SO DARK THE NIGHT

Original Double-Sided British 17 inch x 11 inch Trade Advertisement for the 1946 Joseph H. Lewis Film Noir SO DARK THE NIGHT, based on a story by Aubrey Wisberg and starring Steven Geray, Micheline Cheirel, Eugene Borden, Ann Codee, Egon Brecher and Helen Freeman.

This is Joseph H. Lewis’s second feature and one that has the same intense energy as his The Big Combo (1955) and My Name is Julia Ross (1945). The Freudian story is wacky and strains credibility, but the elegant style Lewis uses is mesmerizing. The film noir’s light touches are magnificently caught in the rich depiction of rural life and the character study of a psychological breakdown due to a pressured psyche that induces schizophrenia. This makes for a fascinating watch. So Dark the Night is a rarely shown obscure film, and it is a beauty. Burnett Guffey used his camera effectively in many strange angled shots while his dark black shadings express the contrasting somber mood to the airy country landscape.

The advert artwork is by Dudley Pout.

Born into a Kent farming community in 1908, Dudley Pout’s film poster career began with the East Kent Poster Service in Kent, who supplied hand painted film star portraits and foyer displays for local cinemas. Two years later he was offered a job managing the Stoll art studios in Chatham producing posters, foyer displays and press advertising. Joining the Metropolitan Police Reserve during the war he was approached by United Artists’ publicity manager who introduced him to Michael Balcon. Then in off duty hours he designed posters and publicity for The Goose Steps Out, The Foreman Went to France, Went the Day Well?, The Black Sheep of Whitehall and many more. “Before any ideas of drawing were put to paper, I would attend a private viewing of the film with the publicity manager of the company concerned. We would discuss what the best selling point of the film would be to feature on the posters. Correct billing was very important. The star or stars were placed above the title and the supporting cast were set below. Credits varied in size in relation to the importance and popularity of the star and were so much per cent of the title size…”

”Next came the question of how many colours were to be used, two, three or four. Every extra colour raised the cost of printing. After producing what is called a ‘finished rough’ and having it approved, the artwork was then completed. The lettering of titles, stars and credits was all done by hand.”

After the war Pout moved into the publishing world and produced illustrations in the Eagle and Girl.

On the reverse is the 1946 William Castle Film Noir MYSTERIOUS INTRUDER starring Richard Dix, Barton MacLane, Nina Vale, Regis Toomey, Mike Mazurki, Pamela Blake and Otto Forrest as the voice of The Whistler AND the 1946 John Sturges Thriller THE MAN WHO DARED starring Leslie Brooks, George Macready, Forrest Tucker, Charles D. Brown, and Warren Mills.

The Advertisement is in very good condition with one vertical centre fold with 2 staple holes along it.