GLENVIEW, Ill. — A star-studded collection of movie memorabilia, including lobby cards and one-sheets, take the spotlight at Meadow Lane Auctions as part of its 100-lot Vinyl, Trading Cards, Antiques, Cels, Toys sale on Sunday, February 18. The catalog is now open for bidding at LiveAuctioneers.
It’s difficult for contemporary fans of pop culture to grasp how revolutionary and popular Batman was when it debuted on ABC stations nationwide in 1966. Starring Adam West and Burt Ward as the Dynamic Duo, the series’ campy style and jarring day-glo color palette was previously unheard of on American television. Storylines were broken into two parts, allowing for cliffhangers for the twice-weekly program.
The show was such a hit that 20th Century Fox, which produced the program for ABC, greenlit a filmed version of the series, reprising most of the original characters and villians for the big screen. The sale includes a nearly complete set of 1966 Batman lobby cards (the eighth, the title card, is not included). The card featuring the rarely seen Batboat (created for the film by boat builder Glastron) is a fan favorite; its only appearance on the television show was through the use of movie outtakes, so expensive was it to film on water. The card is estimated at $100-$200.
The Beatles were more than just musical icons of the 1960s, they were a merchandising juggernaut. Spurred by their manager Brian Epstein, the band licensed their name and likenesses to a dizzying array of products, from Beatle wigs and board games to trading cards and even an Australian-produced ABC Saturday morning cartoon show. But it was the movie contract signed with United Artists that would help make the Beatles stars of the silver screen. Their first release, 1964’s A Hard Day’s Night, is today considered a classic and was an instant smash hit, even earning two Academy Award nominations. The sale includes a single A Hard Day’s Night lobby card from the eight-piece set, featuring the band peering out at screaming fans from a passenger train window. It carries an estimate of $100-$200.
A Hard Day’s Night director Richard Lester tapped Beatle guitarist John Lennon for his adaptation of the hit novel How I Won The War. The film was shot in 1966 and as part of his role, Lennon wore circular granny glasses that would later become his trademark. A single lobby card from the film depicts John Lennon as Musketeer Gripweed and Michael Crawford as Lieutenant Earnest Goodbody peering down their rifles during a battle sequence. It is estimated at $100-$200.
Though it seems almost ridiculous to the contemporary eye, the Supermarionation of Gerry Anderson reached a fever pitch with the 1965 British television debut of Thunderbirds. Set in a future world with marionettes, voice actors, and incredible special effects using miniatures, the series is still viewed and enjoyed nearly 60 years after its debut. The sale has a number of Thunderbirds lots, all drawn from the motion picture releases made concurrent to the series. The star lot is the one-sheet from 1966’s Thunderbirds Are Go, estimated at $100-$200.
