“THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN”, Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 1958, STB Tatekan (51 × 145 cm) — Ultra Rare

“THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN”, Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 1958, STB Tatekan (51 × 145 cm) — Ultra Rare

Japanese title: 「フランケンシュタインの復讐」(Furankenshutain no Fukushū)
Size: STB / Tatekan — c. 20 × 57 in (51 × 145 cm)
Country / Studio: Japan / Columbia Pictures (日本コロムビア配給)
Technique: Offset lithograph, multi‑colour inks on thin theatrical stock

Why this is a trophy piece

Hammer Films’ The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)—Terence Fisher’s sequel to The Curse of Frankenstein—sat at the very crest of the late‑50s colour‑horror wave. Peter Cushing’s icily composed Baron, Eastmancolor shock, and Jimmy Sangster’s gleefully macabre script helped ignite a global “Hammer Horror” obsession—including in Japan, where Gothic chills played alongside homegrown tokusatsu and kaidan cinema.

This towering STB tatekan is from that first Japanese release. STBs were posted outdoors on purpose‑built wooden stands at cinema entrances and along busy streets—mini billboards exposed to weather and replaced frequently. Nearly all were discarded. We have never seen another Revenge of Frankenstein STB come to market; only a handful are likely to survive worldwide. A full decade earlier than the famous 1960s Spaghetti‑Western STBs, this is a cornerstone for Hammer and Japanese‑paper collectors alike.

Design highlights (and on‑poster translations)

• Impact at street distance: A feral, stitched close‑up dominates the upper sheet; below it, a gigantic clawed hand swoops toward a prone victim—an operatic montage that sells Hammer’s “shock in colour” in one glance.

• Top headline, in blue: 「総天然色」—“In full natural colour” (the standard Japanese boast for Eastmancolor).

• Monumental title work, left: Brush‑stroke katakana reading フランケンシュタイン with the tail の復讐 (“…no Fukushū / Revenge”) stacked below—white letters with black shadowing that look hand‑torn, perfect for the subject.

• Right vertical copy, in yellow (sense rendering):
  “Terror blankets the land. Reborn by devouring living brains, the fiend prowls each night for blood—an astounding shocker of mad science!”

• Bilingual billing block: Star names set in bright yellow katakana—ピーター・クッシング (Peter Cushing), ユニス・ゲイソン (Eunice Gayson), フランシス・マシューズ (Francis Matthews)—with the English title THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN dropped in‑frame.

• Red field & nightscape vignettes: Streetlamps, laboratory kit, and a throttling tableau at the foot of the design create a three‑act story on one sheet—pure Hammer melodrama, “sold the Japanese way.”

Cultural context: Hammer in Japan

By the late 1950s Japan had a robust appetite for fantastical cinema—ghost stories (kaidan), emerging kaijū pictures, and imported Gothic. Hammer’s colour palettes, Cushing/Lee star power, and Terence Fisher’s grand‑guignol tone fit the moment perfectly. Columbia’s Japanese campaign embraced vertical spectacle: oversize brush titles, feverish copy lines, and lurid montage distinguished domestic posters from their British and U.S. counterparts. This STB is a textbook example and an exceptionally early survivor in the format.

Printing & format notes

• STB / Tatekan posters are two‑sheet verticals printed on thin stock and pasted or tack‑nailed to wooden street stands. Because they were public‑facing and weather‑exposed, intact originals are ultra‑rare—especially for 1950s titles.

• Printer’s cues present: “総天然色” (full natural colour) slug; Columbia emblem and Japanese distributor credit at the foot; period letterforms consistent with late‑1950s Tōkyō studio work.

Condition

Displayed at the time; an honest street survivor. Unrestored and not linen‑backed. Bright, saturated colour across both sheets. Expected handling and use consistent with outdoor posting, including: scattered tack and pin holes (especially along the top rail), small edge nicks/tears, minor corner and margin losses, foldlines at original joins, surface rippling and light creasing in places. No overpainting. Presents with tremendous wall power; frames superbly.
Please review the detailed images provided—these show the exact poster offered.

Authentication

Guaranteed 100% original first‑release Japanese STB. Certificate of Authenticity included.

Why this example matters

• Earliest Hammer STB we’ve handled: a 1958 Japanese street poster for Revenge—a full decade older than the Leone western STBs most collectors know.

• Ultra‑rare format/title pairing: we have never seen another example for sale; survival of outdoor STBs from this period is exceptionally low.

• Cross‑collectible: Hammer horror, Peter Cushing, Japanese graphic design, and mid‑century street advertising—all in one towering sheet.

Credits (for reference)

Director Terence Fisher; Screenplay Jimmy Sangster; Cinematography Jack Asher; Music Leonard Salzedo; Starring Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews, Eunice Gayson, Michael Gwynn; A Hammer Films production; Columbia Pictures release in Japan.

About STB (Tatekan) posters

STBs (tatekans) are tall, two‑panel verticals (approx. 51 × 145 cm) mounted outdoors on wooden stands at theatres and along transit approaches—a uniquely Japanese mini‑billboard format. Printed on light stock and swapped out frequently, they were seldom saved. For 1950s horror, surviving examples are almost never seen.

It’s over 65 years old.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.