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Special Promo Poster (15.75" x 20.75")
Fine+ Rolled
New Line Cinema, c.1967

The rare poster offered here is from a private engagement of the film at the Vagabond Theater, a popular revival house on Wilshire Boulevard. The movie would not be shown widely until 1974, when New Line Cinema acquired the rights for limited theatrical release. Without theatrical engagements, either in the UK or the US, very little, if any, promotional material was produced, making this one of the few examples in existence for this important stage in the Beatles' career.

This iconic poster in decent condition has multiple staple holes, one in the lower left and two in the upper right. The one in the upper left has a paper pull to the paper's edge and there has been chipping of the one in the lower right. Plus, there is one in the center in the upper part of Paul McCartney's hair. The poster also has general smudging in the backgrounds of some of the white areas.

Inspired by the 1964 cross-country American bus trip staged by counter-culture guru Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, it was shot not as a feature film but as a TV special with a running time of only 52 minutes. It focused on the Beatles and a group of tourists taking a coach tour and having a series of wild adventures and experiences (some of them distinctly psychedelic) caused by a group of wizards (played by the Beatles themselves). Unfortunately, when the film premiered on BBC1, it was shown in black and white, as BBC1 could not broadcast in color at the time. The dismal reviews prevented the film from being shown in the US and was thus seen as the Beatles' first critical failure.

Estimate: $400 - 800
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