Lobby card or photographic still or both?
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| Original German release (January 1927) photo lobby card, Bilotta Collection, Florida. |
1. Introduction
On 12 January 2025 an online argument broke out on a Facebook fan site over whether a Metropolis (1927) "original German release photo lobby card" was in fact as described. The combatants were Erich Kaiser and Oz Man. Kaiser called Oz Man a "fool" during the online discussion over the photo which was purchased from an American auction house and found a home in the Bilotta Collection museum, Florida. As the following 2022 photograph from the museum's Facebook page shows, the owners and curators of the museum are obviously fans of Metropolis.
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| Bilotta Collection, 22 December 2022. |
The photograph above is of a life-size copy of the Metropolis Maschinenmensch (Machine Person), and in the background is what appears to be the S2 lithographic reprint of the original German 3-sheet poster, produced between 1997-2006. Undoubtedly there will be additions to that part of the museum's collection, including the item which was the basis for the online dispute, and which is described below and illustrated above.
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2. Unsocial media
The writer, upon reading the text of the Facebook discussion, was left confused. Who was right here? Was the purchase a lobby card or photographic still, or both? Did definitions vary between Germany and the United States? The following article attempts to answer those questions.
Fritz Lang's Metropolis was released in Germany on 10 January 1927 and in the US and UK in March of that year. It eventually came to Japan and Australia in 1928. Original release promotional material is of premium value on the second-hand collector market, with the original German 3-sheet the most valuable film poster in modern history, worth US$1 million. Therefore descriptions and definitions are key, as is evidence of age.
The film was subject to numerous re-releases over the years, and especially since 1984 when the Georgio Moroder version was released. Since January 1927 there have been many variants in lobby cards, photographic stills and posters as a result. Full size posters for Metropolis are rare, with only European one's surviving, and none for the US or UK. A US insert (14 x 36 inches) is known, as are a jumbo lobby card (22 x 28 inches) and a window card (14 x 22 inches). The variety of promotional material known to have been issued for the US release includes the following, with the number of surviving varieties in brackets:
- An insert poster (1)
- A window card (1)
- An oversized lobby card (1)
- A jumbo lobby card (1)
- Various lobby cards (4) from an original set of 8
- A herald (1)
- Still photographic images (8 known, of which 5 have a Paramount Pictures inscription)
- Full colour or black and white trade and magazine advertisements (4)
- A press book / sheet (3 pages extract available)
- Newspaper advertisements (various)
Note that there are no known surviving US l-sheet and larger sized posters, despite suggested images for these being present in the press book. It is possible that those latter images were simply meant for use in newspaper and magazine advertisements. This seems likely, due to the fact that no large US Metropolis posters have ever appeared on the market or been observed in contemporary front-of-cinema shots. From the list we can surmise that so-called lobby cards and still photographs were all issued around the same time as the film's US premiere, to serve its promotional needs. Usually such an array of items are listed in the press book, where the price for theatre operators is included. However, we do not have a complete surviving copy of the US press book.
It is the writer's understanding that at the time of US initial release both lobby cards and photographic stills were used within the cinema to promote the film. Therefore the definition between a lobby card and photographic still with logo and description, or not, was blurred. It remains blurred in American auction houses which offer such material for sale, including Heritage Auctions and Bruce Hershensen's emovieposters. The author is not aware of the precise situation in Germany in 1927, though it is clear that a variety of promotional material was released, from photographic stills, through postcards to large 3-sheet and bigger posters. What then was the Facebook argument concerning the offer for sale of an "original German release photo lobby card"?
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3. The argument text
The following is a copy of the text between Kaiser and Oz Man. It is reproduced here because not everyone is a member of Facebook, and the content of Facebook is not necessarily subject to archival preservation going forward, just as the content of myspace was recently deleted without reference to creators. The following text also provide detail concerning the opinions expressed. At the end of the day it would seem that opinion is just as relevant as definition, because of the latter's standardization or lack thereof across countries.
NB: Comments by the writer herein are indicated as in brackets thus: [MO].
12 January 2025, Facebook, group: Metropolis - Fritz Lang's Masterpiece
* Erich Kaiser: As I wrote in the comments of the clip - that is not an original lobby card from Metropolis. That is a studio shot that has been reproduced thousands of times. I have one hanging in my office right now. A lobby card would have information about the film on the front - like the stars, the director, the company that made it etc. Don't try to pawn this off as something it's not.
* Oz Man: Metropolis (Universum/UFA, 1927) Brigitte Helm as "Maria" 9.25" x 11.75" Original German Release Photo Lobby Card. Vintage glossy double-weight 9.25" x 11.75" original German release photo lobby card of Brigitte Helm as "Maria, Maschinenmensch, The Machine Man" in Metropolis, Fritz Lang's Expressionist masterpiece adapted from Thea von Harbou's novel, with editorial annotation in blue graphite on the verso. Exceptionally rare and only known example of the primary card from the original UFA release featuring Maria the robot. Centrally reproduced as the U.S. one-sheet poster (all examples presumed lost), not to be confused with the inferior U.S. issue lithographic cards. Very Fine, with light scuffing, stress at the lower right corner, and edge chipping at the lower corner tips. Comes with a COA from Heritage Auctions.
* Oz Man: I don't think this is hanging in your office https://entertainment.ha.com/.../metrop.../a/7388-89045.s...
Erich Kaiser: Indeed it is. I just sent it to you fool. / Indeed it is. I have had it for about 40 years. Again, a lobby card has printed information on it. These are studio stills made by UFA for continuity and press releases.
* Erich Kaiser: Here is an example of a photo lobby card. Note the margin with the writing? They were never just plain photographs. https://www.ebay.com/itm/156247351186.
[MO: The above image of father and son in Joh Fredersen's office is an example from the original British release of the
film by Wardour. Note the two UFA logos on the bottom left and right of
the border of the original photograph, and the descriptive text in between.]
* Oz Man: Why are you name calling ? & yours looks nothing like the original. [It is] muddy & dark with the logo on the other side. Take it up with Heritage [Auctions] since it came from the collection that included the 33 million $ slippers + tons of original photos posters & props
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4. Definitions
The following refers to US and UK material, There are no references to German lobby cards apart from the "original German release photo lobby card" under discussion and reproduced at the top of this article.
A lobby card in the US context is a smallish poster - usually 11 x 14 inches - printed on heavy card and which usually comes in sets of 8. They were pinned up in frames in cinema theatre lobbies and usually contained scenes from the films. Some were full colour mini-poster lithographic images, which may or may not have included photographic inserts. The following is an example from the first release US series.
Others were straight out black and white, or coloured, photographic, with associated text to identify the film. An example of the latter is from the initial 1927 US release. Its size is 8 x 10 inches:
Note the UFA logo in the bottom right of the image, and the descriptive information in the white border. Also note, that it appears the earlier, 1927, sepia toned images had the UFA logo on the lower right of the image. Erich Kaiser's photograph has it on the left, and appears to be a black and white print, which is possibly / likely a later copy.
An original, sepia, 8 x 10 inch photographic still, associated with the original US release and with no logo or border description, is shown below.
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5. Conclusions and comments
Q: Is the item under discussion a lobby card or a photographic still?
Answer: In the opinion of the writer, it is both.
Where then do we precisely place this image? Is it, as Kaiser implies, an original German release photographic still? Yes. But is it also, in the US context, a lobby card?
There is no precise definition of lobby card adhered to internationally, and both descriptions above are correct. Wikipedia refers to film posters, with a lobby card subheading. In some instances simple photographs, with or without production company logos and descriptive borders, were used as lobby cards, in addition to media and other promotional avenues. In some instances they were not, including, it would appear, Germany.
The Heritage Auction / Bilotta Collection photograph is genuine, from the initial 7 January 1927 German release. With both Kaiser and Oz Man correct, there is no doubt that the former should have held emotions in check when discussing this matter. Facebook fan sites are no place for rudeness and aggression. Fans love Metropolis, and debates over aspects of its filming and presentation are of interest, nothing more. With the passage of a century since filming commenced, there is no person alive who can speak definitively on each and every matter arising out the presentation in any specific country, and the various uses applied to available promotional material.
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Metropolis: 3-sheet Poster 1927 | 78s | Australian Release 1928 | Australian Score | Author Index | Berlin Babylon | Bibliography | Bits 'n Pieces | Canberra Collection | Cars | Censor Cards | Chronology | Czech Novel 1927 | Draft Film Script 1925-6 | Dutch Novel 1928 | English Serial 1927 | Erich Kettlehut Drawings | Film Archive 2001 | Finland Magazine 1927 | French Magazine 1927 | French Magazine 1928 | French Novel 1928 | French Posters 1927 | German Novel 1926 | German Photo Novel 1926 | Home | Internet Archive 2015 | Japan 1929 | Kauffer Illustration 1927 | Length & Speed | London Magazine 1927 | Music | New Zealand 1928 | Percy Benison Cartoons 1928 (2) | Polish Novel 1927 | Posters 1927-8 | Posters 1962-2002 | Premiere Screening 1927-8 | Production Photographs | Reminiscences 1924-76 | Reviews 1927 | Robot Sculptures | Spies (1928) Posters | Swedish Magazine 1927 | Australian Trailer 1950 | US Press Book 1927 | Websites | Yoshiwara |
Last updated: 16 January 2025
Michael Organ, Australia
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