death in 1994, George J. Mitchell Jr. sold many of the films in his
collection and gave away several posters. His widow kept the rest as
remembrances of her late husband.
Alice Mitchell died earlier this
year. Settling the estate, the brothers decided to sell the posters,
guessing they might net a small sum.
“We had no idea what they were really worth,†Arthur Mitchell said.
That
question will be answered this weekend — apparently in six-figure
style. But don’t expect the brothers to celebrate with a spending spree.
Their parents may be gone, but their frugal example lives on.
“If
we were going to go out and spend it,†Arthur Mitchell said, “mother
would get up from the grave like a vampire and come after us.â€
I always question if I were to stumble on to something like this in my family's wares - Do I keep it? I mean it sold for half a million but if you don't sell it you only have the poster.
Comments
not the fucking rarest, that would be the one I don't have of course.
They won’t give an estimate, could be gazillions since an R2 sold for $2 mill earlier this year.
Cost 100k to make, in 1956! 920K in 2017 dollars.
Oldster finally posted a pic with my help and emailed me a ditty:
As You can see, the movie poster is very, very Beautiful. I bought this in 1970 at a convention that I
put on in Oklahoma City. It was called, MULTI-CON 70. We had Buster Crabbe as our main
guest. Back then, you could buy an ACTION ONE FOR BETWEEN $200 AND $500. So my money
did not go too far because there was so much wonderful stuff to be bought. This Con was the First in
The Southwest to have over 500 people attend, the First to have more than 100 Dealers Tables and
the First one to have a big name Movie Star as a guest.
The seller knew what he was doing...
Exactly what I was thinking
Most interesting tidbit is seller bought it back in 1970, the Stone Age of mpc.
Interesting read on the background of the recent Dracula poster
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/ramona-sentinel/lifestyle/arts/sd-me-dracula-poster-20171109-story.html
Fangs a lot, “Dracula.â€
By auctioning off a rare poster from Bela Lugosi’s 1931 classic, two local brothers may reap a six-figure windfall this weekend.
Arthur and James Mitchell grew up in a La Mesa home that resembled a Hollywood back lot, stuffed with props, projectors, 16-millimeter films, movie magazines, posters. As a teen, Arthur hung one of the latter on door of the bedroom he and his brother shared.
“I thought it was cool,†he said.
That’s an understatement. One of only two known versions of this poster for the 1931 film “Dracula,†the one-sheet shows Lugosi’s vampire glowering against a cobalt blue background.
Last month, Heritage Auctions opened online bidding for this scrap of Hollywood history. A live auction is set for Saturday and Sunday in Dallas.
Mitchell and his brother, who is now a San Diego lawyer, figured the aged but undead Prince of Darkness might fetch $10,000. Other items from their late father’s collection, such as a poster for a 1924 Walt Disney short, “Alice Gets in Dutch,†might earn a few dollars more.
Like Jonathan Harker, the fictional character who treks to Transylvania in hopes of closing a simple real estate deal, the Mitchells wildly miscalculated. Bidding for “Dracula†started at $75,000, hit $160,000 last week and is expected to rise as high as $300,000. Even “Alice†will bring in far more than pocket change, opening at $5,000.
“We were actually quite stunned to see how much they were worth,†Mitchell said. “My brother and I really can’t fathom this.â€
‘Oh my heavens!’
Formerly the dorm room decoration of choice, vintage movie posters now command fine art prices at Sotheby’s and Christie’s. They’ve become a specialty of Heritage where the record price, $478,000, is shared by two posters.
The first to hit that height was the only known one-sheet for a 1927 Lon Chaney chiller, “London after Midnight.†That figure was recently matched by a poster for the initial postwar Italian release of “Casablanca.â€
“Beautiful artwork,†said Grey Smith.
As Heritage’s director of vintage of posters, Smith can recall when the market for movie posters was limited to fan conventions and the odd collector. (He was one of the latter. He bought his first film poster 50 years ago, at the age of 10.)
Top auction houses didn’t touch these materials until the late 1980s, Smith said, with Heritage entering the market in 2001.
In his position, Smith is part film historian and part art critic. He noted that four posters were made for the 1931 “Dracula.†The others relied on black-and-white production photos, one showing the sinister count at the center of an enormous web ensnaring his victims.
“But this style,†he said of the Mitchell’s poster, “is the one which many people recognize as outstanding. It’s an accurate artistic rendering of Lugosi.â€
About 25 years ago, a single example of this poster was auctioned off to a private collector.
Since then, Smith said, “no one has seen it in recent years.â€
When the Mitchells contacted Heritage, claiming to have this poster, Smith was skeptical. His doubts persisted — until he inspected the work.
“Oh my heavens!†he said to himself. “This is the real deal.â€
Although the 86-year-old work had been framed, it was not in pristine condition. A small hole marred one of the horizontal folds, under Lugosi’s jutting jaw. The poster’s lower half had lighter colors than the upper half.
“We had the best people in the world brought in and, with great care, restored this,†Smith.
The poster is now graded fine/very fine. For ordinary collectors like Smith, it may be too fine.
“It’s way out of my league,†he said. “If I were to place a bid, my wife would probably divorce me.â€
Silent movies
As boys, Arthur and James heard their father’s recount his first meeting with “Dracula.†George J. Mitchell Jr. attended a screening with his father at a theater in his hometown of Charlotte, N.C.
Conspicuously parked outside the movie palace was an ambulance.
“In case anyone was so scared they needed medical attention,†Arthur explained.
George J. Mitchell Jr. survived this introduction to Hollywood’s most notorious vampire unscarred, but he was bitten by the movie bug. Throughout his life, which included 20 years in the Army and service in World War II, Lt. Col. Mitchell was smitten by the silver screen. He ran a film production company, worked on videos for the AFL, NFL and San Diego Zoo, and wrote for American Cinematographer and other film magazines.
Movies were a serious pursuit in his home, where even the talkies were silent movies.
“Growing up,†Arthur said, “we weren’t allowed to talk during the first 10 minutes of a movie because he was watching the credits roll by.â€
Before his death in 1994, George J. Mitchell Jr. sold many of the films in his collection and gave away several posters. His widow kept the rest as remembrances of her late husband.
Alice Mitchell died earlier this year. Settling the estate, the brothers decided to sell the posters, guessing they might net a small sum.
“We had no idea what they were really worth,†Arthur Mitchell said.
That question will be answered this weekend — apparently in six-figure style. But don’t expect the brothers to celebrate with a spending spree. Their parents may be gone, but their frugal example lives on.
“If we were going to go out and spend it,†Arthur Mitchell said, “mother would get up from the grave like a vampire and come after us.â€