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Vintage original 11x14 in. US lobby card from the 1960's organized crime/corruption-themed gangsters drama, THE BOSS, released in 1956 by United Artists and directed by Byron Haskin. Political corruption is vividly depicted as a ruthless WWI veteran (John Payne) takes almost complete control of a state with the help of a crooked lawyer. The film is enhanced by John Payne's persuasive performance as "The Boss." The cast includes William Bishop, Gloria McGehee, Don Avedon, Roy Roberts, Rhys Williams, and Gil Lamb.
The Boss featured a screenplay by the renowned screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, whose career was temporarily halted during the infamous Hollywood Blacklist of the 1950's (the screen credit was to "Ben Perry," a front for Trumbo). As indicated in the center of the bottom border, this is lobby card #7 from the set of 8 cards. The image depicts a shot inside of a bar as Matt Brady (AKA "The Boss") (John Payne) goes berserk during a fight as he and two doughboys look at his opponent lying on the floor. It is unrestored in very fine condition with several light creases in the bottom third of the right border. There are no pinholes, tears, stains, writing, or other flaws and the rich color tints are fresh and vibrant without any signs of fading.
James Dalton Trumbo (December 9, 1905 – September 10, 1976) was an American screenwriter and novelist who scripted many award-winning films, including Roman Holiday (1953), Exodus, Spartacus (both 1960), and Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944). One of the Hollywood Ten, he refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947 during the committee's investigation of Communist influences in the motion picture industry. Trumbo, the other members of the Hollywood Ten, and hundreds of other professionals in the industry were blacklisted by Hollywood. He was, however, able to continue working clandestinely on major films, writing under pseudonyms or other authors' names. His uncredited work won two Academy Awards for Best Story: for Roman Holiday (1953), which was presented to a front writer, and for The Brave One (1956), which was awarded to a pseudonym used by Trumbo. When he was given public screen credit for both Exodus and Spartacus in 1960, it marked the beginning of the end of the Hollywood Blacklist for Trumbo and other affected screenwriters. He finally was given full credit by the Writers' Guild for Roman Holiday in 2011, nearly 60 years after the fact |