Q&A on Australian Daybills

David

Got a general question about the Australian Daybill movie poster?

Ask it here, we have lots of members who are more than happy to share their wealth of knowledge.

HumphreyBogart

Daybills Rule!

unfriendlycollector

 In all my 23 years of collecting I have yet to purchase a daybill.  So I have some questions about daybills I would like answered.

 

1. Why is it called a daybill? Is there a specific reason for the name?

2. Were daybills the predominant print form of advertising a film in Australia other than Newspapers?

3. In 1955, if I were walking down a street in Sydney. Would I see daybills posted up in various places around town or would I just see them at the local cinema?

4.How were daybills displayed at the cinema. Were special display cases used or were they just tacked up on a wall?

5. Were daybills the property of the cinema or the distribution company? Basically, did daybills have to be returned to some location after the film run had ended or could they just be tossed out.

6. There is something called a long daybill. Why did they stop producing it?

7. If a daybill was produced for a film. Did that film also get a corresponding Australian one-sheet?

Matt

3. Yes. I had a conversation with Greg Chilvers how owns a Vintage Poster Shop in Tyabb, Victoria. It was a while ago and I can't remember if it was his dad or Greg that had a job sticking daybills on telegraph/power poles in the streets around the cinema. Basically go around with a tin of glue and a brush and stick the daybill to the pole. When the next film came out, they would glue the new daybill over the old one. Sniff...

Mark

Matt said:

3. Yes. I had a conversation with Greg Chilvers how owns a Vintage Poster Shop in Tyabb, Victoria. It was a while ago and I can't remember if it was his dad or Greg that had a job sticking daybills on telegraph/power poles in the streets around the cinema. Basically go around with a tin of glue and a brush and stick the daybill to the pole. When the next film came out, they would glue the new daybill over the old one. Sniff...

They did stick them up on poles, but only if there was one cinema in town! Many of the Aussie collectors here would know Wes A who was a long time cinema manager. He would order 20 daybills at a time and get his kids to run around town sticking them up.

Early on in the 1930s they had a system of passing on the posters etc as they travelled with the film from cinema to cinema. After that it was just order and discard. In the 1970s a daybill cost 10c.

Some lesser films only had a daybill and no one sheet available. Most of the major companies printed both and often 3 sheets. The art on 3 sheets gives you a good guide to an original release as they wouldn't offer 3 sheets for re-releases.

Matt

This is my 3 sheet for The Guns of Navarone so I think this the original design for the daybill but there are suggestions it isn't. 

HERE  /guns-of-navarone-daybill/http://www.ozefilm.com

AND HERE  http://stylec.yuku.com/reply/96330/Guns-of-Navarone-Daybills#reply-96330

     

What are your thoughts Mark?

Mark

I looked at a few of the other Columbia daybills from 1961 and they all have Robert Burton printed on the right bottom border and use the Statue of Liberty co. logo.

The three sheet suggests a first release, but that poster lacks the book tie-in. It makes you wonder if that is the key to it all. Pretty hard to know.

I didn't see a one sheet in the search?

Matt

I've never in my travels seen a one sheet either. Maybe that's the clue?? :-w

Matt

Just looked at the 3 sheet and bottom left as with the daybill, it says "Based on the Novel ALISTAIR MacCLEAN"

Mark

It's hard to argue against Phil r.e the rating. Sat Night Fever came out as R but was quickly reclassified to M. As far as I'm aware it all happened in the same year, so technically both posters are orig release. A bit like Star Wars with blue / pink NRC box versions.

In 1962 Burton printed the Lawrence of Arabia posters for Columbia. The daybill & three sheet used the same art, but strangely the one sheet was completely different. Seems to have been some experimenting around that time.

There has been some arguments about Butterfield 8 so here is the alternate one sheet, which I'm sure is the 1st release. (Be on Charlie's want list now)!! Feel free to copy the pic to a new thread etc.

Matt

Hold the phone Ladies and Germs, I just may have it. ]

David

]

Mark

Matt said:

Just looked at the 3 sheet and bottom left as with the daybill, it says "Based on the Novel ALISTAIR MacCLEAN"

Perhaps they demanded a larger credit with book image?

Matt

Just dug through my collection because I remembered I brought another copy, just checked it's different.

Edit

No it's not.

Mark

Here is another clue to think about.

The three sheet style has the tag "The greatest high adventure ever filmed" whereas the others have "The greatest high adventure ever written and filmed". Add to that the book image being added, and the problem may have been with crediting the author / novel the film is based on.

Most likely they had to reprint to satisfy the book copyright arrangements.

Maybe ... 

HumphreyBogart

Michaels question

6. There is something called a long daybill. Why did they stop producing it?

There is no definate answer to why they stopped producing long daybills. One theory that I heard of is that there was a paper shortage in the war years and thus they started making them smaller without the blank border at the top. 

Matt

Daybills were printed 3 across on a 40 x 30 sheet and yes because of the war they saved paper by printing them 4 across making them 10 x 30 during WWII

Bruce

No, before WWII, they were printed 2 across on a 30x40 sheet, so each measured 15,x 40. Yes, during the war they printed four 10 x 30s on that same sheet, thus doubling the number printed. After the war they went to around 13 1/3 by 30, because that let them print three on that same sheet.

Charlie

Knowledge bomb!!! Wow great stuff guys!

Charlie

Mark said:

(Be on Charlie's want list now)!! 

Thanks Mark...   

=P~

That bottom snipe-ish part is the best. 

Eisenhower

I am posting here and apologize if this information is buried in some other thread, but with the flurry of Daybill quizzes and my lack of knowledge my only reference is US posters till I learn more. Question-....did the Australian film poster distribution system in any decade not have any sort of NSS organization? For US posters they obviously have the ##/## system to denote the year and release order. ....it appears to me (although I've not studied to deep) that on Daybills they only print the printers info on the bottom but no year(s) thus creating the "dating the Daybill" mysteries...any info would help me understand Daybills better. Thanks!

HONDO

Mark said:

Would you please let me know the printer's name on this one sheet?

           Hondo

HONDO

Waiting on Mark to get back to me with the printer's name but at this point in time it is looking like an original 1960 release to me. The ten Australian one sheets that are a  different style and all the same that are in the Auction History section of eMovieposter.com marked as original release 1960 posters are R66.

Once I hear back from Mark regarding the printer's name I will get back to this thread with more information.

Hondo

Eisenhower

Hondo, which Mark are you referring to? There are two on this forum.

David

Actually, there are four...

HONDO

Butterfield 8

HONDO said:

Mark said:

Would you please let me know the printer's name on this one sheet?

           Hondo

HONDO

HONDO said:

Butterfield 8

HONDO said:

Mark said:

Would you please let me know the printer's name on this one sheet?

           Hondo

How many Mark's posted this image? Let's hear from whichever Mark it was from  but  I will except an answer as well from anyone else who's name isn't Mark if it comes to that as long as I receive the printer's name.

Hondo

HONDO

Just out of curiosity why under the ''Recent Discussions'' section is there a tick & answered beside the heading of the thread?

Hondo

David

Because the original questioned (of this question thread) was answered, the starter of the thread will select the answer they think is the best and that will show as answered, the conversation can continue its natural course.

Typically it for questions like the one that was posed a couple of days ago: http://vintagemoviepostersforum.com/discussion/1096/i-have-a-questions-regarding-an-e-t-movie-poster#latest

As you can see the person who posted selected the answer they most liked.

HONDO

As I hadn't finished my imput into the Butterfield 8 Australian one sheet and I don't know what answer was selected and  going on what you have just said it appears I can still post in the future follow up information on this subject. Am I correct?

Hondo

David

Of course, this was not really a question thread, it was more a thread to show how a question thread could be started - it was started about the time this forum started, over a year ago now.