Graphic Design Classic - The Renown Saul Bass Graphic Design for 'Man With a Golden Arm', for Director Otto Preminger. Rarely Seen Vintage 14” x 36” Insert Poster
Rarely Seen 14” x 36” Insert Poster c.1950s of Saul Bass’ Graphic Design for Director Otto Preminger’s 1955 Film, ‘The Man With The Golden Arm’.
Insert poster* dimensions – 14” x 36”. With frame, dimensions are 21” W x 44” H.
*Insert poster is term used in original movie poster terminology to indicate a smaller poster version, usually 14” x 36”, and are in vertical or portrait format. No longer issued by studios, they were issued rolled and were usually made from thicker stock paper or cardstock. Insert posters are considered rare, and their small size makes them highly popular among collectors due to the ease of handling them.
This is the real deal. This is not a copy, not a giclée reproduction, or anything other than an original insert poster for the film, ‘The Man With A Golden Arm’.
Purchased by donor from a London gallery in 2002, is this rarely seen 14” x 36” Insert Poster Version of Saul Bass’ Graphic Design for Director Otto Preminger’s 1955 Film, ‘The Man With The Golden Arm’, With Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak.
The poster is in Fine + condition and,most importantly, it has never been folded, which does increase the value substantially. No restoration work has been done.
Museum quality framing, using conservation glass with UV light blocking protection, beveled cream-colored matte. Framed by Artists’ Frame Service, Inc. in Chicago, IL, which Architectural Digest lists as Chicago’s framing master.
The Film:
‘The Man With The Golden Arm' was directed by Otto Preminger and released in 1955. Frank Sinatra is unforgettable as Frankie Machine, a recovering heroin addict and poker-dealer, who on release from prison wants to pursue a new career as a drummer. However, shaking off the past doesn`t prove to be easy. Based on the 1949 novel by Nelson Agren, Otto Preminger`s ‘The Man With The Golden Arm’ was a groundbreaking film in many ways. In 1955 drug addiction was a shocking subject matter, and the film was released contrary to Hollywood`s strict production codes of the time. Also starring Kim Novak, Eleanor Parker, and Darren McGavin. Featuring a landmark jazz score by Elmer Bernstein and Saul Bass`s iconic opening credits sequence, ‘The Man With The Golden Arm’ is a hugely significant American movie and one of Preminger`s greatest achievements.
The Poster Design:
In 1955, Director Otto Preminger again defied Production Code guidelines when adapting Nelson Algren's powerful novel about drug addiction, a taboo topic in mid-century America. The challenge facing Saul Bass was how to create a symbol that captured the drama and intensity of the film without resorting to sensationalism.
He created an arresting image of a distorted, disjointed arm. The semi-abstract form helped distance the form from the harsh realities of shooting up, although they are implicit in the graphic design’s abstract disfiguration of the arm. As well as being disconnected from a body, the black arm has the appearance of being petrified and transformed into something else, just as the Frank Sinatra character in the movie is transformed by his addiction.
The image on this poster was developed by Saul Bass for the first visual identity program—posters, marketing materials, and other communication tools—ever created for a motion picture. Bass was best known for the creation of simple, powerful graphic images that conveyed the essence of his subjects. Reducing the design to a single dominant symbol, Bass identified this film about drug addiction with a jagged arm thrusting sharply downward.
The image has become an icon of 1950s graphic design with its bold and arresting abstract style. Saul Bass began his association with Otto Preminger with his design for the poster for Carmen Jones, which led to his work on ‘The Man With the Golden Arm’, then to another film, for a collaboration that encompassed 13 films.
Things to Know:
If this item is to be shipped, it will be professionally packed and prepared for shipment via UPS Ground Shipment, signature required. Until known where it’s to be shipped to, no shipping charge will be invoiced until accurately determined. Buyer pays all packing and shipping costs. Non-refundable or returnable. Final Sale.
Donated by :
Name : Kathy Petrauskas
* If shipping required, winning bidder agrees to pay all shipping costs and will be invoiced electronically for shipping costs.
* Collection of 7.25% CA sales tax is required for all tangible items purchased at auction and will be added to final invoice.
*8% buyers premium, less than is common for most auctions, is applied to all items to offset credit card, transaction and administrative fees.
What is CharityAuctionsToday?