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Action and Adventure Films
Lot 108
A Pacific Title Title-Card for Spartacus
4 – 14 June 2024, 12:00 PDT
Online, Los AngelesUS$1,000 - US$2,000
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A Pacific Title Title-Card for Spartacus
Universal Pictures, 1960. Carved and painted wood plaque (simulating stone), 12 x 22 1.2 in., float mounted and framed to 34 x 23 1/2 in.
Directed by Stanley Kubrick and winner of four Academy Awards, Spartacus features an all-star cast including Kirk Douglas in the titular role, Laurence Olivier, Tony Curtis, and Jean Simmons, among others. Spartacus is a rebel gladiator who escapes from slavery and attempts to conquer Imperial Rome, led by Crassus (Olivier). Life magazine hailed the film as a "a mighty tale told large," and indeed, no expense was spared in producing this sumptuous epic. The screenplay was written by Dalton Trumbo and based on the novel by Howard Fast, with a spectacular score by Alex North.
Pacific Title Company was founded in the 1920s to provide title sequences for silent films. When the industry transitioned to sound, Pacific Title pivoted to focus on opening and closing credit sequences. The artists at Pacific painted title and credit material on large sheets of glass, which were then filmed before a painted backdrop or composited over a film's introductory shots. From the 1920s to the 1960s, Pacific Title and Art Company produced the lion's share of titles for the Hollywood film industry, until technological advances made the glass plate process archaic. The company archived its work over the decades, creating a living history of the American motion picture industry. This example comes to us directly from the Pacific Title archive.
Provenance: from the Pacific Title archives.
34 x 23.5 in.
Directed by Stanley Kubrick and winner of four Academy Awards, Spartacus features an all-star cast including Kirk Douglas in the titular role, Laurence Olivier, Tony Curtis, and Jean Simmons, among others. Spartacus is a rebel gladiator who escapes from slavery and attempts to conquer Imperial Rome, led by Crassus (Olivier). Life magazine hailed the film as a "a mighty tale told large," and indeed, no expense was spared in producing this sumptuous epic. The screenplay was written by Dalton Trumbo and based on the novel by Howard Fast, with a spectacular score by Alex North.
Pacific Title Company was founded in the 1920s to provide title sequences for silent films. When the industry transitioned to sound, Pacific Title pivoted to focus on opening and closing credit sequences. The artists at Pacific painted title and credit material on large sheets of glass, which were then filmed before a painted backdrop or composited over a film's introductory shots. From the 1920s to the 1960s, Pacific Title and Art Company produced the lion's share of titles for the Hollywood film industry, until technological advances made the glass plate process archaic. The company archived its work over the decades, creating a living history of the American motion picture industry. This example comes to us directly from the Pacific Title archive.
Provenance: from the Pacific Title archives.
34 x 23.5 in.
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