#pressbook

this scan on internet archive has only two pages.

here's a pressbook that was auctioned off in 2014. according to the description, it had 20 pages in total. i added a closeup on lorre's little description piece (I SWEAR i've seen it here on tumblr before. couldn't find it again tho)

another one that was auctioned, this time in 2013. this site also speaks of the pressbook having 20 pages. but there's also "the 4 pp UK version of the US pressbook"? does that imply there was a smaller, more concise pressbook released in britain that had only 4 pages? hm.

yet another auctioned, doesn't say when. sold for 1.3k!! wow. this one says it had 16 pages. there's such limited information here and the image is tiny. I was clicking around, clawing at the webpage, trying to find a way to get a bigger image or more information or something.

i also visited the wayback machine for each of these pages and they weren't archived. and i tried to find someone else selling one on ebay but i couldn't find one, from what I remember. aaaaand that's all i've managed to unearth thus far.

i was wondering if you happened to be in lucky possession of a copy yourself, if you knew someone with a copy, if there was someone on a facebook group or other that you were apart of that may have a copy they'd like to share or otherwise some intel on the whereabouts of this pressbook.

and uh yeah. i hope what i've shared has been valuable :D ofc there's always the possibility that this pressbook isn't actually real, and was just made of lead the whole time...

Oh wow!! Thank you so much for taking the time to find these awesome scans. That photo of Peter's devilish 😏 expression makes me weak. 😍

Peter Lorre - so slick and so sly In "Background to Danger" does try To steal secret papers But due to these capers _________________

I wonder who won THAT prize? But never mind all that because -

Peter Lorre is dangerous because he's dynamite!

Here's an incredibly high-quality scan of the Warner Bros. Pressbook for Rope. This is honestly an insane find. 41 pages full of interesting production info, a bunch of new pictures, and the most fascinating part: WB's very elaborate suggestions for giant advertising campaigns to promote the movie. I really, really wanna know how many of these were actually used by theaters because there are so many, ranging from genius to goofy.

I highly recommend downloading the PDF and reading through the whole thing. Here are some of the highlights:

There are ads for every possible newspaper section, from sports to financials. Some of these are hilariously random and have nothing to do with the plot of the movie. Two of my personal favourites:

Then there's these absolute gems. Recreation-worthy tbh:

Just two of the many interesting featured articles. The first one explores the reasons behind using technicolor for the film, and the second gives some insight into how much rehearsal and perfection was required of the actors, in this case John Dall:

A beautiful behind-the-scenes photo:

For the Rope fans with long hair, here's a hairstyle you can recreate:

And last but not least, this giant design for an advertising billboard: