Rare Vintage Horror Discovery!

A couple weeks ago I stumbled upon a lobby card on eBay from a vintage film I was unfamiliar with.  But, what struck me was the feverish bidding.  Particularly for a movie I had never seen or frankly heard of. Which is a bit embarrassing since I’ve been collecting vintage movie posters & memorabilia for over 30 years. So, what is this relatively unknown but significant film and treasured lobby card which obviously had collectors in a tizzy, frantically fighting for? 

The 1935 thriller classic "Mad Love" with Peter Lorre. It was actually Peter Lorre's first American film debut.   And like the 1932 classic "Freaks", it was apparently too "creepy" for the 1935 audience that it was hence, banned in several countries.    But, the allure of this film and opportunity to own a piece of history from it, is overwhelming.  A couple weeks ago this lobby card you see here sold on eBay for $13,871.   It is in rough condition with creases and pinholes throughout and appears to even have some fading to colors. Also, the eBay seller posted terrible images and added NO description, just the title and image.  BUT, that didn't seem to discourage serious collectors..  They STILL went crazy in an attempt to own this classic Hollywood Treasure!. As a matter of fact, the high bidder had the top TWO bids which means he had a much higher final bid above $13,871.    

In March 2009 a Title Card from this film sold at auction for $50,787.    One question I get often from relatively new collectors is "are vintage movie posters a good investment?"..   Do I need to answer that?? ...:)

BIO:
Peter Lorre is at his creepy best in this offbeat thriller about concert pianist Stephen Orlac (Colin Clive) whose hands are crushed in an accident. Desperate to heal her husband, beautiful actress Yvonne Orlac (Frances Drake) appeals to eminent surgeon Dr. Gogol (Lorre) for help. Gogol, obsessed with Yvonne, grafts the hands of vicious knife murderer Rollo onto Stephen's arms, attempting to remove him from the picture, with terrible consequences for all involved. Directed by Karl Freund, who also helmed the Universal classic The Mummy (1932), this was Lorre's first American film, and helped solidify his reputation as one of the leading actors in Hollywood. The movie was extremely controversial at the time of its release, and was banned, or heavily censored, in several countries.

* If you ever want to check out some "priceless" Horror Posters in our inventory go to our Horror Category on the left menu or CLICK HERE -> Vintage Horror Movie Posters...