Great Film Taglines

Part 2


Introduction: Taglines (often called slogans) are catchy, enticing short phrases used by marketers and film studios to advertise and sell a movie, and to sum up the plot, tone or themes of a film. Many films have multiple taglines. Composing ad copy for posters and trailers is generally the first step in marketing a film and setting a strategic direction for the product. These 'sound-bite' epigrams are often placed on either film posters (above or below the film's title) or on the merchandise itself (DVD or video cassette box, etc.), to reinforce what the film is all about. Some films do not have a tagline at all, and instead choose to provide evocative images to convey the meaning, mood, symbolism, or setting of the film (i.e., Chinatown (1974)). Some taglines are quite obscure, unrecognizable and forgettable. Often, the best taglines are for very inferior films.

Note: The films that are marked with a yellow star are the films that "The Greatest Films" site has selected as the 100 Greatest Films.



Great Film Tag Lines - pt. 2
(in chronological order by film title)

"More howls than you can shake a shiver at!!!" Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
""I told you... you know nothing about wickedness" The Lady From Shanghai (1948)
"Dance she did, and dance she must - between her two loves" The Red Shoes (1948)
"The nearer they get to their treasure, the farther they get from the law." The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
"It's The Hilarious Answer To Who Wears The Pants!" Adam's Rib (1949)
"Hunted by men...Sought by WOMEN!" The Third Man (1949)
"Pick up the pieces folks, Jimmy's in action again!" White Heat (1949)
"It's all about women...and their men!" All About Eve (1950)
"The City Under the City" The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
"The Bride gets the THRILLS! Father gets the BILLS!" Father of the Bride (1950)
"THRILL CRAZY... KILL CRAZY..." Gun Crazy (1950)
"The Bogart suspense picture with the surprise finish - " In a Lonely Place (1950)
"A Hollywood Story." Sunset Boulevard (1950)
"The greatest adventure a man ever lived...with a woman!" The African Queen (1951)
"What A Joy To See M·G·M's Technicolor Musical!" An American In Paris (1951)
"From Out of Space... A Warning and An Ultimatum." The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
"I'm in trouble, George... bad trouble." A Place in the Sun (1951)
"It begins with the shriek of a train whistle and ends with shrieking excitement! Young America's idol - a good looking stranger in search of sensation - and a girl in love. These are the people around whom Alfred Hitchcock spins his wonderful new web of suspense and surprise. WARNER BROS. bring a pounding new tempo to motion picture entertainment." Strangers on a Train (1951)
"The story of a blonde who wanted to go places, and a brute who got her there - the hard way!" The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
"The dramatic lives of trapeze artists, a clown, and an elephant trainer against a background of circus spectacle." The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
"The story of a man who was too proud to run." High Noon (1952)
"What a Glorious Feeling" -- "MGM's Technicolor Musical Treasure!" Singin' in the Rain (1952)
"A hard cop and a soft dame!" The Big Heat (1953)
"The boldest book of our time... Honestly, fearlessly on the screen!" From Here to Eternity (1953)
"Crushed lips don't talk..." I Confess (1953)
"a raging torrent of emotion that even nature can't control" Niagara (1953)
"Audrey Hepburn at her Oscar-winning best in an immortal comedy-romance!" Roman Holiday (1953)
"The most UNUSUAL and INTIMATE journey into human emotions ever filmed!!!" Rear Window (1954)
"...the chauffeur's daughter who learned her stuff in Paris!" Sabrina (1954)
"Blood red kisses! White hot thrills! Mickey Spillane's latest H-bomb!" Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
"It's the love story of an unsung hero!" Marty (1955)
"The wedding night, the anticipation, the kiss, the knife, BUT ABOVE ALL...THE SUSPENSE!" The Night of the Hunter (1955)
"Jim Stark - a kid from a 'good' family - what makes him tick...like a bomb?" Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
"Incredible! Invisible! Insatiable!" Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
"he had to find her...he had to find her." The Searchers (1956)
"The Greatest Event in Motion Picture History" The Ten Commandments (1956)
"The story of a family's ugly secret and the stark moment that thrust their private lives into public view!" Written on the Wind (1956)
"Life Is In Their Hands -- Death Is On Their Minds!" 12 Angry Men (1957)
"It spans a whole new world of entertainment!" The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
"BOMBSHELL! the roll of the drums... the click of the rifle-bolts... the last cigarette... and then... the shattering impact of this story... perhaps the most explosive motion picture in 25 years!" Paths of Glory (1957)
"This is the story of J.J. - But not the way he wants it told!" Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
"Once in 50 years suspense like this!" Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
"THE STRANGEST VENGEANCE EVER PLANNED!" Touch of Evil (1958)
"Alfred Hitchcock engulfs you in a whirlpool of terror and tension!" Vertigo (1958)
"The Entertainment Experience of a Lifetime!" Ben-Hur (1959)
"It's a deadly game of 'tag' and Cary Grant is 'it'!"
AND
"It's love and murder at first sight!"
North by Northwest (1959)
"Unspeakable Horrors From Outer Space Paralyze the Living and Resurrect The Dead!" Planet 9 From Outer Space (1959)
"The movie too HOT for words!" Some Like It Hot (1959)
"Movie-wise, there has never been anything like it - laugh-wise, love-wise, or otherwise-wise!" The Apartment (1960)
"Check in. Relax. Take a shower."
AND
"It is REQUIRED That You See Psycho From the Very Beginning!"
Psycho (1960)
"There will be a special FRIGHT BREAK during the showing of Homicidal. Can your heart stand the challenge when the clock starts the COUNTDOWN!" Homicidal (1961)
"They called him 'Fast Eddie'... He was a winner... He was a loser... He was a hustler." The Hustler (1961)
"There is a miracle in being young...and a fear." Splendor in the Grass (1961)
"The Screen Achieves One of the Great Entertainments in the History of Motion Pictures" West Side Story (1961)
"How did they ever make a movie of Lolita?" Lolita (1962)
"If you come in five minutes after this picture begins, you won't know what it's all about! When you've seen it all, you'll swear there's never been anything like it!" The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
"Together For The First Time - James Stewart - John Wayne - in the masterpiece of four-time Academy Award winner John Ford" The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
"The most beloved Pulitzer Prize book now comes vividly alive on the screen!" To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
"Sister, sister, oh so fair, why is there blood all over your hair?" What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
"The perfect summer when the urge meets the surge!" Beach Party (1963)
"Suspense and shock beyond anything you have seen or imagined!"
AND
"...and remember, the next scream you hear may be your own!"
The Birds (1963)
"The man with the barbed-wire soul." Hud (1963)
"What does he become? What kind of monster?" The Nutty Professor (1963)


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