{"product_id":"phantom-of-the-rue-morgue-謎のモルグ街-original-japanese-first-release-movie-poster-1954-ultra-rare-b2-size-51-5-72-8-cm-h255","title":"“Phantom of the Rue Morgue” (謎のモルグ街), Original Japanese First-Release Movie Poster 1954, Ultra Rare, B2 Size (51.5 × 72.8 cm) H255","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"150\" data-end=\"698\"\u003eA striking \u003cstrong data-start=\"161\" data-end=\"195\"\u003e1954 first-release Japanese B2\u003c\/strong\u003e for Warner Bros.’ 3-D gothic horror mystery \u003cem data-start=\"240\" data-end=\"267\"\u003ePhantom of the Rue Morgue\u003c\/em\u003e—released in Japan as \u003cstrong data-start=\"289\" data-end=\"301\"\u003e『謎のモルグ街』\u003c\/strong\u003e. This is a truly sensational Japan-market campaign design: the enormous yellow Japanese title lettering cuts diagonally across the sheet, a shadowed figure looms at upper left, red Paris rooftops glow in the background, and a monstrous claw descends toward a terrified woman below. It is pure mid-century horror-showmanship—bold, lurid, theatrical, and unmistakably Japanese in its graphic force.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"700\" data-end=\"1108\"\u003eFor collectors of \u003cstrong data-start=\"718\" data-end=\"807\"\u003e1950s horror, 3-D cinema, Warner Bros. genre posters, and Edgar Allan Poe adaptations\u003c\/strong\u003e, this is a crown-jewel Japanese B2. The poster foregrounds everything that made the film a prestige horror attraction in 1954: Poe source material, Warner Bros. production value, vivid color, 3-D spectacle, and the classic beauty-in-peril imagery that defined so much of the era’s horror advertising.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1110\" data-end=\"1526\"\u003eThis example is especially desirable not only for its rarity, but for its provenance. The verso bears a handwritten theatre\/exhibitor notation reading \u003cstrong data-start=\"1261\" data-end=\"1295\"\u003e“Ginza Theatre \/ from the 7th”\u003c\/strong\u003e—a remarkable surviving detail connecting the poster to a period Japanese cinema engagement. That kind of local exhibition provenance is increasingly difficult to find, particularly on unrestored Japanese paper posters of this age.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1528\" data-end=\"1860\"\u003ePreserved to an impressive standard for a poster now over seven decades old, this B2 retains \u003cstrong data-start=\"1621\" data-end=\"1646\"\u003erich, saturated color\u003c\/strong\u003e and unusually strong visual impact. According to the prior ownership history, the poster was stored in a plastic file for approximately \u003cstrong data-start=\"1783\" data-end=\"1798\"\u003e25–30 years\u003c\/strong\u003e, which helps explain the freshness of the front presentation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1862\" data-end=\"1896\"\u003eDate \u0026amp; Japanese Theatrical Release\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1898\" data-end=\"2204\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"1898\" data-end=\"1925\"\u003ePhantom of the Rue Morgue\u003c\/em\u003e was released in 1954 by \u003cstrong data-start=\"1950\" data-end=\"1966\"\u003eWarner Bros.\u003c\/strong\u003e and opened in Japan under the title \u003cstrong data-start=\"2003\" data-end=\"2013\"\u003e謎のモルグ街\u003c\/strong\u003e on \u003cstrong data-start=\"2017\" data-end=\"2034\"\u003eJune 23, 1954\u003c\/strong\u003e, distributed by Warner Bros. Japan Branch. This poster is a survivor from the film’s original Japanese theatrical release campaign. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2206\" data-end=\"2242\"\u003eThe Film \u0026amp; Its Place in 1950s Horror\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2244\" data-end=\"2682\"\u003eDirected by \u003cstrong data-start=\"2256\" data-end=\"2272\"\u003eRoy Del Ruth\u003c\/strong\u003e and produced by \u003cstrong data-start=\"2289\" data-end=\"2305\"\u003eHenry Blanke\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cem data-start=\"2307\" data-end=\"2334\"\u003ePhantom of the Rue Morgue\u003c\/em\u003e is Warner Bros.’ 1954 color 3-D horror-mystery adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s \u003cem data-start=\"2414\" data-end=\"2445\"\u003eThe Murders in the Rue Morgue\u003c\/em\u003e. The screenplay was by \u003cstrong data-start=\"2469\" data-end=\"2487\"\u003eHarold Medford\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong data-start=\"2492\" data-end=\"2509\"\u003eJames R. Webb\u003c\/strong\u003e, with cinematography by \u003cstrong data-start=\"2534\" data-end=\"2556\"\u003eJ. Peverell Marley\u003c\/strong\u003e. The cast includes \u003cstrong data-start=\"2576\" data-end=\"2643\"\u003eKarl Malden, Claude Dauphin, Patricia Medina, and Steve Forrest\u003c\/strong\u003e. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2684\" data-end=\"3137\"\u003eThe film belongs firmly to the early-1950s wave of studio horror attractions that used \u003cstrong data-start=\"2771\" data-end=\"2839\"\u003ecolor, stereoscopic presentation, and aggressive shock marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e to draw audiences into the theatre. AFI records the film as a Warner Bros. horror\/mystery release, photographed in \u003cstrong data-start=\"2955\" data-end=\"2970\"\u003eWarnerColor\u003c\/strong\u003e, presented in \u003cstrong data-start=\"2985\" data-end=\"2992\"\u003e3-D\u003c\/strong\u003e, with prints by Technicolor—details echoed directly by the Japanese poster’s bold \u003cstrong data-start=\"3075\" data-end=\"3090\"\u003e総天然色 \/ 立体映画\u003c\/strong\u003e callout. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3139\" data-end=\"3151\"\u003eDesign Notes\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3153\" data-end=\"3321\"\u003e• \u003cstrong data-start=\"3155\" data-end=\"3191\"\u003eExplosive Japanese title design:\u003c\/strong\u003e the giant yellow 謎のモルグ街 lettering slashes diagonally across the composition, giving the poster immediate shelf and wall presence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3323\" data-end=\"3521\"\u003e• \u003cstrong data-start=\"3325\" data-end=\"3355\"\u003eClassic horror silhouette:\u003c\/strong\u003e the brooding figure at upper left, almost swallowed by deep blue-black shadow, creates a powerful sense of menace before the viewer even reaches the monster imagery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3523\" data-end=\"3685\"\u003e• \u003cstrong data-start=\"3525\" data-end=\"3557\"\u003eBeauty-in-peril composition:\u003c\/strong\u003e the woman below, rendered in dramatic pin-up horror style, anchors the poster in the visual language of 1950s fright campaigns.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3687\" data-end=\"3887\"\u003e• \u003cstrong data-start=\"3689\" data-end=\"3716\"\u003eMonstrous claw imagery:\u003c\/strong\u003e the oversized orange-black hand at right is one of the sheet’s strongest graphic elements—grotesque, theatrical, and perfectly suited to 3-D-era exploitation advertising.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3889\" data-end=\"4051\"\u003e• \u003cstrong data-start=\"3891\" data-end=\"3922\"\u003eParisian gothic atmosphere:\u003c\/strong\u003e the red rooftop silhouettes and night-sky palette transform the Rue Morgue setting into a heightened nightmare version of Paris.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4053\" data-end=\"4257\"\u003e• \u003cstrong data-start=\"4055\" data-end=\"4090\"\u003e3-D and color prestige callout:\u003c\/strong\u003e the top text \u003cstrong data-start=\"4104\" data-end=\"4119\"\u003e総天然色 \/ 立体映画\u003c\/strong\u003e announces the film’s color and stereoscopic presentation, making the poster especially desirable to collectors of early 1950s 3-D cinema.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4259\" data-end=\"4334\"\u003eWarner Bros., the Japanese First-Run Campaign, and Ginza Theatre Provenance\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4336\" data-end=\"4786\"\u003eThis poster carries strong first-release fingerprints collectors look for: the \u003cstrong data-start=\"4415\" data-end=\"4438\"\u003eWarner Bros. shield\u003c\/strong\u003e at upper left, the \u003cstrong data-start=\"4458\" data-end=\"4476\"\u003eワーナー・ブラザース映画配給\u003c\/strong\u003e distribution credit at the bottom, and Japanese credit text naming \u003cstrong data-start=\"4544\" data-end=\"4563\"\u003eEdgar Allan Poe\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong data-start=\"4565\" data-end=\"4581\"\u003eHenry Blanke\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong data-start=\"4583\" data-end=\"4599\"\u003eRoy Del Ruth\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong data-start=\"4601\" data-end=\"4619\"\u003eHarold Medford\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong data-start=\"4621\" data-end=\"4638\"\u003eJames R. Webb\u003c\/strong\u003e, and \u003cstrong data-start=\"4644\" data-end=\"4663\"\u003ePeverell Marley\u003c\/strong\u003e. The cast block highlights the key players, including \u003cstrong data-start=\"4718\" data-end=\"4785\"\u003eKarl Malden, Claude Dauphin, Patricia Medina, and Steve Forrest\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4788\" data-end=\"5179\"\u003eThe Japanese campaign copy is especially vivid: the top line promotes the film as a supreme strange tale drawn from a famous mystery-horror source, while the diagonal white text evokes screams in the Paris night and beautiful women falling one after another. It is a superb example of how Warner’s Japanese campaign heightened the film’s gothic mystery into full theatrical horror spectacle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5181\" data-end=\"5498\"\u003eThe verso notation reading \u003cstrong data-start=\"5208\" data-end=\"5242\"\u003e“Ginza Theatre \/ from the 7th”\u003c\/strong\u003e is a particularly valuable provenance detail. Rather than being merely a clean surviving poster, this example retains evidence of its Japanese exhibition life—precisely the kind of historical trace that gives a vintage poster added collector significance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5500\" data-end=\"5516\"\u003eCondition Report\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5518\" data-end=\"5571\"\u003eOverall condition: \u003cstrong data-start=\"5537\" data-end=\"5570\"\u003eExcellent for age, unrestored\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5573\" data-end=\"5905\"\u003eThis ultra-rare Japanese B2 presents beautifully, with \u003cstrong data-start=\"5628\" data-end=\"5689\"\u003erich color, strong contrast, and excellent graphic impact\u003c\/strong\u003e. The deep blue-black figure, vivid red background, bright yellow title typography, and orange monster-hand imagery remain especially striking. For a 1954 Japanese paper poster, the front presentation is exceptional.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"6381\" data-end=\"6702\"\u003eThis poster has been stored in a plastic file by its previous owner for approximately \u003cstrong data-start=\"6478\" data-end=\"6493\"\u003e25–30 years\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the preservation is evident in the strength of the colors and the clean overall presentation. We have provided multiple detailed photos—please review them closely, as they show the exact poster for sale.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"6704\" data-end=\"6741\"\u003eThis poster is over \u003cstrong data-start=\"6724\" data-end=\"6740\"\u003e71 years old\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!----\u003e","brand":"Japan Poster Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56838225494394,"sku":null,"price":1875.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0424\/8859\/4591\/files\/wall-shelf-with-ornaments-2026-04-26T162233.827.jpg?v=1777188233","url":"https:\/\/japanposter.co.uk\/products\/phantom-of-the-rue-morgue-%e8%ac%8e%e3%81%ae%e3%83%a2%e3%83%ab%e3%82%b0%e8%a1%97-original-japanese-first-release-movie-poster-1954-ultra-rare-b2-size-51-5-72-8-cm-h255","provider":"Japan Poster Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}