Adam’s Grizzly… and Other Cool Posters

As far as unsung heroes in the movie business go, I don’t think anyone is as instrumental in selling a film, yet gets so little credit as the poster artist. You’ve probably heard of Drew Struzan because of his classic Star Wars posters (and ones for Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, E.T. and The Thing). Saul Bass’ stylized posters for films such as The Man With the Golden Arm, Vertigo, North by Northwest, West Side Story and The Shining are instantly recognizable, as well. But beyond that, there are few artists whose name you can put to a particular movie poster. Wikipedia has a list of some of the artists, here, but it’s far from comprehensive.

One of the saddest things to happen to the world of movie marketing is the switch from illustrated posters to floating head photography featuring actors’ airbrushed faces. It’s true: they just don’t make ‘em like they used to. And of all the great movie poster art of yesteryear, the best stuff was created for the B- and C-movie genre pictures – flicks that lived and died by the attention-grabbing one-sheet. Usually the posters were a lot more exciting than the actual films, and one of the best examples of this is Grizzly.

William Girdler’s 1976 low-budget Jaws rip-off, er, homage, is a load of fun in a fake limbs ‘n’ stage blood kinda way, but it could never live up to the horrifying bear-tastrophe suggested by the monster on the movie poster. That image wholeheartedly lives up to the film’s tagline of “18 feet of gut crunching, man-eating terror!”  

The artist responsible is Neal Adams, who is best known for his comic book art. He crafted iconic images of Batman, Superman, Conan and loads of other heroes. Like many artists, he got his start in advertising and the newspaper business, where he worked on daily strips such as Ben Casey. In the 1960s he started working in the comics industry for Marvel and DC on all kinds of titles, notably ones featuring the characters listed above, plus Green Lantern/Green Arrow, The Avengers and X-Men. He also started the now-defunct Continuity Comics line, and moved into film-related art work through his Continuity Studios (the company’s website is poor, but you can see some of its movie concept art here). His massive portfolio also includes art for books, toy packaging, amusement park rides, album covers and advertisements. There’s a catalogue of his work at his site, here. If you’re somewhat familiar with the world of comic book art, you know the guy is a legend. But I’d like to take a look at some of his exceptionally cool movie posters.

As in his comic book art, the imagery is exceptionally dynamic. I’ve got a copy of that Street Fighter poster, and I love the mayhem splashed across it. The faces are so expressive, and Adams is a master at giving a 2-D image plenty of depth, by picking just the right angle and having all kinds of stuff (in this case, flying bodies) moving through the foreground and background.

Monsters, muscles and babes in peril are also staples of both comic books and B-movies, and there are some great examples in the Horror of the Blood Monsters poster art. If you’re ever had the (dis)pleasure of sitting through an Al Adamson movie, you know that the outrageousness of the title and the luridness of the poser art is inversely proportionate to the no-budget crumminess of the film. But what film could live up to that poster? You’ve got the mantis guy with the claws, the vampire guy carrying the girl, the dude in the back with snakes coming out of him, bats and assorted ghouls – and everyone gets fangs for good measure.

On the other hand, the poster for Westworld, a Hollywood sci-fi western starring Yul Brenner and James Brolin, showcases its stars while also giving you a tease of exactly what you want to see in the movie: a hideous robotic cowboy with its metal guts exposed. And talk about malevolence – in this poster the Brenner-bot is nearly as terrifying as the bear on the Grizzly poster. And how can you not love that font?

Lastly, Death Promise. I know almost nothing about this 1977 film (the tagline says all you need to know: “Filthy rich landlords get away with murder. It's time they pay for it.”), but I’m sold on that poster. A burning building, someone getting thrown (overhead!), some other guys being terrorized with rats, and a protagonist who’s been so damn busy fighting, he’s torn his shirt to ribbons. What. More. Do. You. Need? This one’s also an ideal example of the eye-popping colour palettes of those classic posters. As far as eye candy goes, Neal Adams’ posters are Pop Rocks.

If only there was one for something called Horror of the Grizzly Fighter...

-Dave Alexander