One-sheet poster for the film “Open Secret” (1948)
Extent and Medium
Overall: Height: 40.750 inches (103.505 cm) | Width: 27.125 inches (68.898 cm)
Creator(s)
- Marathon Pictures Corp. (Production Company)
- Eagle-Lion Films, Inc. (Distributor)
- Ken Sutak (Compiler)
Biographical History
The Cinema Judaica Collection consists of more than 1,200 objects relating to films about World War II and the Holocaust as well as Jewish, Israeli, and biblical subjects, from 1923 to 2000, from the United States, Europe, Israel, Canada, Mexico, and Argentina. The collection was amassed by film memorabilia collector Ken Sutak, to document Holocaust-and Jewish-themed movies of the World War II era and the postwar years. The collection includes posters, lobby and photo cards, scene stills, pressbooks, trade ads, programs, magazines, books, VHS tapes, DVDS, and 78 rpm records. Sutak organized these materials into two groups, “Cinema Judaica: The War Years, 1939–1949” and “Cinema Judaica: The Epic Cycle, 1950–1972” and, in conjunction with the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Museum (now the Dr. Bernard Heller Museum in New York), organized exhibitions on these two themes in 2007 and 2008. Sutak subsequently authored companion books with the same titles.
Archival History
The poster was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2018 by Ken Sutak and Sherri Venokur.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Ken Sutak and Sherri Venokur
Scope and Content
One-sheet poster for the film, “Open Secret,” released on February 14, 1948. The film follows a newlywed couple as they work to figure out what happened to their friend, who goes missing just before they arrive for a visit. They discover that he attempted to infiltrate an antisemitic ring of thugs, and become embroiled themselves trying to bring the gang to justice. The low budget B-film, “Open Secret,” was poorly received, and panned as a subpar knockoff to films like “Crossfire” and “Gentleman’s Agreement.” Unlike the other films, however, “Open Secret” depicts post-war antisemitism from a working-class perspective. It was also the first to show a Jewish character physically fighting back against his aggressors. This object is one of more than 1,200 objects in the Cinema Judaica Collection of materials related to films about World War II and the Holocaust as well as Jewish, Israeli, and biblical themes.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Restrictions on use. Copyright status is unknown.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Poster printed on a rectangular sheet of off-white paper, with white margins on all four sides and a dark blue background. Advertising copy is printed in yellow in the top left corner, directly above three assorted images. The image on the left is a red-haired woman in a dark green dress with a plunging neckline, depicted from the torso up. In the center is an illustration of a newspaper clipping, containing a column of three, square headshots of men in hats. On the right is a larger-scale image of a dark-haired man, depicted from the shoulders up, holding up a small, silver-colored revolver. In the center of the poster is the film title, printed in large, canted, red-and-white text over black rectangles. In the bottom left corner is an illustration of a man in a tan-colored suit and hat, grabbing the collar of another man in a blue suit with one hand. His other hand is raised, ready to strike the blue-suited man with the butt of a pistol. The blue-suited man’s arms are spread in a questioning manner. In the bottom center is a continuation of the newspaper illustration, bearing photos of two additional men. Cast and film credits are printed in yellow text in the bottom right corner. The bottom margin contains printing information in black and blue ink and an embossed stamp with the copyright information. The poster has a vertical center crease and three evenly-spaced horizontal creases, large tears, and some tape residue along the crease and edges. There are multiple pinholes in the corners and several losses along the left and right edges. The upper right side is folded at an angle and there is a small hole at the edn of a tear in the lower right corner. There are several distribution stamps on the back. Depicted: Jane Randolph as Nancy Lester, John Ireland as Paul Lester
front, bottom right margin, stamped, blue ink : 4 front, bottom margin, embossed : PROPERTY OF N.S.S. CORP. / MAY BE DISTRIBUTED ONLY BY / POSTER [?]RIES / DULY LICENSED BY N.S.S. CORP. back, bottom right, stamped, black ink : [illegible] OPEN SECRET 48/738 back bottom right, handwritten, black ink : 4127 back, bottom right, stamped sideways, red ink : PLEASE RETURN MATERIAL / AFTER PLAYDATE TO / THEATER ADVERTISING CO. / &)$ NEW JERSEY AVE., N. W. / WASHINGTON, D. C.
People
- Ireland, John, 1914-1992.
- Randolph, Jane, 1915-2009.
Subjects
- Antisemitism in motion pictures.
- Social problems in motion pictures.
- Discrimination in motion pictures.
- United States.
- Murder in motion pictures.
- Jews in motion pictures.
- Film noir.
Genre
- Posters.
- Posters
- Object