Set of three lobby cards for the film “Sergeant York” (1941)
Extent and Medium
.1: Height: 11.000 inches (27.94 cm) | Width: 13.875 inches (35.243 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)
Creator(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures (Distributor)
- Warner Bros. Pictures (Production Company)
- 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 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 three lobby cards for the American rerelease of the film, “Sergeant York,” originally released in July 1941, and rereleased in 1949. Lobby cards are promotional materials placed in theater lobby windows to highlight specific movie scenes, rather than the broader themes often depicted on posters. “Sergeant York” was the top grossing film of 1941 and was nominated for nine Academy Awards, winning two, for Best Film Editing, and Best Actor for Gary Cooper’s portrayal of the title character. The film was based on the life of Alvin York, a veteran of World War I who lived in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee. Initially a pacifist, whose registration as a conscientious objector was denied, York became a war hero during the battle of Argonne in October 1918. The real-life Alvin York won the Medal of Honor for his actions and became an international celebrity after the war. The film opened shortly after Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, and the theme of shifting from pacifism to active participation in the war mirrored the national interventionist debate in the months leading up to the US entry into World War II. In the years preceding the United States’ entry into the war, York became a well-known interventionist speaker, denouncing Hitler and antisemitism. 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 discolored, rectangular, off-white paper. The card has a white exterior border on all four sides, and a large navy-blue rectangle at the top containing the principal actor’s name in large, white letters shadowed in blue. In the center of the card is the film title, in large blue text, with white stars over the first letter of each word. The title is split by an illustrated image of a smiling American soldier in uniform, shown from the shoulders up, with his head slightly titled and eyes looking to the side. The background is filled with red-and-white vertical stripes, with a single white star at the top of each red stripe. In the bottom corners of the card are the film credits, printed in red, along with copyright information printed in small, blue text. On the back, in the center, is a small, dark blue hand stamp. The lobby card is heavily worn, stained, and discolored, with multiple tears, losses, and pinholes along the edges and corners. There are surface losses and several scratches on the man’s face. Depicted: Gary Cooper as Alvin C. York .2 Lobby card printed on rectangular, off-white paper. The card has a white exterior border on all four sides, and alternating red, white, and blue horizontal stripes in the background. The red stripe across the top contains the principal actor’s name and film title in large, white, block letters. The title also contains a star in each letter, alternating red and blue. Below the red stripe, and overlaid on the bottom stripes, is a semicircular, photographic image of a man with a large bag, and a young man sitting together on the back of a mule. They are talking to a girl and a woman, standing at the gate of a wooden fence. The mule is standing on a rutted dirt road that is lined by a post-and-rail fence. In the background is a perpendicular picketed fence, with a green, wooded hillside in the background. The film credits and copyright information are printed in the bottom corners. The corners of the card have small pinholes, and the edges are yellowed with age. Left to right: Dickie Moore as George York, Gary Cooper as Alvin C. York, June Lockhart as Rosie York, Margaret Wycherly as Mother York .3 Lobby card printed on rectangular, off-white paper. The card has a white exterior border on all four sides, and alternating red, white, and blue horizontal stripes in the background. The red stripe across the top contains the principal actor’s name and film title in large, white, block letters. The title also contains a star within each letter, alternating red and blue. Below the red stripe, and overlaid on the bottom stripes, is a semicircular photographic image of a scene inside a rustic church. A man wearing blue overalls and a brown jacket is sitting in front of the pulpit and holding a Bible. He is speaking to a group of children, who are surrounding him on three benches. The film credits and copyright information are printed in the bottom corners. On the back is a pencil inscription in the upper right corner, and a remnant of tape in the upper left corner. There are many pinholes in the corners, and along the edges, which are also stained and discolored with age. Depicted: June Lockhart as Rosie York, Dickie Moore as George York, Gary Cooper as Alvin C. York, others unidentified
.1 front, lower right, handwritten, pencil : 2 .1 back, center, stamped, purple ink : TEATRO GARNICA / BUCARAMANGA [Garnica Theather / Bucaramanga] .1 back, upper left, handwritten, pencil : 40 .2 back, upper left, handwritten, pencil : 20 .3 back, top right corner, handwritten, pencil : 05090 ser / 260104746432 / A[illegible] 4/7 .3 back, left edge, handwritten, pencil : 4
People
- Cooper, Gary, 1901-1961.
- Moore, Dickie, 1925-2015.
- Wycherly, Margaret, 1881-1956.
- York, Alvin Cullum, 1887-1964.
- Lockhart, June, 1925-
Corporate Bodies
- United States. Army
- Warner Bros. Pictures (1923-1967)
Subjects
- History in motion pictures.
- Soldiers in motion pictures.
- War films.
- United States.
- Biographical films.
- Heroes in motion pictures.
- Armed Forces in motion pictures.
- Feature films.
- Patriotism in motion pictures.
Genre
- Display cards.
- Posters
- Object