Rare Barbara Stanwyck Movie Posters to Grace Academy Walls

Beverly Hills, CA — More than 70 original movie posters and lobby cards from such classic Barbara Stanwyck films as “Stella Dallas,” “Double Indemnity” and “Baby Face” will be showcased in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ new exhibition, “Presenting Miss Barbara Stanwyck: Film Posters of the Indomitable Lady, from the Mike Kaplan Collection,” opening on Thursday, May 17, in the Academy’s Grand Lobby Gallery in Beverly Hills. Admission is free.

The exhibition, which is presented in conjunction with the Academy’s “Centennial Tribute to Barbara Stanwyck” on May 16, will feature rare copies of American one-sheets as well as numerous international posters. It includes the only known surviving three-sheets for the “The Locked Door” (1929), Stanwyck’s first talking picture, and “Annie Oakley” (1935), her first Western. Also featured are the only known copies of the posters for “Gambling Lady” (1934), a stylistically daring poster for “The Bitter Tea of General Yen” (1933), and a one-of-a-kind, handpainted wooden panel for “Internes Can’t Take Money” (1937).

Stanwyck’s international popularity is evident in representative posters from Europe and South America, including a double-paneled Argentinean poster for “A Message to Garcia” (1936), French one-panels for “The Lady Eve” (1941) and “Double Indemnity” (1944), numerous Belgium posters, as well as rare Italian “personality poster.”

The posters, spanning from 1929 through 1957, are on loan to the Academy from producer Mike Kaplan. “I’ve always wanted to show a major film figure through a poster exhibition so that one could appreciate the impact of his or her career through a medium other than film itself,” said Kaplan. “Stanwyck’s iconic, unique and often fierce artistry will be on display. It’s an enticing way to absorb a part of film history.”

Stanwyck starred in more than 80 movies ranging from romantic comedies to serious dramas, noir films to Westerns. She received four Academy Award® nominations and in 1981 was presented with an Honorary Award (an Oscar® statuette) for her “superlative creativity and unique contribution to the art of screen acting.”

Ticketholders to the Academy’s “Centennial Tribute to Barbara Stanwyck” on May 16 will have the opportunity to preview the “Presenting Miss Barbara Stanwyck” exhibition following the program.

“Presenting Miss Barbara Stanwyck” will be on display through Sunday, August 26. The Academy’s galleries, located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, are open Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and weekends, noon to 6 p.m. The Academy will be closed during the Memorial Day holiday weekend – Saturday, May 26 through Monday, May 28, as well as on Wednesday, July 4 (Independence Day). For more information call (310) 247-3600.