“Night People” (夜の人々), Original First-Release Japanese STB Tatekan Movie Poster 1954, Gregory Peck, Rare Two-Panel STB Size (c.51 × 145 cm) O863
This is an original Japanese two-panel STB / Tatekan theatrical poster produced for the first Japanese cinema release of Nunnally Johnson’s Night People (夜の人々), starring Gregory Peck. The film was produced in 1954 and opened theatrically in Japan in July 1954, distributed domestically by the 20th Century-Fox Far East company.
Known to collectors as an STB or tatekan, this imposing Japanese cinema-display format consists of two vertically arranged B2-size sections forming a complete poster approximately 51 × 145 cm—almost five feet tall. These posters were designed for highly visible cinema-front, entrance or foyer presentation and have a substantially greater physical presence than the standard Japanese B2 format.
Set against the divided landscape of post-war Berlin, Night People is a Cold War espionage thriller centred on the kidnapping of an American serviceman and the increasingly complex intelligence operation mounted to recover him. Gregory Peck stars as Colonel Steve Van Dyke, alongside Broderick Crawford, Anita Björk, Rita Gam, Walter Abel and Buddy Ebsen. The film also marked Nunnally Johnson’s directorial debut and was made during the first great wave of Hollywood CinemaScope productions.
Poster design
An exceptional and extremely rare 1954 Japanese STB / Tatekan design, printed as two separate panels intended to be displayed vertically as one monumental poster, measuring approximately 51 × 145 cm (20 × 57 in) when assembled.
The upper panel is dominated by an enormous hand-rendered portrait of Gregory Peck in U.S. Army uniform, set against a deep midnight-blue field. Huge red CINEMASCOPE lettering crowns the composition, while the Japanese copy announces the film’s Berlin Cold War espionage setting. The dramatic yellow brush-style title 夜の人々 cuts vertically through the image, contrasted by the pale-blue グレゴリイ・ペック star billing.
The uppermost copy also promotes the technological novelty of the presentation: 「4本のサウンド・トラックをもつ驚異の立体音響！」 — approximately “Amazing stereophonic sound with four soundtracks!” — capturing the period when CinemaScope and multi-channel sound were being aggressively marketed as major cinematic attractions.
The lower panel continues the composition with a dramatic reclining female figure beneath Peck’s decorated uniform, followed by the elegant English Night People title and a large colour montage of scenes from the film. The original 20th Century-Fox branding and Japanese distribution credits complete the bottom of the poster.
The extraordinary elongated format, vast Gregory Peck portrait, deep blue ground and red/yellow typography make this far more imposing than the standard B2 campaign poster and a superb surviving example of mid-1950s Japanese Hollywood advertising.
It is over 72 years old!
Condition
Excellent. A remarkably well-preserved survivor for an original Japanese two-panel STB poster from 1954. The front retains excellent colour saturation, particularly the deep blues, vivid CinemaScope red, yellow Japanese title and painted character imagery.
Please review the photographs of both panels, including the versos—they show the exact poster for sale. Once the two sections are professionally framed or mounted together in their intended Tatekan configuration, it will display exceptionally well.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
