Original RKO Style B Half Sheet Poster (22×28) for the Ernest B. Schoedsack adventure fantasy, MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1949) starring Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, and Robert Armstrong. This is perhaps the most charming of all the “great apes” films and certainly has the best special effects. Willis O’Brien’s and protégé Ray Harryhausen’s stop action animation made Mighty Joe Young move realistically with incredible facial motions. This is the story of a girl who raises a gorilla from infancy in the wilds of Africa. She is wooed and wowed by an American showman, played by Armstrong who was also in KING KONG (1933). Eventually he brings the girl and the gorilla back to America to star in a nightclub act. The film won the Oscar for Best Special Effects, including the famous scene where Mighty Joe holds up a stage with Moore playing a grand piano. This original half sheet poster is folded and in good condition only. It would be a perfect candidate for restoration and linen-backing.

Original Argentinean Reissued One Sheet Poster (27×41) for the Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack monster masterpiece, KING KONG (1933) starring Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, and Bruce Cabot. This film is one of the most influential movies in film history; indeed, every “monster” movie since owes something to KING KONG. When film director Carl Denham (Armstrong) hires unemployed New York actress Ann Darrow (Wray) to star in his new picture, he takes her to the remote Skull Island where, according to legend, there lives an awesome god-like beast named Kong. Ann is kidnapped by the natives and offered as a sacrifice to Kong, but Denham captures Kong and takes him back to America to shamelessly parade him before the amazed masses. Decades ahead of its time, the film is still fascinating today even with all the great achievements in special effects developed since its making. The visual imagery is complemented beautifully by one of the first feature length musical scores by Max Steiner, which conveys Kong’s complex emotional state, especially in the exciting finale atop the Empire State Building. This original linen-backed stone lithograph one sheet is stunningly beautiful and in fine plus condition. Some small tears have been repaired, but no paper is missing. We recommend re-backing the poster.