CRESTVIEW — Throughout June, Crestview Public Library patrons will encounter bumbling spies, Inspector Clouseau, a congenial domestic thief, a librarian-turned-gunslinger and some of filmdom's wackiest racers.
Dallas film poster collector Clyde Ponder has a soft spot for Crestview and its public library, where he learned that people like seeing his movie memorabilia.
After exhibiting World War II posters in Crestview in 2010, Ponder began collaborating with the Allen (Texas) Public Library film librarian on regular displays.
Now several of his pieces join those from a local collection in a Crestview exhibition of 1960s film comedy posters.
'A visual treat'
"Film posters are really a visual treat and they bring back so many great memories of when people were kids, or they were on their first date, or out with their friends," Ponder said. "When you walk up and see the poster on the library wall, all those memories come back."
Posters on exhibit represent a film genre that is one the collector's favorites.
"If you watch those movies, you'll sometimes find yourself howling 'til you wet yourself, then you suddenly realize that you haven't heard a single bad word or seen a single naked butt — or worse," Ponder said.
Pictures worth 120 minutes
Exhibited posters' art, some featuring paintings by Jack Davis, a "Mad" magazine founding cartoonist, conveys the humor of classic, larger-than-life comedies in single illustrations encompassing a film's entire spirit.
In Davis' art for "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," "You can just stare at that poster forever and try to find all the stars," Ponder said. "Even Stanley Kramer, the director, is in there."
Ponder said he can instantly spot fellow '60s film comedy buffs at memorabilia collectors' conventions.
"They're the ones dropping film quotes like, 'You daydreaming fool' and 'birdie num-nums,'" he said, referring to Peter Sellers' lines in a Pink Panther film and "The Party," both '60s collaborations between Sellers and director Blake Edwards.
"It's so much of a privilege to be able to share these posters with my friends in Crestview, which happens to be one of my favorite towns in the South," Ponder said.
WANT TO GO?
WHAT: Exhibit of posters from 1960s film comedies
WHEN: Throughout June
WHERE: Crestview Public Library, 1445 Commerce Drive
Email News Bulletin Staff Arts and Entertainment Editor Brian Hughes at brianh@crestviewbulletin.com, follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Exhibit's 1960s comedy posters evoke film era of guffaws without bad words