THE RAVEN (UNIVERSAL, 1935) Original WC (14" X 22") Karloff & Lugosi Horror Rare

Description

The Raven (Universal, 1935)
Window Card (14" X 22")
Prior to paperbacking, the window card had been trimmed to 12" x 16" (it had likely been found in a frame). 2" was missing down the left side of the card and 6" was missing from the top of the card (but of course, 4 1/4" of the missing area at the top was the blank play dates area, and 1/2" of the missing area from the left of the card was the blank border). This affected the left of the girl's face and her hair, slightly affecting her eyebrow but not her eye, and it affected the bottom small credits. It also affected the "Th" of "The" in the title, and affected the left side of Karloff's face, but not his eye or mouth. The paper loss at the top affected the entire top tagline and part of Karloff's forehead, and all of his hair, and also the "Carl Laemmle presents", but not the word "KARLOFF". In addition to being trimmed, the card had a diagonal tear running across the center of Karloff's face, going through his nose and mouth, and the edge of his right eye. There was a 2" tear running from the middle of his lip through the left side of his lip. Overall, the window card was in fair condition prior to paperbacking. A skilled restorer expertly recreated the missing areas (using the pressbook image as a guide), and they also performed restoration to the defects described above. The card displays well from any reasonable viewing distance, and most people would not be aware of the amount of restoration the card has had. Obviously, one would prefer to find an example of this card that had not been trimmed, but given the incredibly scarcity of any posters from this movie, it might be a very, very long wait before another example of this card can be located.
Plot Summary:
One of the first films to pair horror icons Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, this classic chiller tells the story of a brilliant, but unstable neurosurgeon (Lugosi) who falls in love with one of his patients, and recruits a wanted criminal (Karloff) to kidnap her for him. While most of the Universal horror films from this period were creepy and atmospheric, this film is genuinely frightening! Too strong for 1935 tastes, with its themes of torture, disfigurement and grisly revenge, the film did not do particularly well at the box office during its initial release (much like another 1935 horror movie, MGM's Mad Love, starring Peter Lorre), and indirectly led to a temporary ban on horror films in England. Both Karloff and Lugosi were at the peak of their powers in 1935, and the result is a brilliant collaboration, one that would rarely be repeated with such incredible results
Very Rare poster
This poster sold at Heritage Auctions for ,000 in 2009!
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