"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (熱いトタン屋根の猫), Original Japanese First-Release Movie Poster 1958, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) O476

This is an original Japanese B2 poster printed for MGM’s 1958 release of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Richard Brooks’s searing adaptation of Tennessee Williams’s Pulitzer-winning play, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, and Jack Carson. A landmark of late-’50s American cinema, the film stormed the box office and earned multiple Academy Award nominations.

Design

An unforgettable, sensual composition that became the film’s signature in Japan: Elizabeth Taylor leans against an ornate brass bedpost in rich photo-illustration at right, her crimson lips echoed by the bold, hand-brushed red Japanese title 「熱いトタン屋根の猫」 along the bottom. At left, a rain-soaked street vignette frames Taylor and Newman in trench coats—an atmospheric counterweight that hints at the story’s tension and emotional chill. Cast names appear in elegant sans-serif type, with the English logotype Cat on a Hot Tin Roof tucked above the title. The MGM roundel is printed at lower right.

Film notes / significance

Brooks and screenwriter James Poe refashioned Williams’s explosive drama about mendacity, inheritance, and desire into a sleek CinemaScope hit. Taylor’s “Maggie the Cat” and Newman’s “Brick” are career-defining turns, while Burl Ives’s “Big Daddy” transfers his Broadway roar to the screen. Nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress (Taylor), Best Actor (Newman), and more, the film cemented Taylor as an international icon—Japanese campaigns of the era (like this B2) leaned into her glamour with bold color and graphic restraint.

Condition

Condition
Very Good. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale.

Theater-used with handling and the original period folds; small pinholes/edge touches typical of display. Verso shows vintage theater tape and paper backing remnants from past posting (common for the time). Colors remain strong and unfaded.

We have taken the condition into account when pricing this poster. Once framed, it will display very well!

This poster is an original Japanese theatrical B2 from the 1958 first-release campaign.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
It is over 66 years old!
Certificate of Authenticity included.