COMBO POSTER
When a studio offers a package deal
of multiple movie titles to be shown together as one feature, they produce
a poster highlighting BOTH movie titles. These posters are referred
to as combos. The majority of the combo posters were issued for "B"
grade movies, particularly those shown at drive-ins.
The most common sizes of combo posters
are one sheets and window
cards, 
although
they have been produced in other sizes such as half
sheets, inserts, banners
and lobby cards. The manner in which the movies
are displayed on the posters vary, based on how the movie studio wants
to promote each film. For example, the top half may have the artwork
of one movie, while the bottom half has the artwork of the other. Other
posters are split vertically down the middle, each movie’s artwork being
presented equally. In still other cases, the studio may focus more on
one movie, with just a notation on the bottom saying "also featuring."
A combo poster always reflects two full
length feature presentations. This should not be confused with posters
that have a tag indicating a featurette."
A "featurette" is a short film clip that is shown before a feature movie.
A poster with a tag like this is not considered a combo.
Combo posters are normally released
for studio-promoted double features (as opposed to double feature presentations
planned by an individual theatre). Although rare today, double features
were extremely common prior to the 1980's and combo posters were used
more frequently during that time.
Sometimes
the studio will promote more than 2 films... like a series. An example
would be the Star Wars films. In the 70s, 20th Century Fox created a
special poster called Go Ape which was the 5 Planet of the Ape films.
Combo posters are normally reissues/rereleases
and rarely command the same value as their individual counterparts.
However, if the artwork on the combo is more attractive or unusual in
some way, the combo may command more than the individual poster, depending
on the title. There are also instances where a studio releases a major
film that was several years old and its sequel as a combo, or 2 different
movies of the same star, creating an interesting piece for the collector.
For a list of combo posters in our Archive,
click
Here.
