WHERE EAGLES DARE: The Elusive Style A Quad poster continues to soar in price

WHERE EAGLES DARE: The Elusive Style A Quad poster continues to soar in price

There is no doubt about it, the style A UK Quad poster for Where Eagles Dare (1968) continues to be one of the Holy Grail pieces among Eastwood collectors. It’s hard to establish exactly why this particular version remains so elusive and seemingly in short supply? Nowadays, it’s fair to say that you’re arguably more likely to find a quad poster for A Fistful of Dollars than you are for this poster. 

All things considered; no-one can actually provide any real explanation for its rarity. The film was a huge MGM blockbuster, and the campaign supporting its release far outweighed that of A Fistful of Dollars? Our resident Where Eagles Dare expert Neil Thomson is also baffled by its history, ‘It’s peculiar’, Neil said. ‘There really is no apparent reason why these don`t turn up as much. All of the photos I`ve seen of FOH displays showing the film have all had the style B. It’s possibly a simple case of the Style B being more popular.’  Neil added, ‘There’s also no real reason as to why Style A featured the inclusion of Mary Ure? But overall, I think Style B provided more of an insight of the action which was to follow.’ 

Below: The incredibly rare Style A Where Eagles Dare UK Quad Poster

I tend to agree with Neil’s observations, whilst I still like the style A, the more regularly seen style B remains for me, a more vivid design from an artistic point of view. Both of the UK Quad designs are believed to be by Frank McCarthy. It’s also interesting to note that other European designs such as France and Germany also included Mary Ure’s image in their designs. 

So, why this little piece about the style A quad poster? Well, earlier this month on May 5th, Ewbank's Auctioneers offered up one of these rare treasures during their live Cinema Poster Collection auction. The poster was somewhat conservatively estimated at £300 – £500. But of course, this was soon surpassed and the hammer fell at £1,175 (approx. $1,455) + buyers commission at 25%. 

Not bad for a piece of paper measuring 30” x 40” – I guess it’s all about what’s printed on that particular piece of vintage paper. A nice gift for someone, for the rest of us - we continue to dream and live in hope!   

My kind thanks to Neil Thomson

Below: The more regularly seen Style B UK Quad Poster

Below: The French Poster design which also featured Mary Ure