African American Film History in Sidney Poitier’s The Mark of the Hawk Lobby Cards, 1957

Sidney Poitier Eartha Kitt

Archive

Poitier, Sidney, and Eartha Kitt. The Mark of the Hawk lobby-card group, 1957, documents the international promotion of an early film addressing African nationalism, colonial rule, racial conflict, and demands for the restoration of Indigenous land. Poitier portrays Obam, an African legislative council member caught between a colonial administration and the resistance movement led by his brother, while Kitt plays his wife, Renée. Produced before Poitier’s Academy Award-nominated performance in The Defiant Ones, the film belongs to the formative period in which he became one of the few Black actors regularly entrusted with leading dramatic roles in mainstream American cinema. Its Nigerian location work, African setting, and multiracial cast give the cards research value for the study of Black screen representation, decolonization, transnational film distribution, and the marketing of politically themed cinema during the late 1950s. Portions of the production were filmed in Nigeria, including Enugu, before Universal acquired distribution rights.

Universal Pictures. The Mark of the Hawk. 1957. Three illustrated lobby cards, comprising one card produced for United States distribution and two Spanish-language cards produced for the Mexican market. Each measures approximately 14 by 12½ inches. The three cards carry different photographic scenes from the film and promote its principal performers, including Sidney Poitier and Eartha Kitt. The contrast between the American and Mexican issues records the film’s cross-border circulation and the adaptation of Hollywood advertising materials for distinct national audiences. Specific scenes, captions, printing statements, and Spanish-language titles are not provided in the supplied description and are therefore not assigned.

[1] Poitier, Sidney, and Eartha Kitt. The Mark of the Hawk. United States: Universal Pictures, 1957. One illustrated American lobby card bearing a photographic scene from the film and promoting its cast within the conventional visual format of United States theatrical advertising.
[2] Poitier, Sidney, and Eartha Kitt. The Mark of the Hawk. Mexico: Universal Pictures, 1957. One Spanish-language lobby card containing a distinct film still prepared for Mexican theatrical display.
[3] Poitier, Sidney, and Eartha Kitt. The Mark of the Hawk. Mexico: Universal Pictures, 1957. A second Spanish-language lobby card with a different illustrated scene, further documenting the film’s marketing to Mexican audiences. The film’s narrative placed Poitier’s character amid disputes over colonial authority, political representation, and African land, themes that coincided with accelerating independence movements across the continent. Small pinholes from theatrical display; colors and photographic imagery remain bright, with no substantial losses reported. Very good. A visually substantial transnational advertising group connecting early Sidney Poitier and Eartha Kitt performances with cinematic treatments of African anticolonial politics.

Item #19147

Price: $285.00