“Warning from Space / Gamera vs. Gyaos / The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch”, Very Rare Original Japanese B2 Triple‑Bill Poster — Original Japanese Theatrical Triple‑Bill Release — approx. (51.5 × 72.8 cm) P228
This is an original Japanese B2 poster printed in 1969 for a period triple-bill theatrical program combining 宇宙人東京に現わる (Warning from Space), 大怪獣空中戦 ガメラ対ギャオス (Gamera vs. Gyaos), and 蛇娘と白髪魔 (The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch). Because it brings together films first released in 1956, 1967, and 1968, it should be understood as original release paper for this specific multi-feature booking, rather than as the first-release poster for any one of the three constituent films.
About the films
The three films represented here map out a remarkable stretch of Daiei genre filmmaking. Warning from Space, directed by Koji Shima, opened in Japan on 29 January 1956 and is widely described as the first Japanese science-fiction film made in colour; its unforgettable starfish-like aliens were designed by Taro Okamoto. Gamera vs. Gyaos, directed by Noriaki Yuasa, opened on 15 March 1967 and became the third film in the Gamera series, pitting the fire-breathing turtle against the man-eating flying monster Gyaos. The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch, also directed by Yuasa and released on 14 December 1968, adapted a story by Kazuo Umezu into a black-and-white scope horror film about a girl drawn into a deeply sinister family mystery.
The Program & Its Place in Daiei’s Legacy
What makes this poster so exciting is that the selection compresses three distinct Daiei traditions into one sheet: 1950s UFO/science-fiction spectacle, 1960s kaiju box-office power, and late-1960s manga-derived Gothic horror. Warning from Space represents Daiei’s pioneering colour-SF ambitions; Gamera vs. Gyaos is one of the key entries that helped cement the Showa-era image of Gamera as the ally of children; and The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch is now especially admired as a luxuriously atmospheric, opulently Gothic outlier in Yuasa’s filmography. Seen together, the program reads almost like a miniature history of what made Daiei’s fantastic cinema so inventive and eclectic.
Poster design
A spectacular, collage-like Japanese design divides the sheet into three stacked realms of fantasy and terror. The top panel sells 宇宙人東京に現わる with flying saucers, planetary imagery, burning-city apocalypse, and oversized red title typography. The middle section erupts into full monster action, with Gamera and Gyaos locked in mid-air combat over a collapsing cityscape. The bottom panel plunges into pure nightmare: serpents, a white-haired specter, grotesque faces, and the blood-red title 蛇娘と白髪魔. As design, it is far more than a simple advertising sheet—it is a vivid visual anthology of Daiei sci-fi, kaiju, and horror.
Why collectors prize this example
Collectors respond strongly to authentic Japanese multi-feature paper because it is typically far scarcer than standard single-title posters, and this example has exceptional crossover appeal: Daiei tokusatsu, Showa Gamera, classic Japanese science fiction, and Kazuo Umezu horror all on one country-of-origin sheet. Just as importantly, the poster does not reduce the program to text billing; it gives each title its own arresting imagery, while preserving the period Japanese spellings and 大映配給 branding that tie it to an original theatrical campaign. The result is a truly unusual survivor from Japan’s golden age of fantastic cinema.
Condition
Good to very good for its age and original theatrical use. Visible signs of handling and display: general creasing throughout, scattered surface scuffs, edge and border wear, and small nicks/short tears in places, plus honest overall age wear consistent with a used period B2. Most importantly, the front still presents with strong color, striking imagery, and excellent display character. Please review the supplied photographs carefully—shown is the exact poster offered.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
A rare opportunity to acquire an original Japanese B2 triple-bill poster uniting Warning from Space, Gamera vs. Gyaos, and The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch on one dramatic sheet—an atmospheric and highly unusual piece of Daiei sci-fi, monster, and horror history.
