Phantom of the Opera one sheet closes at $203,150

DALLAS – A scarce original one sheet poster for the 1925 horror classic “The Phantom of the Opera” – formerly from actor Nicolas Cage’s collection and one of four known to exist – sold for $203,150 during Heritage Auctions’ Vintage Movie Posters Signature Auction July 19-20 in Dallas.

The $2.3-plus million auction saw strong interest in prewar movie posters, as a rare Charlie Chaplin six sheet for “Sunnyside,” from 1919, sold for $71,700.

“It was very gratifying to watch 10 bidders vie for a chance to own The Phantom of the Opera one sheet,” said Grey Smith, director of Movie Posters at Heritage.

A highly-sought after insert for the cinema masterpiece “Casablanca” – a collector favorite and a rare survivor from 1942 – sold for $83,650. Another rare survivor from one of the world’s most critically acclaimed films, a German poster for the 1931 unnerving classic “M,” sold for $50,787. Collectors of classic film images disregarded the $15,000 pre-auction estimate for an Italian foglio for “La Dolce Vita.” The poster, measuring 55 inches by 77-1/5 inches, hammered for $47,800. Likewise, a rare, 1941 insert for “The Wolf Man” quickly cleared $47,800 against a $30,000 estimate. An Italian 2 foglio for “Breakfast at Tiff any’s,” depicting what many collectors consider the most fetching image of star Audrey Hepburn, sold for a strong $35,850. Another Italian 2 foglio for “The Lady from Shanghai” sold for $31,070.

The auction’s most valuable half sheet is from the 1953 classic “The War of the Worlds”; the rare style B version sold for $35,850. A full-bleed, style B one-sheet from “The Song of Songs,” the 1933 Paramount classic, ended at $28,680; and an insert from “Citizen Kane” closed at $26,290. A French grande style A poster for “King Kong” ended at $25,095.

Additional highlights include, but are not limited to:

• A six-sheet for the 1955 generation- defining “Rebel Without A Cause”: $22,705.

• A previously unknown German magazine advertisement for the 1921 vampire classic “Nosferatu”: $20,912.

• A rare World War I propaganda recruitment poster “Destroy This Mad Brute”: $15,535.

Learn more about Heritage Auctions by visiting www.ha.com