Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), poster, US

Unframed: 36 x 14 in. (91 x 36 cm)

Framed: 41 3/4 x 20 in. (106 x 50.7 cm)

This size poster was designed for use in cabinets inside the cinemas. They were produced on thicker paper stock compared with the regular posters, and few were printed. Owing to their cost, they stopped being produced in the 1980s. The artwork on this poster is the same as that used on the larger main release poster. However, it works much better in this narrow format.

This film projected a sophistication and subtlety missing in more gung-ho gore science fiction films of the decade. The Invasion of the Body Snatchers can be seen not only as a metaphor for the threat of communism, but also as a commentary of the bland conformity of American suburbia during the time of McCarthyism. During the film the tension is steadily racked up as citizens of a small Californian town are replaced one by one by their doppelgängers.