SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS Rare Original Dutch 1-sheet Movie Poster 1937

Description

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Original Dutch One Sheet
Movie Poster Approx. 43" x 25-3/4" Linen-backed
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to collect the RAREST KNOWN 1-sheet poster
featuring GUSTAF TENGGREN ART for the FIRST ORIGINAL RELEASE of Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated musical fantasy film
produced by Walt Disney Productions and originally released by RKO Radio Pictures.
Based on the German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, it is the first full-length animated
feature film.
Snow White premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre on December 21, 1937, followed by
a nationwide release on February 4, 1938. It was an instant hit, and with international
earnings of million during its initial release, it set a new record for the highest
grossing sound film at the time. This wonderful poster is from the first Dutch release,
which occurred in November 1938.
The popularity of the film led to it being re-released theatrically many times, until its
home video release in the 1990s. Adjusted for inflation, it is one of the top ten
performers at the North American box office.
Development on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs began in early 1934, and in June
1934, Walt Disney announced to The New York Times, the production of his first feature.
One evening, that same year, Walt Disney acted out the entire story of Snow White and
the Seven Dwarfs to his staff, announcing that the film would be produced as a feature-length
film.
Walt estimated that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs could be produced for a budget
of 0,000 USD; this was ten times the budget of a typical Mickey Mouse “Short” film.
As a result, Walt Disney had to fight tooth and nail to get Snow White produced. Both his
business partner (Walt’s brother Roy) and his wife (Lillian), attempted to talk him out of
it.
Naysayers referred to the film derisively as "Disney's Folly" while it was in production.
Walt had to mortgage his house to help finance the film's production, which eventually
ran up a total cost of nearly .5 million, a massive sum for a feature film in 1937.
Reviewers hailed Snow White as a genuine work of art, and recommended it for both
children and adults. At the 11
th
Academy Awards, the film won an Academy Honorary
Award for Walt Disney "as a significant screen innovation which has charmed millions
and pioneered a great new entertainment field".
Disney received a full-size Oscar statuette and seven miniature ones, presented to him
by 10-year-old child actress Shirley Temple. The film was also nominated for Best
Musical Score. "Some Day My Prince Will Come" became a jazz standard that has been
performed over the ensuing decades by numerous artists.
Disney's take on the fairytale has had a huge cultural impact, resulting in popular theme
park attractions, a video game, and a Broadway musical.
This is, unquestionably, one of the rarest—if not THE rarest—original release posters for
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Gustaf Tenggren’s artwork on this Dutch poster is
identical to the 1938 USA original release style B 1-sheet, which sold on
eMovieposter.com for ,751 on August 21 2016.
Artwork aside, there are two salient differences between the Dutch and US poster. One
is the language: The US version of course is English and the Netherlands version is
Dutch. The second difference is the background color for the movie title. The
background color for the title on the Dutch poster is red versus blue on the US poster.
Some art critics say that red is a better choice because it draws the viewer’s attention to
details in the picture that would likely be overlooked, such as the Witch’s poison apple
and the Queen’s jewelry box. Does this esoteric fact make the Dutch poster more
valuable? No. But the red version is the ONLY known survivor, and that, indeed, does
make this poster virtually priceless. There is no telling how much an ardent collector of
Disney memorabilia would spend in order to lay title to it.
Whatever your color bias is, however, both versions are undeniably beautiful.
Prior to linenbacking, this poster exhibited only a few very minor flaws. It was
meticulously linenbacked by one of the premiere artisans in the conservation and
restoration business.