White Heat / La Furia Umana (1949) Poster, Italian, First Italian release 1950

White Heat / La Furia Umana (1949) Poster, Italian, First Italian release 1950

Artist: Luigi Martinati (1893-1984)

Unframed: 55 x 39 in. (140 x 99 cm)

This poster was designed by Luigi Martinati, who had a prolific career as a film poster designer. In the mid 40s he joined forces with two other giants of Italian film poster design, Anselmo Ballester and Alfredo Capitani, to form a company devoted exclusively to the production of film posters. From 1945 until 1958 he worked almost exclusively for Warner Bros. and occasionally for Columbia and Universal Studios. This piece is typical of Martinati’s personal style, as it features large portrait images that dominate the poster.

This exceptionally rare Italian poster hardly ever surfaces.

This film was directed by Raoul Walsh, and stars James Cagney, Virginia Mayo and Edmond O'Brien. Cagney was synonymous with gangster roles as he had played these parts since Public Enemy in 1931. He gives a great portrayal as the gangster as 'Cody' Jarrett, with his memorable line 'made it Ma, top of the world!'.