Film
The Vampire Lovers
1970
UK Quad (30" x 40") Single Sided, Printed in England by W.E.Berry Ltd. Bradford
British / UK
Very Fine; originally folded (as issued)
Roy Ward Baker
Peter Cushing, Dawn Addams, Douglas Wilmer, Ferdy Mayne, George Cole, Ingrid Pitt, Kate O'Mara, Madeline Smith
“Beautiful temptress or Bloodthirsty monster ? … Carmilla is really Queen of lesbian Vampires !”
An exceptional original country of origin UK quad movie poster for Hammer’s 1970 film “The Vampire Lovers“. The first in what turned out to be known as ‘The Karnstein Trilogy’. An outstanding piece of horror artwork initially designed by Eddie Paul with finished art by Mike Vaughan – his first on a Hammer poster. Vaughan went on to establish himself as Hammer’s ‘go-to’ British artist in the early 70’s with equally memorable work on “Twins of Dracula” and “Hands of the Ripper”. The original UK quad film movie poster offered here is from first year of release 1970 and displays to excellent effect. Originally folded (as issued) it is totally unrestored and presents very well with minimal handling and age wear, beautiful deep vivid colours and striking vampire imagery. Very rare and desirable, an excellent investment grade example of original country of origin scarce Hammer Horror movie memorabilia.
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The Vampire Lovers Movie Poster
“Seductive vampire Carmilla Karnstein and her family target the beautiful and the rich in a remote area of late eighteenth-century Germany.”
Hammer studios, having more-or-less exhausted the Dracula franchise by 1970, decided to freshen up their tales of vampirism by bringing in a lesbian angle. The result was “The Vampire Lovers“, a decent horror flick taken from Sheridan Le Fanu‘s story “Carmilla”. The film breaks no new ground in terms of horror, but in terms of eroticism it probably raised a few eyebrows back in 1970, with its frequent nudity and explicit lesbianism. There’s more to it than just the erotic stuff though – Ingrid Pitt and Peter Cushing are in commanding form; Tudor Gates‘ screenplay is pretty good; and there are some gruesome moments – including several decapitations – to satisfy gore-hounds.
Elusive vampiress Carmilla (also known as Mircalla and Marcilla – and played by the luscious Ingrid Pitt) escapes death at the hands of an Austrian vampire hunter. Carmilla fakes an accident to win the sympathy of the Morton family – nearby aristocrats – and soon she has been taken into their noble household. One thing to which Carmilla is quite partial is the blood of female victims, and pretty soon she has befriended Emma Morton (Madeline Smith), whom she hopes to entice into a lesbian love affair before vampirising her. However, Emma’s father Roger (George Cole) and his friend Von Spielsdorf (Peter Cushing) realise that something isn’t quite right and eventually uncover Carmilla’s sinister secret.
The film is handsomely photographed and nicely directed by Hammer veteran Roy Ward Baker. There’s not much here to distinguish this one from all the other Hammer horrors, other than the stronger-than-usual sexuality. However, fans of the Hammer style films will not mind that, as the “sameness” of the studio’s films quite often adds to their charm. If you like Hammer’s period horror films – or if you’re a fan of Pitt or Cushing – you’ll find plenty to enjoy here.
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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.
