Revenge Of The Mummy, 1965
Window Card

Gigantic Planets, 19??
Window Card

Blue demon Vs. The Seductress, 19??
Window Card

The Vampires of Coyoacan, 19??
Window Card

Cinema Diabolico

Overlooked and under appreciated by most US movie poster collectors, marquee art from south of the border offers a no-holds-barred plethora of often shocking and bizarre images. From the super heroic exploits of El Santo, the masked wrestler, to the re-released, re-packaged, and regurgitated US drive-in fare of the 50's and 60's, Mexican cinema art is generally far superior to American theatre graphics of the same time period.

Unfortunately the same can't be said of the paper stock itself. Many early one sheets have the structural integrity of a single ply of rough newsprint. After forty plus years of cruel storage in the environmental equivalent of El Diablo's anus, what remains is a browning and brittle artifact--a major contributor to the rarity of many pieces. Larger lobby cards (12.5 x 16) and window cards (14 x 22) tend to hold up much better since they were primarily printed on a thicker paper stock.

But heartiest of all were a series of standard 11 x 14 lobbies printed on laminated cardstock with an actual b&w still from the film glued in place. Enhanced with garish color and high quality photographs, these gems were manufactured in the US by Azteca, Inc. for distribution to Stateside Spanish language movie houses. Each set consisted of 8 to 12 different cards with identical border artwork, but unique photographs. Titles included many of the most popular horror/wrestling movies of the 50's and 60's.

Although fantasy and horror films had been produced since the inception of the Mexican film industry, it took a pair of 1957 Aztec Mummy flicks and the cinematic classic, El Vampiro (The Vampire, 1957) to slam the genre into high gear.

In addition to horror and sci-fi flicks, the Mexican movie industry produced hundreds of supersonic, high-octane, rock 'em sock 'em wrestling extravaganzas from the early 1950's through the mid 1980's. The films featured such luminaries as Mil Mascaras (Thousand Masks), Mujer Murcielago (Bat Woman), Neutron, Blue Demon, Superzan, Zovek, Tieniblas (Darkness); and the undisputed king of them all El Santo.

Battling a host of demons, crooks, and Universal inspired movie monsters, the masked heroes of the ring endeared themselves to kids and adults alike by extolling the virtues of right n' wrong ala Superman and Batman.

Masters of padding and firm believers in "everything but the kitchen sink", Mexican filmmakers generally offered up a thin plot wrapped around an extensive wrestling sequence, topped off with a musical interlude. The MTVesque plot-stoppers usually came courtesy of a cast member or pop star of that era.

Often the luchadors banded together as in such memorable efforts as Las Momias de Guanajuato (1971), in which Santo, Mil Mascaras, and Blue Demon are pitted against zombie hordes of living mummies. Despite the valiant efforts of Blue and Mil Mascaras, it is Santo who pops up at the very end of the film and orchestrates the demise of the creatures via his hand held flame throwers; thus stealing the thunder from the other two. After more than 25 years, the ending still rankles Blue.

Blue Demon, who starred in a dozen of his own films, maintained a professional rivalry between himself and Santo throughout their careers; a tradition that is perpetuated by the respective sons of each. Now in his seventies, not relying on paltry residuals from a fickle film industry, he trains novice wrestlers in his own gym, The Blue Demon Instituto Atletico.

Mexican cinema art, occasionally brilliant, often quirky; ranging stylistically from carnival sideshow simplicity to highly refined renderings, offers a spicy feast for the movie graphics connoisseur.