DESIGNER UNKNOWN 1ST OF APRIL. Circa 1930. 41 3/8x28 1/2 inches. Editions Soviet Kino, Moscow. Condition B: extensive expert overpainting in margins and image; expertly restored loss in top and lower margins, affecting image; vertical and horizontal folds. "The Russian avant-garde film posters of the mid-1920's to early 1930's are unlike any film posters ever created. Although the period of artistic freedom in the Soviet Union was brief, these powerful, startling images remain among the most brilliant and imaginative posters ever conceived. The Russian film poster artists experimented with the same innovative cinematic techniques used in the films they were advertising, such as extreme close-ups, unusual angles and dramatic proportions." (Pack p. 14) "It is interesting to discover which American actors became big stars in the Soviet Union. From the number of Russian film posters featuring Richard Talmadge, one would think that he was the greatest star of all. The reason for Talmadge's dominant presence was largely a result of the marketing strategies of the distributors. Films made by independent American producers like Richard Talmadge, Charles Ray and Monty Banks, which played only in marginal theaters in the United States (due to the tight control of major theater chains by the large producers), enjoyed disproportionate success in the Soviet Union, especially since they were also quite shallow standard fare guaranteed to have no political message. As a result, some films that were barely noticed in their home country occasioned the creation of superior Russian posters, often at odds with their cinematic value." (ibid p. 15) Most likely this is a scene from Bank's 1926 film Atta Boy, which prominently features a scene of him dangling off a ladder in the back of a car.
