1951 Belgian Handbill

A handbill for the 1951 re-release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Éden Cinema in Namur, Belgium. The film would be presented in French and was scheduled to start on August 10th.

Image courtesy of Greg Philip of A Lost Film.

In an earlier Archive entry, see Belgian handbills from the 1938 Snow White release.

1941 Handbill for "Festival of Hits"

In the summer of 1940, The Great Walt Disney Festival of Hits opened in select movie houses (see earlier post). It was the first time Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was re-released to theatres. The screenings would also include four Disney shorts, hence the "festival" atmosphere.

This handbill was for The Cinema in the city of Collinsville (not sure which state). It was probably a smaller second-run theatre. The flyer refers to the event as "The Disney Festival Show" which they scheduled to play continuously on March 21-22, 1941. It was right around this time that Disney would bring this first re-release of Snow White to a close.

Note: Gone With the Wind (which originally premiered in 1939) was set to screen a week later.

Image via interface-rick.

Handbill measures 15"x 4.75".

1992 Schneewittchen Leaflet from Germany

A six-page promotional leaflet issued for the April 1992 theatrical re-release of Snow White in Germany. A Euro Disney logo is seen in the lower right front corner.

Special thanks to Greg Philip of A Lost Film for providing image scans from his collection.

Blanche Neige/Sneeuwwitje Handbills from Belgium

This Belgian handbill promotes the 1938 RKO release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Capitole theatre in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The run was for two weeks, from August 26th through September 8th. It doesn't mention which days of the week these are, but almost all films started on a Friday and ended on a Thursday. So the dates do indeed correspond to a 1938 calendar. The front poster image was printed by Léon and Hector Verstegen Frères, Brussels. The rear text is in both Dutch and French and was printed by Hussein of Gent. It measures 11 x 14 cm.

Another flyer promotes the movie at the Select theatre. It opened on September 30, 1938.

In still another example, the screenings ran for one week in August, from Friday the 18th to Thursday the 24th, at the Cinéma Casino in La Panne. The dates do not correspond to a 1938 calendar, but they do for 1939, which indicates a later showing, probably at a second-run theatre. The rear text is in French only, printed by M. D'Hooghe & Fils, Adinkerke.

Image scans courtesy of Greg Philip of A Lost Film.

1944 Snow White Herald

The June 8-10 showings of Snow White are promoted in this herald for the Warner Bros. Tower Theatre at 27th and Wells Street in Milwaukee. Fold in middle. Measures approximately 8.5" x 11". The pamphlet dates from the 1944 re-release of the motion picture in the US.

The opposite (inside) shows the characters printed in red ink.

As with most of the promotional material from the 1944 re-release, this is actually marked, "Copyright 1943 RKO Radio Pictures Inc."

Images courtesy of Greg Philip of A Lost Film.

1939 Snjeguljica Announcement Postcard from Yugoslavia

A Snow White postcard from former Yugoslavia. Vintage Gustaf Tenggren artwork is featured on the front along with the Croatian text, "Snjeguljica i Sedam patuljaka".

On the opposite side is an announcement for the March 23-27, 1939 premiere screenings in Čakovečki, a city located in what is now northern Croatia. The film was distributed throughout Yugoslavia by Avala Film. The postmark on the card appears to be from the 14th of March, 1939.

Vintage Movie Handbills from Spain

1941 Premiere. Distributed by Filmofono in Spain. These little flyers were handed out to the public, announcing the film screenings of Snow White. Usually, they would include information on the back about the cinema and its show times. Dimensions: 3.25" x 6.25" (8,3 x 15,9 cm).

Images courtesy of Greg Philip of A Lost Film.

R-1952. RKO re-issue. Measures 4.875" x 3.5" (12,4 x 8,7 cm)

Rare 1937 "Red" Window Card from Snow White

Heritage's 2015 Movie Posters Signature Auction begins in less than two weeks on July 25th. Up for sale is a real find, a Snow White window card featuring the Seven Dwarfs. Printed on cardstock. Window cards were typically placed around town in storefronts, most often with the name of the cinema printed along the top panel, along with the show dates .

The poster measures the regular size of 14" x 22" and was originally available to theatre owners for 7¢ apiece in the Snow White pressbook (p.10). However, this particular version with the reddish background is a rarity. In fact the folks at Heritage Auctions have never come across one before.

Much more common is the blue style window card which is dated 1938.

The red style is a first edition version of the poster and is copyrighted 1937.

In the lower right-hand corner is the Walt Disney Productions "©WDP" imprint. Below it is a small 5-digit number, 13141, believed to be an RKO print reference number.

This particular window card was used by the Kewaunee Theatre for their screenings on May 28-30, 1938. Where was the Kewaunee Theatre? A quick Google search reveals that a movie house by this name did exist at the time in the small town of Kewaunee, Wisconsin.

Images via Heritage Auctions with additional photos courtesy of the Brad M. Collection.

The poster is now available for preview on the Heritage website.

Also see a couple more examples of Snow White window cards in an earlier post.

'Schneewittchen' Herald from Germany

Some classic Snow White artwork by Gustaf Tenggren is featured in this West German herald for Schneewittchen und die sieben Zwerge. Dates from the February 1950 release.

Frank Thomas' mourning scene takes center stage on the inside of the flyer.

Image scans courtesy of Greg Philip of A Lost Film.

1940 'Festival of Hits' Herald

A flyer from Warner's Playhouse in Dover, New Jersey announces the arrival of The Great Walt Disney Festival of Hits on August 18-21, 1940. The highlight of the screening was the return of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Centerfold.

Back page.

1938 RKO Advert from Italy

An excellent piece of Snow White history, this 24 x 17cm Italian handbill dates from the initial general release of the film. The smaller print on the front cover translates as, "WALT DISNEY'S MASTERPIECE from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale."

Inside the flyer is the story of Snow White, with lively illustrations reinterpreted from Gustaf Tenggren's original work.

Similar to the RKO postcard seen in an early post, the back cover of this handbill reads...

GENERALCINE PRESENTS SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS -WALT DISNEY'S FIRST FULL LENGHT MOTION PICTURE IN MULTIPLANE COLOR - DISTRIBUTED BY RKO RADIO PICTURES - THE WONDER OF WONDERS FOR CHILDREN AND GROWN UPS. 

The smaller print mentions that in Venice, Snow White was awarded with the Art Trophy created especially for the film. The fine print at the bottom dates the handbill 28/12/1938.

Images and info courtesy of the Nunziante Valoroso Collection.

1938 Italian RKO/Generalcine Postcard

Here we have a rare gem, an RKO promotional postcard from the initial Italian release of Snow White. Made of cardstock, it's double the size of postcards common in Italy at that time. The crease across the center is original since it would have come folded in two. Unfolded, it measures 14 x 18cm.

The classic Gustaf Tenggren cast portrait graces the front with the "Snow White" name plate in Italian.

On the back, one side was free for stamps and address. The other was filled with an announcement of the film. It translates to:

Generalcine will present. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt Disney's first full length motion picture in color. The Wonder of Wonders - Unforgettable for Children and Grown-ups.

Generalcine was the Italian "host" distributor for all the RKO movies seen in Italian theatres. Their logo is in the upper left, RKO's in the lower right.

This particular card also has a rubber stamp imprint with the word, "Venerdì" (Friday). The general release of the film occurred in Italy on Thursday December 8, 1938. Yet, some cinemas didn't begin showing it until Friday. Unfortunately, no name is given for the theatre.

Images and info courtesy of the Nunziante Valoroso Collection.

1952 US Snow White Window Card

Window cards were placed in shops and stores around town to advertise the opening of the film. Space was usually available at the top of card for the local theatre to fill in its information. RKO 1952 re-release; poster has a R-1951 copyright. The standard measurements of 14" x 22".

Image via Heritage Auctions.

RKO Newsette, March 3, 1938

Although Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs had its 1937 premiere in Los Angeles, the rest of the world would still have to wait a while before seeing the film. It took time for Technicolor to churn out enough release prints to meet demand. In addition, RKO slowed the distribution process by requiring exhibitors to make special, higher-than-usual priced bookings for their engagements. The result was an erratic, yet still very enthusiastic general theatrical release.

A few first run theaters were showing the movie as early as January. It opened at Radio City Music Hall in NYC on January 13, 1938 as well as at the Sheridan Theater in Miami. Argentinean audiences were some of the first to see it internationally with a January 22 premiere in Buenos Aires.

Disney's official general release date was February 4, 1938. Yet, there weren't enough prints made by Technicolor to cover the second run or neighborhood theaters until later. Also theaters were studio-owned back then, and it was not unusual for a film to be "held over" a few weeks before being sent on. This might explain the March 3rd "opening" we see in the flyer below (due to the extended Radio City engagement).

Movie theaters that ran RKO films would hand out to patrons a type of herald called the RKO Newsette. This free 4-page paper carried bits of Hollywood news and trivia, but it also served to promote upcoming releases. A rare treasure, this particular issue (Vol. XXI; No. 16) dates from exactly 75 years ago today and announces the March 3rd opening of Snow White at the RKO 58th Street Theater in NYC.

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Special thanks to Michael Filippello for sharing the RKO Newsette info and images from his Snow White collection.

1938 US Snow White Herald

A handsome example of vintage Snow White ephemera, this piece dates from the initial general release of the film. The 8" x 10" full color handbill is printed on paper, not card stock. Note that the character images are identical to most of those used on the RKO postcard sets (see previous post).

Theatre owners who received the 1938 Snow White pressbook would have found a sample copy of the herald glued to the margin between pages 18-19. They could purchase 500 of them for $3.50 or 1000 for $6.00.

The opposite side was blank so information could be added about the local movie theatre and screening times. This particular example is from the "Interstate Palace" in Rockville, CT. While thousands of these handbills were printed up and handed out for free, most were probably discarded, making those that are still with us a real treat for the Snow White enthusiast.

Images via Heritage Auctions. 

From 2005-2012, Heritage Auctions has only featured three or four of these. The selling price ranged between $59-$150 each. Still, it does pop up now and again. I just came across this next one on ebay.

Instead of a movie theatre herald, it appears this was a dairy premium, compliments of Cabell's Ice Cream and Dairy Shops, Dallas.

 Images via cusil.