I am not sure, but I do not remember ever seeing this film. It is one of the few posters I still own that is not either for a Bond film or a horror movie, and also one of the very few that features a photographic image rather than an illustration, which was quite unusual for a poster from this period (1959).  

These days, the vast majority of movie posters are photographic, often with multiple images photoshopped together. I find these somewhat lazy and in general I much prefer older, illustrated posters, which I feel have much more character. These better evoke a particular era or a genre for me, but I thought this one had a certain something. For me, it has a bit of a ‘swinging London’ vibe about it and I like too how the “X” certificate is so proudly displayed. (I probably also remembered Laurence Harvey from one of my all-time favourite movies, The Manchurian Candidate). 

This poster is a good example both of how poster prices have shot up, and how they can vary widely, depending on where you buy them.  I have owned this poster for over 30 years, thought I had lost it many years ago when I moved apartments in London, and was happy to find it again only recently.  I have no idea what I paid for it – I’m guessing less than £10 from a movie poster fair in London.  The same poster sold at auction last year in the UK for £190, which in itself would represent significant value appreciation. But there are also copies of the same poster being offered currently by dealers online for upwards of  £750!   

I have never bought posters at auctions, thinking that the prices would probably be inflated – but actually these can be places to pick up relative bargains if you are smart about it.  I am not suggesting anyone should turn to movie posters purely as an investment, but I do find it remarkable how much they can be worth these days. So if you do have old movies posters at home somewhere that you’ve forgotten about, make sure you don’t accidentally throw them away – even today’s posters will probably be valuable some day  if you hang onto them for long enough.