"The Curse of Frankenstein", Original Japanese First-Release Movie Poster 1957, Ultra-Rare, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) F32

This is an original Japanese B2 poster printed in 1957 by Towa for the first domestic release of Hammer Films’ watershed colour-horror classic The Curse of Frankenstein (フランケンシュタインの逆襲). Directed by Terence Fisher and starring Peter Cushing as Baron Victor Frankenstein with Christopher Lee as the Creature, the film ignited Hammer’s Gothic cycle—ushering in bold Eastmancolor gore, operatic melodrama, and a modern screen language for horror that reverberated worldwide.

Why this example matters (rarity & market)
Two distinct Japanese B2 designs are known for the 1957 campaign; this variant surfaces only rarely in the market and is fiercely contested (another realized US $6,000 at Heritage Auctions in April 2022) by Hammer and Japanese-paper specialists alike. Printed for the initial theatrical run, it is a genuine mid-century ephemera survivor—scarce, desirable, and a centerpiece for any Hammer collection.

Poster design
A sensational Eastmancolor photomontage: the bandaged Monster looms in sickly blue-greens and lurid crimsons, while a terrified figure recoils to the right. Below, Cushing toils amid laboratory coils and glassware; a shadowed corridor vignette hints at pursuit and doom. The bilingual title treatment is superb—the dripping turquoise Japanese logotype 「フランケンシュタインの逆襲」 anchors the base, while “THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN in EASTMANCOLOR” crackles in toxic lime above. A classic Towa mark sits lower left, with 1950s brush and block credits completing a quintessential Hammer-in-Japan composition.

Condition
Excellent for age—unrestored, with strong colour saturation and clean paper integrity. Please review the photos (front and back); they show the exact poster for sale.

This poster is an original Japanese theatrical B2 from the 1957 first-release campaign.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

It is over 67 years old!

Certificate of Authenticity included.