Film
Girl on a Motorcycle
1968
UK Quad (30" x 40") Single Sided
UK (Great Britain)
Near mint minus ; originally folded (as issued)
Jack Cardiff
Alain Delon, Catherine Jourdan, Marianne Faithfull, Marius Goring, Roger Mutton
The Holy Grail of swinging sixties movie posters and featured in ‘Film Posters of the 60’s’ by Tony Nourmand and Graham Marsh…a 1968 UK quad film poster for Jack Cardiff’s cult psychedelic ‘road’ movie “Girl on a Motorcycle” with a design by the artist John Armstrong whilst working for the advertising agency Lintas. This is an exceptional Style B example where Armstrong’s content and layout is perfectly suited by the landscape format of a UK quad. The tagline “She’s always naked under leather” has never been more appropriate matched only by the sheer quality of this scarce country of origin example that really needs to be seen in the flesh to be fully appreciated. Offered here is one of the highest quality “Girl on a Motorcycle″ film poster to come to market for a very long time. As you would expect colours are deep and unfaded combined with sexually suggestive imagery that literally ‘pops’ from the paper. Totally original and unrestored in near flawless folded (as issued) condition…It is easily the best folded example of this poster I have ever offered for sale and represents a true investment grade piece of original highly collectable extremely scarce cinema movie memorabilia.
Trivia: Marianne Faithfull‘s gift motorcycle is a Harley Davidson Electra Glide; Alain Delon rides a 750cc Norton Atlas.
Note: Rarely seen for sale and as a comparison a respected US movie poster website has a restored, linen backed Style B example (that was originally folded) for $8,995.00. Our poster is near mint, totally original & unrestored for £4,495.00
…more detailVintage Movie Posters Grading Criteria... read more +
A dated film with solarisation, hip music, and the ultimate ‘it girl’ Marianne Faithfull as the “Girl on a Motorcycle“, this is a flashback tale with a 1968 pre “Easy Rider“ meets “Barbarella“ setup. Rebecca is a French woman who abandons her marital bed in the middle of the night, slips on a skin tight black leather Lanvin jumpsuit, and mounts a huge Harley-like hog to ride to Heidelberg and meet her lover, a professorial Alain Delon, who will ravage her with long stemmed roses and mild S/M sex. While she travels, she fantasises about sex, memory, and dull Raymond (Roger Mutton), a teacher and cuckold husband versus Delon.
Filmed in 1968 when the notorious relationship of Faithful and Mick Jagger was the media topic, Girl on a Motorcycle brings back the notion of good women as sexually subservient to their men, and marriage as the only recourse of respectable young girls. Delon was a perfect debaucher by stealing the virginal Rebecca from her father’s bookstore for a bike ride to “get the colour in her cheeks”. Her dull fiancé/husband remains ignorant to his wife’s wilder adventures and her desire and enthusiastic willingness to have a pre-marital fling before the pending marriage.
With border guards hands on harassing of Rebecca, this film is a slice of why the women’s movement was so timely in the 70s as the notion of a lone woman riding the roads through France and Germany must have been as shocking as free-love, drugs, and the Rolling Stones to conventional society. But because she transgresses the limits of propriety, Rebecca must pay with the ultimate sacrifice in a traditional morality story of lust, leather, and booty on a bike.
Trade Address:
Vintage Movie Posters (UK) Limited
The Malthouse
The Broadway
Old Amersham
HP7 0HL
© 2023 Vintage Movie Posters
Registered Office Address: Vintage Movie Posters (UK) Limited, Aston House, Cornwall Avenue, London N3 1LF GB
Registered Company No: 07664517
Mint
A poster that has never been used or displayed and may show the most minor signs of age and wear. The poster should have no holes or tears.
Near Mint
A generally unused poster with fresh, saturated colors. May have minimal tears at folds. Has no significant holes, no paper loss, may have minor tears along edges, may have fine pin holes.
Very Fine
A poster with bright colour and crisp overall appearance. It may have very general signs of use including slight fold separation and fold wear. It may have pin holes or very minor tears. This is the highest grade allowed for a poster that has been restored either on linen or on paper.
Fine
A poster with good colors and overall clean appearance. It may have minor tears small paper loss and minor stains. It may have some fold seperation.
Good
An average poster with overall fresh color. May have tears, minor paper loss, minor hazing. Paper may be brittle due to age, may have minor stains. May have a small amount of writing in an unobtrusive place. May have medium or major restoration.
Fair
A poster with faded colors and brittle paper, showing significant signs of use. May have tears and paper loss. May have tape, writing, stains in image area. In need of restoration or had major restoration.
Poor
A poster that is worn, torn, and/or damaged. May have staining, cracking, dry rot, and/or large tears. May be heavily soiled, may have pieces missing. In need of major restoration.
All photographs and images used on our site are photographs of the actual poster/item you are buying, we do not use stock photographs.
LOBBY CARD
11 x 14″ printed on heavy stock paper. Used as display in theatre lobbies. Originally made in sets of eight. Some sets have a title card, which contains credits and artwork, essentially a mini-poster. The remaining seven cards are coloured photographic credits and poster artwork showing different scenes from the movie.
WINDOW CARD
14 x 22″ printed on heavy stock paper with the top 4-6 inches usually left blank for the local cinema owner to fill in the cinema and the date it was due to play. Largely discontinued during the 1970’s.
HALF SHEET
22 x 28″ printed on heavy stock paper. The image displayed is normally a smaller version of the main poster, although some do have different artworks and sometimes come in two versions.
INSERT
14 x 36″ printed on heavy stock paper. Inserts usually have the same artwork as a one sheet. Popular with collectors since they are smaller and easier to frame. Normally come tri folded or rolled.
STYLE Y/FORTY BY SIXTY
40 x 60″ printed on heavy stock paper. Rare since they were primarily used for major motion pictures only. Designed to be used outside the theatre, on an easel, normally at a drive-in movie theatre.
ONE-SHEET
27 x 41″ printed on paper. This is the most common size of poster, intended to be displayed in a glass “marquee” case. It is the most sought after size by collectors. Since the 1980’s most posters are sent to the theatre rolled and maybe slightly smaller measuring 27″ by 40″ and with the advent of backlit light boxes a growing number of modern movie posters are available double-sided and the more traditional single-sided.
THREE-SHEET
41 x 81″ printed on paper. These were printed on two or three separate sheets designed to overlap, few survive. Used for larger advertising spaces, normally posted on walls, perfect for huge movie theatres the drive-in, where people could see them from a distance. From the 1970’s on, three-sheets were sometimes printed in one piece and issued as “international” versions to be used abroad.
BRITISH QUAD
30 x 40″ Most common poster size used in the UK. British Quads are horizontal and may have different artwork to the US one sheet. Like a US one sheet they normally come in two versions. Like a US one sheet they are usually supplied single-sided or more commonly now as a double sided poster.
BRITISH ONE-SHEET
27 X 40″, printed on paper. Very rarely used size.
ITALIAN LOCANDINA
13 x 28″ six inches shorter than the US insert, very nice size to frame. Italian poster illustrators are some of the best in the industry.
ITALIAN PHOTOBUSTA
18 x 26″ Glossy, high quality, used as lobby cards in Italy. Size may vary, either vertical or horizontal format. There are also double Photobusta or mini Photobusta.
2-FOGLIO (DUE)
(DUE): 39 x 55″ This is the standard poster size used in Italy. Italian poster illustrators are some of the best in the industry.
4-FOGLIO
(QUATTRO) 55 x 79″ Very large Italian poster printed in two pieces, often contains very beautiful artwork.
FRENCH
47 x 63″ (GRANDE) or 24 x 33″ (PETITE) French movie posters normally come with different artwork to either the US or the UK. Like the Italian’s some of the artwork is extrememly beautiful.
