Universal-International's 1955 science fiction extravaganza This Island Earth was produced by William Alland and directed by Joseph M. Newman. Lavishly produced by the standards of the day, it had the added advantage of vivid Technicolor, when most genre films were shot in black & white.
Reynold Brown clearly rose to the occasion with his stunning design for the 27" x 41" One-sheet poster. His palette is appropriately varied in an effort to represent the array of wonders contained in the film: the alien spacecraft, the mysterious tubes that change one's metabolism, the violent explosions of inter-planetary war, the Metaluna mutant wrestling with shapely Faith Domergue. All these elements somehow come together in Brown's audacious design.
What makes it all work is the couple at the lower left. Their response -- the upturned faces and rigid posture (expressing both wonder and fear) -- becomes ours. Reynold Brown has used this approach elsewhere, but never more successfully than here. This Island Earth is one for the ages.
A personal note... The One-sheet pictured here does not belong to me. Collectors seeking an original poster like this one should be forewarned, it will be difficult to find. An Insert or a Half-sheet might be a more reasonable objective.
