Set of seven lobby cards for the film “The Search” (1948)
Extent and Medium
.1: Height: 11.000 inches (27.94 cm) | Width: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm)
.2: Height: 11.000 inches (27.94 cm) | Width: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm)
.3: Height: 11.000 inches (27.94 cm) | Width: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm)
.4: Height: 11.000 inches (27.94 cm) | Width: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm)
.5: Height: 11.000 inches (27.94 cm) | Width: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm)
.6: Height: 11.000 inches (27.94 cm) | Width: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm)
.7: Height: 11.000 inches (27.94 cm) | Width: 14.000 inches (35.56 cm)
Creator(s)
- Praesens-Film (Production Company)
- Ken Sutak (Compiler)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (Distributor)
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 lobby cards were 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
Set of seven lobby cards for the film, “The Search,” released in the United States in March 1948. The film won the Academy Award for Best Story, and was nominated for Best Actor, Director, and Screenplay, while actor Ivan Jandl also won a special Academy Award for outstanding juvenile performance. The film is centered on a Czechoslovakian mother and her young son, who were separated while imprisoned at Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland. After the war, the mother searches for her son in displaced persons (DP) camps, while he is being cared for by two American soldiers. “The Search” was partially filmed in the American zone of Germany, the first American film to be made on-location in post-war Western Europe. The children in the DP camp scenes were played by real-life wards of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), making the trauma and devastation depicted on screen genuine and authentic. 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
.1 Lobby card printed on rectangular off-white cardstock, with a narrow white margin on all four sides. Spanning the top of the card is a narrow, yellow bar containing dark green text, overlaying a dark purple, brushed background. On the left side of the card is an illustration of a woman with dark, curly hair, wearing a light blue trench coat, while holding up a flashlight and looking over her shoulder. The yellow flashlight beam forms a large rectangle that fills most of the card’s background. To the right of the woman are the names of the principal cast in red text, and the name of the film in white within a black rectangle. Beneath the title, additional cast and film credits are printed in red and green text. Copyright and printing information are in the bottom margin in blue. In the bottom right corner is the impressed backside of an embossed stamp. On the back, the raised surface of the stamp is in the bottom left corner. It contains copyright information, and is partially overlaid by a small, blue ink stamp and a black ink stain. On the right side is a purple hand stamp and a blue handwritten number. The edges of the card are soiled and have small tears. The back is also soiled and has ink transfer from another image. Depicted: Jarmila Novotna as Hanna Malik .2 Lobby card printed on rectangular off-white cardstock, with a narrow white margin on all four sides. In the top left corner is a red-colored illustration of a woman with curly hair, wearing a trench coat, while holding up a flashlight and looking over her shoulder. The yellow flashlight beam forms a large rectangle that fills most of the card’s background; the rest of the background is filled with red. In the top right corner of the card is advertising copy printed in white. Beneath is a blue-toned photographic image of two running boys. In the center of the card is a color photographic image with a green-toned background in a circular frame. It depicts two men in brown uniforms on either side of a young boy in a blue shirt, who is sitting at a table. One of the men is holding a paper that the other two are looking at. The circular image is partially overlaid on a canted rectangular portrait of a middle-aged woman with brown hair and a pink top. Copyright and printing information are in the bottom margin in blue. In the bottom right corner is the impressed backside of an embossed stamp. On the back, the raised surface of the stamp is in the bottom left corner, contains copyright information. The edges of the card are stained, with small tears on the left side, which have been repaired with white tape on the back. Overall, the back is soiled and bears handwritten text in black colored pencil, plus a large, off center “X”. Depicted: Jarmila Novotna as Hanna Malik, Aline MacMahon as Deborah R. Murray, Montgomery Clift as Ralph Stevenson, Ivan Jandl as Karel Malik, Wendell Corey as Jerry Fisher .3 Lobby card printed on rectangular off-white cardstock, with a narrow white margin on all four sides. In the top left corner is a green-colored illustration of a woman with curly hair, wearing a trench coat, while holding up a flashlight and looking over her shoulder. The yellow flashlight beam forms a large rectangle that fills most of the card’s background; the rest of the background is filled with green. In the top right corner of the card is advertising copy printed in white. On the right side of the card is a color photographic image depicting a man in a brown uniform and a woman in a blue coat speaking to a young boy. In the bottom left corner is a canted, rectangular photographic image of several men, women, and children sitting at a table set with white dinnerware. Copyright and printing information are in the bottom margin in blue. On the back, there is ink transfer from another image. Depicted: Jarmila Novotna as Hanna Malik, Ivan Jandl as Karel Malik, Ewart G. Morrison as Mr. Crookes, others unidentified .4 Lobby card printed on rectangular off-white cardstock, with a narrow white margin on all four sides. In the top left corner is a purple-colored illustration of a woman with curly hair, wearing a trench coat, while holding up a flashlight and looking over her shoulder. The pink flashlight beam forms a large rectangle that fills most of the card’s background; the rest of the background is filled with dark blue. In the top right corner of the card is advertising copy printed in white. On the right side of the card is a color photographic image of a man in a brown jacket and pants, carrying a young, blond boy. The boy’s clothes are torn, and he has one arm reaching around the back of the man’s head. The image partially overlays a portrait of a dark haired man in a rhombus-shaped frame with a brown background. Overlaid by all of the images is a green-toned illustration in an amorphous shape, depicting a crowd of people emerging from train boxcars. Copyright and printing information are in the bottom margin in blue. On the back, a strip of brown tape is adhered along the bottom edge, and a black ink stamp is along the left edge. There are small brown stains along the top margin, and tears in the bottom margin. Depicted: Jarmila Novotna as Hanna Malik, Wendell Corey as Jerry Fisher, Ivan Jandl as Karel Malik, Montgomery Clift as Ralph Stevenson .5 Lobby card printed on rectangular off-white cardstock, with a narrow white margin on all four sides. In the top left corner is a blue-colored illustration of a woman with curly hair, wearing a trench coat, while holding up a flashlight and looking over her shoulder. The light blue flashlight beam forms a large rectangle that fills most of the card’s background; the rest of the background is filled with a medium blue. In the top right corner of the card is advertising copy printed in white. To the right of the illustration is a canted, rectangular portrait of a young, blond boy wearing a brown suit. Below the illustration is a photographic image in a triangular frame, depicting a woman in a brown suit standing over a seated boy and man. On the right side of the card, partially overlaid on the photographs, is an illustration of a woman in a red skirt shown from the waist down. She is carrying a blue suitcase, and walking in an aisle formed by an orange-toned crowd of people in a smaller scale. Copyright and printing information are in the bottom margin in blue. There are small pinholes in each corner and small tears along the edges. On the back, there is faint ink transfer from another image. Depicted: Jarmila Novotna as Hanna Malik, Aline MacMahon as Deborah R. Murray, Ivan Jandl as Karel Malik, Montgomery Clift as Ralph Stevenson .6 Lobby card printed on rectangular off-white cardstock, with a narrow white margin on all four sides. In the top left corner is a navy blue-colored illustration of a woman with curly hair, wearing a trench coat, while holding up a flashlight and looking over her shoulder. The light blue flashlight beam forms a large rectangle that fills most of the card’s background; the rest of the background is filled with a dark blue. In the top right corner of the card is advertising copy printed in white. Below the illustration is a portrait of a smiling man in a brown suit. In the center of the card is a photographic image of a young man in a brown uniform, holding a white package above his head and looking down at a boy. The boy is wearing a green sweater and brown shorts, and he is reaching up for the package. On the right side of the card is a red-toned image in a circular frame, depicting uniformed soldiers helping people jump down from a boxcar. Copyright and printing information are in the bottom margin in blue. There are small tears along the edges and in the center, as well as pin holes in the right corners and center left side. The paper is soiled, front and back, and there is faint ink transfer from another image on the back. Depicted: Jarmila Novotna as Hanna Malik, Montgomery Clift as Ralph Stevenson, Ivan Jandl as Karel Malik .7 Lobby card printed on rectangular off-white cardstock, with a narrow white margin on all four sides. In the top left corner is a green-colored illustration of a woman with curly hair, wearing a trench coat, while holding up a flashlight and looking over her shoulder. The yellow flashlight beam forms a large rectangle that transitions into orange and fills most of the card’s background; the rest of the background is filled with a dark green. In the top right corner of the card is advertising copy printed in white and yellow. Beneath the text is a small, sepia-toned, photographic portrait of a woman with dark curly hair. Below the image is an illustration of the same woman with dark hair, wearing a blue trench coat, and holding up one arm to the side. The illustration is overlaid on a smaller-scale, purple-toned, background illustration depicting a crowd of people. In the lower left corner of the card, overlaying the illustrations, is a canted, square image of two men. Both are wearing brown US army uniforms, and the man on the left is reading a sheet of paper. In the bottom right corner is a faint, illegible number in blue ink. The edges of the card are discolored with small tears. The back is soiled and has light ink transfer from another image. Depicted: Jarmila Novotna as Hanna Malik, Montgomery Clift as Ralph Stevenson, Wendell Corey as Jerry Fisher
.1 back, bottom left corner, stamped, blue ink : 5 .1 back, top left corner, handwritten, pencil : 25 .1 back, top right corner, handwritten, pencil : 10 95 .1 back, right side, stamped, purple ink : Rented (Not Sold) From / PGH. POSTER EXCH. / 308 VAN BRAAM ST. / PGH. 19, PA. / Must be Returned Promptly after Completion of Play Date .1 back, bottom right, handwritten, blue ink : 617 .2 back, top left, handwritten, black colored pencil and graphite : SEARCH / 25 .2 back, bottom left corner, stamped, black ink : 11 .4 back, left edge, stamped, black ink : Independent Poster Exch. / 1323 Vine St. Phila. 7, Pa.
People
- Clift, Montgomery.
- MacMahon, Aline, 1899-1991.
- Novotná, Jarmila, 1907-1994.
- Zinnemann, Fred, 1907-1997.
Subjects
- Holocaust survivors in motion pictures.
- Refugees in motion pictures.
- United States.
- Armed Forces in motion pictures.
- Soldiers in motion pictures.
- Women in motion pictures.
- Youth in motion pictures.
- International relations in motion pictures.
- Germany.
Genre
- Posters
- Display cards.
- Object