More Ultra-Rare Items From Classic Horror, Sci Fi And Monster Films Go On The Auction Block

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Source: Profiles In History

The folks over at Profiles In History are about to hold another of their infamous auctions of Hollywood movie memorabilia. As usual there are a ton of rare items from some of the greatest horror and sci fi films from the golden age of cinema.

Here is the info:

Hollywood Memorabilia Auction 37
Thursday & Friday, October 8 & 9, 2009 at 12:00 pm PDT
Day 1 : Lots 1 - 566
Day 2 : Lots 567 - 1200

Registration
Register to participate online or by fill in this form to bid via telephone.
If you're in the LA Area, come to the auction floor at :
26901 Agoura Road, Suite 150, Calabasas, CA. 91301

And here are some items that may be of interest to Monster Island News readers:

Rare bronze casting of Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion animation Ymir from 20 Million Miles to Earth (Columbia, 1957)

This fascinating display piece is the rare artist proof casting of the Ymir space creature from the classic science fiction film 20 Million Miles to Earth. Designed and sculpted by the dean of stop-motion animation and visual effects, Ray Harryhausen, the original Ymir stop-motion figure was stripped of its latex skin and re-used by Harryhausen during the filming of the acclaimed 7th Voyage of Sinbad (rumored to have become the armature of the infamous Cyclops puppet). Prior to being stripped, the puppet was molded and a plaster master-sculpture of the Ymir was created as a keepsake by Harryhausen. This figure is cast in hollow bronze and is identical to the orginal animation model in size and every detail. Though a limited edition run of 100 bronzes was anticipated, only twelve plus this proof were ever produced. This unique artist proof features reddish bronze patina, unlike the others. It measures 12 inches tall and 19 in. long.

$3000 - $5000

Go Here For More Info Or To Bid

Prod. stills from Creature from the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature & Creature Walks Among Us (Universal, 1954-56)

Collection of gelatin silver glossy 4 x 5 in. master production set stills from Creature from the Black Lagoon (15+), featuring Richard Carlson and Julie Adams, Revenge of the Creature (25+), featuring John Agar and Lori Nelson, and The Creature Walks Among Us (80+), featuring Jeff Morrow and Leigh Snowden

.$400 - $600

Go Here For More Info Or To Bid

20 T-Rex puppets from The Beast of Hollow Mountain

(Nassour Brothers, 1956) This incredible collection comprises 20 T-Rex puppets which were used in the famous “dinosaur attack” scene from The Beast of Hollow Mountain. A mixture of Western and dinosaur movie shot in color and widescreen, the movie was the first feature to use miniature rear projection in color to combine the replacement animation with live action and was praised for the realistic quality of the animation. In the closing minutes of the film, this ferocious beast appears attacking a woman and child. The animation sequence lasts nearly 20 minutes, with the creature rampaging and ripping the roof off of a building in its desire to eat them, only to be foiled by the hero who appears on horseback and saves them from certain doom. Legendary stop-motion animator Willis O’Brien wrote the story, but most of the animation work was apparently the work of California-born fine arts sculptor, Henry Lion (1900-1966). The puppets are constructed from fired clay/plaster and feature meticulously hand painted red mouths, white teeth and claws. Each puppet is individually sculpted in a variety of poses for use in the intricate replacement animation sequences with detailed musculature and reptilian skin. Some of the puppets have numbers handwritten on the bottom of the feet; others have number sequences engraved on the tails as reference for the animators. An incredible opportunity to own these artifacts from the golden years of replacement animation.

$20000 - $30000

Click Here For More Info Or To Bid

Screen-used full-size Monster suit from a General Electric television commercial

This Godzilla-esque monster suit was used in the humorous G.E. commercial, played during the 2006 Olympics, advertising their advanced medical imaging technology. The commercial depicts a group of Japanese children playing on the beach building a sandcastle (with obvious out-of-sync, horribly-dubbed voices) when a seemingly gigantic bipedal lizard, a la Godzilla, stomps over the dune toward them and they approach it to find that it is really the size of a tiny gecko lizard. The motto is, “Catching little problems before they get a chance to grow bigger”. This incredibly detailed suit is constructed of hand-painted foam latex, over a neoprene inner lining.

$4000 - $6000

Click Here For More Info Or To Bid

Collection of puppets from Big Trouble in Little China including translucent Lo Pan puppet (TCF, 1986)

A wonderful group of screen-used puppets from signature scenes in Big Trouble in Little China. Included are the translucent Lo Pan puppet torso with silicone head and puppet arm. Each is articulated with cable controls and lit from within in the film to create the ghostly spectre of elderly Lo Pan. Also included is the articulated upper torso puppet, puppet mask and swollen feet of the exploding version of Thunder, who, with the aid of air bladders, inflates the body like a balloon and used steam to shoot out of its ears and nostrils in the memorable demise of the character in the film’s climax. In addition, a rough casting of the flying eyeball monster and a number of Beastman puppet/costume pieces including the articulated Beastman mask with cable controls, stunt foam latex mask, underlying mask buck, forearm extensions with claw gloves, body suit, forearm extensions with articulated hand mechanism and costume feet. Most of the pieces show moderate to heavy latex deterioration.

$1200 - $1500

Click Here For More Info Or To Bid

More to come, as soon as I can get a chance to look through all the listings. Ah, to be rich and impulsive!

Japan's Greatest Hero, "Ultraman", Coming Soon To An Electrical Box Near You!

Writtten By: Ken Hulsey
Source: Popular Fidelity

The city of Sukagawa in the prefecture of Fukashima, Japan, has come up with a rather odd way to pay homage to one of it's local heroes, famed special effects man, Eiji Tsuburaya. This strange tribute to the man who helped revolutionise the island nation's film industry, and also helped to create some of the world's greatest monsters, Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah (not Gamera though), comes in the form of painting the likeness of the superhero, "Ultraman" (created by Tsuburaya in 1966) on the side of local electrical transformer boxes.


This may seem as strange to us westerners, I would kinda be like putting the image of "Batman" on telephone poles to pay tribute to Bob Kane, but in Japan such an act is quite an honor. Come to find out, these transformer boxes are on just about every corner in Sukagawa, so the "Ultraman" images are literally all over the place.

About "Ultraman":

Ultraman (ウルトラマン, Urutoraman?) is a fictional character featured in tokusatsu, or "special effects" television programs in Japan. Ultraman made his debut in the tokusatsu SF/kaiju/superhero TV series, Ultra Q: Ultraman: Special Effects Fantasy Series, a follow-up to the television series Ultra Q. The show was produced by Tokyo Broadcasting System and Tsuburaya Productions, and was broadcast on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) from July 17, 1966 to April 9, 1967, with a total of 39 episodes (40, counting the pre-premiere special that aired on July 10, 1966).

About Eiji Tsuburaya:

Eiji Tsuburaya (born Eiichi Tsumuraya) on July 7, 1901 – died January 25, 1970, in Sukagawa, Fukushima) was the Japanese special effects director responsible for many Japanese science-fiction movies, including the Godzilla series.

In 1963 Tsuburaya started his own special effects laboratory, and later that year founded Tsuburaya Productions. In 1966 alone, this company aired the first 'monster' series for television, Ultra Q beginning in January, followed it with the highly popular Ultraman in July, and premiered a comedy-monster series, Booska, the Friendly Beast in November. Ultraman became the first live-action Japanese television series to be exported around the world, and spawned the Ultra Series which continues to this day.

Many of you may not know that "Ultraman" is the third most popular character icon world-wide, based on licenses and merchandise sales, behind only Mickey Mouse and Snoopy.

See Also: It's 'Voltron', 'Ultraman' and 'The Power Rangers' Thrown In A Blender For 5432 Film's "Megabot" / It's An Ultra Galaxy Legend Trailer Double Feature / The Ancient Dogoo Girl - Can A Hot Girl With Big Boobs Replace Ultraman? / It's Spider-Man, Iron Man And The Hulk Vs The Decepticons in 'Transformers 3: The War of the Earth' / Is Ultraman Based On A Chinese Solar Diety? / Ultraman: The Next (2005)(Tsuburaya) / The First Trailer From Koichi Sakamoto‘s Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends - The Movie / Mill Creek Entertainment To Release The Complete Ultraman Series On DVD / Hey Kids! It's Ultraman......Sorta / Behind The Scenes Photos From Norman England's It's All Good / Mothra X MechaGodzilla: Revenge Of The Black Hole Aliens / You Really Haven't Lived Until You Have Seen The Japanese Spider-Man TV Show / DEX Wins The Thai Rights To Ultraman Max And Ultraman Mebius / Pusan International Film Festival Focuses On Asian Super Heroes / Ultraman To Appear At This Years Japanese Film Festival In Kuala Lumpur / Ultraman Showcase 2008 - Ultraman Comes To Malaysia / Ultraman Cosmos vs. Ultraman Justice: The Final Battle (2003) / Hitomi Muto Talks About Her Grandfather Eiji Tsuburaya / Ultraman: Towards the Future (1990) / Ultraman Becomes A Permanent Resident Of The Fukushima Airport / Courts Rule That Sompote Saengduenchai Did Not Co-Create Ultraman / Bandai Aquires A Large Portion Of Tsuburaya Productions