Irwin Allen achieved his initial success through science fiction films and television series in the 1950s and 1960s, notably Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea for 20th Century Fox in 1961 and Lost in Space for CBS from 1965 to 68.
In the 1970s, Allen was called “The Master of Disaster” as the power behind the Academy Award-winning blockbusters The Poseidon Adventure (20th Century Fox, 1972), The Towering Inferno (20th Century Fox, 1974), and the famous flops The Swarm (Warner Bros., 1978) and When Time Ran Out… (Warner Bros, 1980).
In his introduction to The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen (Creature Features, 2019), Jeff Bond writes, “Irwin Allen relied on and championed some of the finest production artists and illustrators in the business to visualize, plan, sell, and promote his projects…”
The auction was held by Julien’s Auctions, Los Angeles, California, “These pieces fully display the illustrator’s and production artist’s skills, which are valuable as their own works of art and convey the excitement of Allen’s films. The storyboards also offer vivid behind-the-scenes glimpses that are unavailable anywhere else, from camera and effects setups to moments of spectacle, which Allen deleted before production to cut costs. This sale offers Allen’s many fans a chance to collect one-of-a-kind film history artifacts that contain Allen’s passion for showmanship and the possibilities of movie magic.”
The darling of the sale was this oversized technical storyboard by 20th Century Fox production illustrator Tom Cranham, showing the camera set-up and effects plan for the sequence in which Doug Roberts (Paul Newman) rescues the young girl Angela (Carlena Gower) from her burning apartment. It sold for $7,800.
Cranham served as VP of the Motion Picture Illustrators and Matte Artists Guild Local Number 790 for over 18 years, resigning in 1996 due to illness, and was a member of the art director branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.