Australia produces 25-60 films per year. Because the
country is English-speaking, many of their movies and stars are shown and
received as American. With the popularity of such stars as Paul Hogan, Mel
Gibson and more recent Russell Crowe, the Australian film industry is making
an impact of the American market.
Australian posters primarily come in these sizes:
3
sheet - not as common - normally measures 41x80
One
sheet - measures 27x40. In 1939, one sheets were almost eliminated because
of the paper shortage from WWII. This limited use remained until the 1970s.
Daybills
- the most common and very sought after because of their size and artwork.
There are 3 primary variations of daybills:
Early daybills were 15x40 which was
half of the 30x40 production sheets. This size was the dominate until
WWII when the size was reduced. Some had a space across top like the US
window cards to write times and location.
Starting with WWII, the size was reduced to 13x30 so 3 could be
cut from the 30x40 production sheet instead of 2.
The size was reduced again in the 1980s to 13x26
or shorter - on a glossy paper
Mini Daybill - measures 10x30 - these
were a product of WWII because of the paper shortage. 4 of these could
be produced from a 30x40 production sheet. Rare.
Quite often Australian Daybills have the printer across
the bottom border. See our list of Australian Printers above under Industry
Information.
Some Australian lobby card sets were used but were
normally in black and white measuring 11x14 on card stock like the US
versions. Most are rare because of the limited number printed. It is more
common to find US lobby cards with Australian Censor markings on them.
An odd poster that was produced for a few films in
Australia was the Photo
Sheet. This measures 27x40 and looks like 6 lobby cards and a credit
tag across the bottom.
Also available in limited quantities was the Australian
12 Sheet and the 24 Sheet. The Australian 24 Sheet normally measures 104
x 232 which is slightly smaller than the US 24
Sheet
Reissues are always a problem and since
there is no numbering or dating system, it is a little difficult to date some
Australian posters. There are a couple of things to look for when trying
to determine if it's a reissue or not.
Reissues are not as common and quite often
mono or duotone. Because there is such a short run of posters, when there
is an unexpected hit, quite often posters are reprinted for the original release
but also in mono or duo tone.
One way is the rating code - see Censorship
for details
Another way is the credits. Many reissues
were reprinted in full color with the same artwork but less credit information...like
the director or producer would be left out.
One problem with using the lack of credits
as a determining factor...when more posters were needed for a particular release,
they would use the same process. So.. it could also be a second printing for
the original release.
Sometimes they would put 're-presents'
in small letters. Be sure to look closely.
For posters in our archive, click
here
