Cleopatra poster

Alpha Litho Co. Inc

This 1917 lithograph is the second promotional poster created for director J. Gordon Edwards’ world-renowned silent film Cleopatra, starring Theda Bara. Much of the graphic design of this poster is a mystery, as even the designer is unknown, but local movie theaters would letterpress their own details in the blank area reserved at the top of the lithographic poster; this one comes from Canton, Ohio’s Grand Opera House, although specific production details are lost. The unknown artist depicts Bara here in one of her many revealing costumes, which were controversial even in the pre-Hays Code era of Hollywood. Bara was a Jewish woman, a culture which was previously othered along with the rest of the Middle Eastern ethnicities and sexualized as “exotic”. Therefore, it made sense to cast her and have her pose in this way, accentuating the unfamiliar costumery and voluptuous body shape. Considered risqué, the film was banned in much of the United States. Bara’s branding as the “vampire supreme” held different meaning in the early twentieth century—a vampire (or vamp) was a dynamic seductress capable of overpowering men. This popular trope catapulted Cleopatra into mainstream audiences and Bara into infamy as America’s first sex-symbol actress. The poster’s style derives from the Egyptomania era. Audiences were fascinated with the mystique of this ancient culture. The glamor and decadence associated with Egypt became especially important during WWI, and films like this one provided distraction from the ongoing war. The warm tones and Art Nouveau imagery evoke a sandy oasis palace, while the translucent gown and starfish jewelry speak to Cleopatra’s passion and sensuality. Unfortunately, Cleopatra is one of the most famous “lost” films of all time, as all that remains of it are seven seconds—and its two promo posters.