This is an original Japanese speed poster / press-sheet printed in 1949 for the first Japanese release of Angels with Dirty Faces (汚れた顔の天使), a United States crime drama directed by Michael Curtiz, starring James Cagney and Pat O’Brien, with Ann Sheridan and George Bancroft (featuring an early role by Humphrey Bogart).
Film background
Released in 1938, Angels with Dirty Faces is one of the defining Warner Bros. gangster films of the classic era—built around moral pressure, friendship, and the problem of criminal hero worship. Cagney plays Rocky Sullivan, a charismatic hoodlum whose image becomes dangerously aspirational for neighbourhood kids, while O’Brien’s priest character fights to steer them away from the myth. The film remains a cornerstone of 1930s crime cinema and a key work in the Cagney legacy.
Poster design
A rare horizontal-format Japanese press-sheet that reads like a mini newspaper layout—dense with Japanese copy, cast/credit blocks, and illustrated vignettes, designed for exhibitors and rapid display. The front uses dramatic colour key art: a glamorous embrace at left, a looming shadow silhouette across the centre, and a sharply dressed gangster figure at right with a gun—capturing the film’s blend of temptation, violence, and moral consequence. The reverse is packed with editorial-style Japanese text, multiple title blocks 「汚れた顔の天使」, and period illustrations/portraits—an excellent example of late-1940s Japanese cinema promotion for classic Hollywood.
It is over 75 years old!
Condition
Very Good. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
