{"product_id":"once-you-kiss-a-stranger-shikeidai-ni-seppun-死刑台に接吻-original-release-japanese-b2-theatrical-poster-1970-rare-carol-lynley-pop-art-key-visual-b2-poster-size-c-51-5-72-8cm-s98","title":"“Once You Kiss a Stranger \/ Shikeidai ni Seppun (死刑台に接吻)”, Original Release Japanese B2 Theatrical Poster 1970, Rare Carol Lynley Pop-Art Key Visual, B2 Poster Size (c.51.5 × 72.8cm) S98","description":"\u003cp class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003eThis is an \u003cstrong\u003eoriginal, very rare Japanese B2 theatrical poster\u003c\/strong\u003e for the 1969 American psychological thriller \u003cem\u003eOnce You Kiss a Stranger\u003c\/em\u003e, released theatrically in Japan on \u003cstrong\u003e20 June 1970\u003c\/strong\u003e under the dramatically reworked Japanese title \u003cem\u003eShikeidai ni Seppun\u003c\/em\u003e (死刑台に接吻), approximately \u003cstrong\u003e“Kiss on the Scaffold”\u003c\/strong\u003e or \u003cstrong\u003e“A Kiss at the Execution Stand.”\u003c\/strong\u003e The film was directed by \u003cstrong\u003eRobert Sparr\u003c\/strong\u003e and stars \u003cstrong\u003eCarol Lynley, Paul Burke and Martha Hyer\u003c\/strong\u003e. This is the original Japanese first-release B2 key visual from the film’s 1970 Japanese theatrical campaign. The standard Japanese \u003cstrong\u003eB2 format measures approximately 51.5 × 72.8 cm (20.3 × 28.7 inches).\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFilm background\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eOnce You Kiss a Stranger\u003c\/em\u003e is a dark psychological crime thriller built around the dangerously seductive \u003cstrong\u003eDiana\u003c\/strong\u003e, played by Carol Lynley, and professional golfer \u003cstrong\u003eJerry\u003c\/strong\u003e, played by Paul Burke. Diana proposes an apparently simple exchange: she will murder Jerry’s rival if he will kill the psychiatrist who wants to have her institutionalised. What initially seems like an outrageous proposition rapidly becomes a nightmare when Diana actually carries out her side of the bargain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe film is a \u003cstrong\u003eloose reworking of the murder-exchange premise from Patricia Highsmith’s \u003cem\u003eStrangers on a Train\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, famously adapted for the screen by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951, but here the dangerous instigator is transformed into a glamorous and highly unstable young woman. The screenplay was written by \u003cstrong\u003eNorman Katkov and Frank Tarloff\u003c\/strong\u003e, with Highsmith’s novel acknowledged as the underlying inspiration. \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCreator \/ artist background\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis sheet does not carry a separate standalone Japanese poster-illustrator credit, and its visual identity instead comes from the extraordinary graphic treatment applied to the film’s photographic publicity material. Director \u003cstrong\u003eRobert Sparr\u003c\/strong\u003e worked extensively in American television as well as cinema, and \u003cem\u003eOnce You Kiss a Stranger\u003c\/em\u003e became his \u003cstrong\u003efinal completed feature film\u003c\/strong\u003e. The production was made for \u003cstrong\u003eWarner Bros.-Seven Arts\u003c\/strong\u003e, with Harold A. Goldstein producing. \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePoster design\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePrinted in the classic \u003cstrong\u003eJapanese B2 cinema-poster format\u003c\/strong\u003e, this is an extraordinary example of \u003cstrong\u003elate-1960s \/ early-1970s Japanese pop-art exploitation design\u003c\/strong\u003e. Rather than following the comparatively conventional American campaign, the Japanese artwork pushes the film’s combination of sexuality, danger and psychological instability to an almost surreal extreme.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe left half is dominated by the enormous hand-painted blood-red title \u003cstrong\u003e死刑台に接吻\u003c\/strong\u003e, stacked vertically against an almost stark white background. Its rough, calligraphic brushwork gives the title an aggressive, violent quality that immediately contrasts with the polished photographic imagery beside it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the centre stands \u003cstrong\u003eCarol Lynley as Diana\u003c\/strong\u003e, isolated in full colour wearing a green bikini and holding a large \u003cstrong\u003espeargun\u003c\/strong\u003e, with her diving equipment dangling casually from her other hand. The image is both glamorous and threatening — precisely the contradiction on which the Japanese campaign is built. Her comparatively naturalistic colour photograph sits almost like a cut-out collage against the much more abstract background.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe right half shifts completely into \u003cstrong\u003epink, black and blue psychedelic photomontage\u003c\/strong\u003e. A dramatically enlarged intimate embrace occupies most of the field, while a pair of black sunglasses floats ominously above, their blue lenses containing reflected photographic imagery. The result feels closer to contemporary underground graphic design, magazine collage or Pop Art than to a conventional Hollywood thriller poster.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt lower left, a tiny additional montage showing a \u003cstrong\u003eyoung girl and an overturned toy vehicle\u003c\/strong\u003e further intensifies the poster’s deliberately disorientating tone, while the small original English title \u003cstrong\u003eONCE YOU KISS A STRANGER\u003c\/strong\u003e appears almost inconspicuously underneath.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sensational Japanese promotional copy reads:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eねらった男はかならず殺す！\u003cbr\u003eハダカをエサに猟奇殺人を\u003cbr\u003eたのしむ毒蛇のような女！\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eApproximately: \u003cstrong\u003e“She always kills the man she sets her sights on! A venomous-snake of a woman who uses her naked body as bait and delights in bizarre murder!”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is an extraordinary piece of period marketing — \u003cstrong\u003efar more provocative, graphic and visually adventurous than the film’s standard American advertising\u003c\/strong\u003e — and a superb example of the freedom Japanese poster designers often exercised when repositioning Western films for domestic audiences.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis poster is in Very Good+ condition.\u003c\/strong\u003e It was \u003cstrong\u003eoriginally folded and has subsequently been stored flat\u003c\/strong\u003e. The original horizontal and vertical fold lines remain visible, as expected for a theatrical poster of this period. There is \u003cstrong\u003ea small tear at the upper edge around the central vertical division \/ pink border\u003c\/strong\u003e, together with minor age-related handling and light creasing. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eImportantly, the extraordinary colours remain extremely attractive: the \u003cstrong\u003eblood-red typography, saturated pink photographic field, blue sunglasses and green of Carol Lynley’s costume retain tremendous visual impact\u003c\/strong\u003e. The imperfections are overwhelmingly associated with the folds and margins rather than the key imagery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePlease refer to the imagery (front, detail and verso), as this is the exact poster that is for sale. It has previously been folded and subsequently stored flat, and once framed it will display excellently.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIt is over 56 years old.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIt is not a reproduction or a reprint.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Japan Poster Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57213582672250,"sku":null,"price":150.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0424\/8859\/4591\/files\/wall-shelf-with-ornaments-2026-08-29T172851.473.jpg?v=1787992145","url":"https:\/\/japanposter.co.uk\/products\/once-you-kiss-a-stranger-shikeidai-ni-seppun-%e6%ad%bb%e5%88%91%e5%8f%b0%e3%81%ab%e6%8e%a5%e5%90%bb-original-release-japanese-b2-theatrical-poster-1970-rare-carol-lynley-pop-art-key-visual-b2-poster-size-c-51-5-72-8cm-s98","provider":"Japan Poster Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}