Piccadilly Third Stop

Artist: Nicola Simbari
Format: UK Quad (30"x 40")
Condition: Excellent
Year: 1960

Description

Released in 1960, “Piccadilly Third Stop” is a British thriller that centres on the robbery of a foreign embassy through the London Underground. Director Wolf Rilla was German though worked largely in British productions. His best known feature was the classic horror “Village of the Damned” which was also released in 1960. “Piccadilly Third Stop” meanwhile offers interesting black-and-white shots of early 60’s London, features a terrific jazz score and offered future Doctor Who William Hartnell a great part.

 

The Quad poster was illustrated by Italian artist Nicola Simbari, based on a design by Eric Pulford. As stated in Sim Branaghan’s seminal book “British Film Posters” (2006), the 1950’s saw an influx of Italian artists being commissioned to illustrate British posters. Simbari, now considered one of Italy’s most important artists of the latter half of the 20th century, was one of the first Italians to make working visits to England. Although fellow Italians Renato Fratini and Arnaldo Putzu were more influential on the British poster scene (taking up residence in London), Simbari is still acclaimed for his energetic, passionate and gripping designs.

 

These qualities are wholly apparent in his Quad for “Piccadilly Third Stop”. Vibrant colours cover the canvass in a design that wonderfully evokes the film’s thriller genre as well as its London Underground setting. The expressionistic brushstrokes were common for many of the Italian artists and certainly fused the posters with passionate energy. Simbari was not simply limited to this style however. As his classy artwork (based on another design by Eric Pulford) for 1955’s “Above Us the Waves” shows, pictured below courtesy of emovieposter.com, he could also be counted on to provide more literal designs.

 

This poster has been linen-backed.