5 November: Tradition and Innovation. The Cinematic Work of Luchino Visconti
British publicity still by the BFI. Gino (Massimo Girotti) hears Giovanna singing in Ossessione / Obsession (Luchino Visconti, 1943).
Ivo Blom will be in Paris to attend the international symposium 'Tradition et invention. L’œuvre filmique de Luchino Visconti' (Tradition and Innovation. The Cinematic Work of Luchino Visconti), organised from 4 to 6 November by Paris 1 Panthéon – Sorbonne / Institut Acte; and the University of Pisa. Today Ivo will give a lecture (in French!) on Luchino Visconti's formative years in Paris. The symposium marks the 120th anniversary of Visconti’s birth (1906) and the 50th anniversary of his death (1976). The organisers aim to revisit key aesthetic, critical and historical issues for the reception of his work. EFSP shows postcards and stills we acquired of the maestro's films, plus a few snapshots we took ourselves.
9 November: Before Hollywood: Lubin
British postcard, no. 78. Photo: Lubin. Collection: Marlene Pilaete. Cute Buster Johnson (1908-1969) was the most famous child star of the Lubin company. At only 3 1/2 years old, he was extremely popular in 1912.
We expanded our Before Hollywood post on the pioneering American film production company Lubin with a series of postcards Ivo Blom found in Brighton, England. Lubin produced silent films from 1896 to 1916. Siegmund Lubin (1851-1923) started his empire with the purchase of one film projector in 1895. Before long, the Lubin empire included a chain of cinemas, multiple state-of-the-art production studios across the United States, hundreds of employees, numerous patents for recording and projecting equipment, and international film distribution. Lubin's Liberty Bell logo and motto, 'Clear As A Bell', referred to the superior quality of his film images.
13 November 2026: Directed by Carmine Gallone
Vintage postcard by C.E. & Co. Photo: Cines. Lyda Borelli in La donna nuda / The Naked Truth (Carmine Gallone, 1914).
We continue our series on international film directors. Carmine Gallone (1885–1973) directed over 120 films in his fifty-year career between 1913 and 1963. Gallone was one of Italian cinema's leading early directors and has been compared to Cecil B. DeMille because of his predilection for historical epics. He was also controversial for his works of pro-Fascist Propaganda and historical revisionism. Gallone specialised in melodramas and costume epics, but from the 1950s, he also directed several international co-productions, including many musicals, opera films and biopics of composers.
14 November 2026: Christopher Lee
British postcard by A Bigger Splash LTD, Manchester, no. X718. Photo: Hammer Film Productions LTD. Christopher Lee in Dracula A.D. 1972 (Alan Gibson, 1972).
We will update our post on Christopher Lee (1922-2015) with several new cards. The British film actor was best known as Count Dracula, the bloodsucking vampire. But he created more unforgettable characters on screen, like Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Count Dooku in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), Saruman in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003) and The Hobbit film trilogy (2012–2014), and as the title figure in the Hammer Horror film The Mummy (1959). Lee acted in nearly 230 films in a career spanning 70 years.
15 November 2026: Zvejnieka dels / The Fisherman's Son (1940)
Latvian postcard. Peteris Lucis and Nina Melbarde in the Latvian film Zvejnieka dels / The Fisherman's Son (Villis Lapenieks, 1940). The film was made in 1939 but premiered on 2 January 1940.
We'll introduce you to Latvia’s first independent feature film, Vilis Lapenieks’ Zvejnieka dels / The Fisherman's Son (1940). It was a national blockbuster. The film created such excitement that at its premiere on 2 January 1940, the public at the Splendid Palace in Riga broke down the doors. In the following years, Latvia would be swallowed by the turmoil of World War II, alternately occupied by Germany and the Soviet Union, and the film was hidden. When I was in Riga some years ago, I found some postcards of the Splendid Palace that still is in full swing.
17 November 2026: Halle Barry
French postcard by Fox France. Photo: Marvel / 20th Century Fox. Halle Berry in X-Men 2 (Bryan Singer, 2003).
Halle Berry (1966) is an acclaimed actress and former beauty queen. She became the first African American actress to win the Oscar for Best Actress following her performance in Monster's Ball (2001). She has also starred in Swordfish (2001), Die Another Day (2002), and the X-Men film franchise. Later this month, a post about her X-Men co-star Hugh Jackman will follow.
18 November 2026: Bromofoto: Italian stars of the 1950s
Italian postcard by Bromofoto, Milano, no. 86. Photo: Lux Film. Silvana Mangano in Riso amaro / Bitter Rice (Giuseppe De Santis, 1949).
25 classic Bromofoto postcards with Italian stars. In 2018 and 2021, EFSP already posted on Bromofoto. Since 1950, this Milanese publisher has produced hundreds of postcards in 'real photography' in the factory at Via San Maurilio 19 in Milan. We love the glamorous, black-and-white star portraits and the great film stills. But whatever happened to Bromofoto?
20 November 2026: Film in The Hague
Dutch poster postcard by Art Unlimited, no. A 1824, 1986. Poster design: Dolly Rudeman, 1926. Collection: M.F. Le Coultre. Dutch poster for Bronenosets Potyomkin / The Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925). The Dutch title was Potemkin.
A new book documents The Hague’s film history over 130 years. This afternoon, ‘Film in Den Haag' (Film in The Hague) will be launched at the Royal Library (KB) in The Hague. EFSP's Ivo Blom and Paul van Yperen wrote the chapter 'The Hague’s eye-catchers: art or entertainment?' on film posters in The Hague and on The Hague-based poster designers like Dolly Rudeman. In 1926, Dolly designed an interesting poster for Bronenosets Potyomkin / The Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925). Her poster was distributed internationally and was later published as a popular postcard. On this occasion, we republish a column on this poster in the former Dutch film magazine Skrien. The column was part of 'Treasures from the Filmmuseum', a series in which Paul and his friend and former colleague Bastiaan Anink wrote more than 20 years ago on the Netherlands Filmmuseum's poster collection.
21 November 2026: Lionel Atwill
British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. 793. Photo: Universal.
New at EFSP: one of Hollywood's most sinister and evil villains, Lionel Atwill (1885-1946). British stage and screen actor who acted in a series of classic thrillers and Horror films during the 1930s. From 1915 until his death, he played shady noblemen and mad doctors, gruff military men and police inspectors, usually with his signature moustache. With his sinister, strange and captivating characters, he gave many films a clever mix of fear and anguish. After a sex scandal, he was condemned to work his final years on Poverty Row.
22 November 2026: Photo by Lilo
West German postcard by Kolibri-Verlag, no. 1075. Photo: NDF / Schorchtfilm / Lilo. Hardy Krüger in Der letzte Sommer / The Last Summer (Harald Braun, 1954).
In our series on known and unknown film photographers: Lilo (1921-?), a German photographer and still photographer in the West German film industry of the 1950s and 1960s. We love her work.
28 November 2026: Jake Gyllenhaal
Belgian e-card by Boomerang, no. 1022832, 2007. Photo: Cinéart / Universal / Focus Features. Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005).
The career of Jake Gyllenhaal (1980) spans more than three decades. He is the son of film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and the younger brother of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He had his breakthrough in the cult film Donnie Darko (2001). He earned praise for his performance as Jack Twist in Ang Lee's gay drama Brokeback Mountain (2005), including the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor and an Academy Award nomination. Gyllenhaal starred in various action films and thrillers, including David Fincher's Zodiac (2007) and Nightcrawler (2014).
29 November 2026: Das Leben des Beethoven (1927)
French postcard. Photo: Film du Synchronisme Cinématique. Fritz Kortner in Das Leben des Beethoven / The Life of Beethoven / Beethoven (Hans Otto, 1927). Caption: Ludwig von Beethoven (16 December 1770 - 26 March 1927).
Some time ago, we found a vintage French postcard booklet by Film du Synchronisme Cinématique. The booklet contained 15 postcards of the Austrian film Das Leben des Beethoven / The Life of Beethoven / Beethoven (1927). It was published for a film gala at the Théatre du Trocadéro in Paris on 27 April 1927, organised to commemorate the centenary of Beethoven's death. Hans Otto Löwenstein directed under the pseudonym Hans Otto, and Fritz Kortner starred as composer Ludwig van Beethoven. In the future, we'd like to do more posts on these postcard books.
1 December 2026: Directed by Robert Bresson
West German film programme by Illustrierte Film-Bühne, no. 1537. Claude Laydu in Le journal d'un curé de campagne / Diary of a Country Priest (Robert Bresson, 1951). The German title was Tagebuch eines Landpfarrers.
With his tragic, ascetic films, French director Robert Bresson (1901–1999) made a notable contribution to the art of cinema. His works, with their non-professional actors, ellipses, and sparse use of scoring, are examples of minimalist film. Critics highly regard such films as A Man Escaped (1956), Pickpocket (1959), Au hasard Balthazar / Balthazar, at Random (1966), Mouchette (1967) and L'Argent (1983).
Screenshot of views European Film Star Postcards, 31 October 2026. Views since January 2011.
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