"Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein", Ultra‑Rare Original Japanese First‑Release B2 Poster, 1954 Japanese Debut — B2 Size (approx. 51 × 73 cm)

“凸凹フランケンシュタインの巻” (Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein), Ultra‑Rare Original Japanese First‑Release B2 Poster, 1954 Japanese Debut — B2 Size (approx. 51 × 73 cm)

This is an original Japanese theatrical poster printed in 1954 for the first domestic release of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (凸凹フランケンシュタインの巻), Universal‑International’s era‑defining horror‑comedy directed by Charles T. Barton and starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi and Glenn Strange as the Monster. First issued in the United States in 1948, the film reached Japanese cinemas on 26 December 1954, distributed by Shochiku/Select, just weeks after the premiere of Godzilla — situating this piece at the exact dawn of Japan’s kaijū boom. 

Printed for that initial Shochiku/Select engagement and bearing the original circular “LP” Tokyo printer’s mark at lower left, this scarce B2 (半裁) is a true survivor of mid‑1950s Japanese cinema advertising, now over seventy years old.

Why this example is extraordinary (rarity & market)

Japanese paper for Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is notoriously elusive. Surviving material from the 1954 release tends to be the small monochrome “speed” or press sheets; even those are described in the trade as “ultra‑rare Japanese 1st release posters.” Full‑colour B2s like the present sheet appear only very occasionally in the market.

This poster is extremely scarce even in Japan, and to our knowledge has not sold outside of Japan in the past ten years in the B2 format. This underlies how little of this campaign survives at all. 

The design itself has achieved near‑mythic status among aficionados of Japanese science‑fiction and horror paper. It is reproduced full‑page in SF怪奇映画ポスターコレクション 第1集 1949–1964 (“SF & Horror Movie Poster Collection,” 1984, ed. Junko Shibuya / supervised by Hajime Ishida), the standard Japanese reference work that documents 138 key posters of the period. There it stands among a handful of imported horror titles singled out as touchstones of mid‑century poster design. For many collectors this image is a genuine “holy grail” — a quintessential collision of Universal monsters with Japanese graphic daring.

That this particular example has survived in such strong condition (see below) and unbacked, with vivid, unfaded colour, makes it an exceptionally desirable copy.

Poster design

The composition is a bravura piece of 1950s Japanese photomontage. At centre looms Glenn Strange’s Frankenstein’s Monster, tinted a corpse‑like blue‑green and towering over the layout like a carnival cut‑out. Abbott and Costello flank him in their baggage‑clerk uniforms, their bodies hanging like comic marionettes from the Monster’s outstretched hands — a visual gag unique to this Japanese campaign and far more surreal than any Western one‑sheet.

Above, Lon Chaney Jr.’s Wolf Man lunges from the left with fur bristling, while Bela Lugosi’s Dracula glides in from the right, hand extended in a mesmerist’s gesture toward Costello. At the lower left, Lenore Aubert and Jane Randolph provide a note of glamour, cropped in from stills yet seamlessly integrated into the montage.

Typography and colour are pure Showa‑era bravado. The huge vertical title logotype 「凸凹フランケンシュタインの巻」 tumbles down the left border in serrated, blocky characters printed in a saturated emerald green with black keyline — visually echoing the jagged silhouette of castle battlements. Two little cartoon ghosts caper beside the letters, a charmingly Japanese touch that softens the horror with playful whimsy.

On the right edge, red vertical copy trumpets the showdown between “artificial man, bat‑man and wolf‑man,” promising that Abbott and Costello’s antics amid “generations of famous monsters” will deliver shrieks of laughter. (A wonderfully concise summary of the film’s blend of genuine Universal horror and gag‑driven slapstick.) The English billing block at lower centre — “BUD ABBOTT & LOU COSTELLO meet FRANKENSTEIN” — is rendered in teal and blazing orange, harmonising with the lemon‑yellow field and lending the whole sheet a Technicolor vividness that must have blazed from 1954 cinema foyers.

The bottom margin bears the “松竹・SIF 共同配給” credit, confirming the Shochiku joint‑distribution noted in Japanese filmographies, alongside the small LP printer’s roundel — all key indicators of an authentic first‑release printing. 

Film significance & context

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is now widely regarded as one of the greatest horror‑comedies ever made. Critics and historians note that it not only revitalised Abbott and Costello’s careers, but also breathed new life into the Universal Monsters at a time when the studio was struggling financially. The film became the most successful entry in the Frankenstein cycle since James Whale’s 1931 original and one of Universal‑International’s biggest box‑office hits of 1948. 

The picture is also historically important for featuring Lon Chaney Jr.’s Wolf Man, Bela Lugosi’s final screen appearance as Dracula, and Glenn Strange’s definitive take on the Monster together in a single narrative — effectively the capstone to the classic Universal horror cycle. As modern commentators have argued, it proved that horror‑comedy could be both critically and commercially viable, paving the way for everything from Young Frankenstein to contemporary genre mash‑ups.

In Japan, the timing of its release is remarkable. Domestic audiences encountered Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in late December 1954, mere weeks after Toho’s Godzilla had opened nationwide on 3 November, inaugurating Japan’s own giant‑monster tradition. This poster therefore belongs to the same pivotal year that launched the Godzilla franchise — a fascinating moment when Japanese cinemagoers could see both home‑grown nuclear allegories and imported American monsters sharing the bill.

Condition

Very Good+ / Fine– on paper for age. Unbacked with minor, expert conservation.

• Folds: As typical for 1950s Japanese B2 posters, this poster was folded and subsequently stored flat for decades; a vertical and a horizontal fold create a cross pattern. Fold lines are lightly toned and softly creased but remain stable, with only the faintest stress at intersections and no significant separations.

• Edges & corners: Light edge wear with a few small nicks and short closed tears at the margins (notably near the bottom edge and at one side). These have been carefully reinforced on the reverse with thin, archival tape, visible in the verso photograph, to prevent further spread while remaining unobtrusive from the front. Tiny corner crease at lower left; other corners sharp.

• Surface: Minor handling creases and a few tiny pressure marks in the image field on close inspection, but nothing that distracts at normal viewing distance. No writing, stains or paper loss within the artwork.

• Colour & paper: Colours are impressively rich and saturated — the yellow ground fresh, the greens and reds strong, flesh tones warm — with no evidence of sun‑fading. 

• Verso: Even toning throughout; ghost image of the front visible, as is typical. A few small pieces of archival tape are present along the upper edge; these do not show through to the image area.

Overall, an exceptionally attractive example of an exceedingly fragile and seldom‑seen 1954 Japanese horror‑comedy poster, presenting beautifully for display and far better than usually encountered.

It is over 70 years old.
It is not a reproduction or a later reprint, but an original 1954 Japanese first‑release B2 poster.
Certificate of Authenticity included.