Redesigned classic movie posters created by Graphic Design students are prominently displayed in the historic Ambler Theater and Hiway Theater in Jenkintown.

The posters, made as part of a major assignment in Christian Patchell’s Visual Communications class, depict new looks to classic films that will play in the theaters over the next several weeks.

“We originally reached out to the Ambler Theater five years ago to see if they were interested, and they said they’d love the posters for their retrograde showings,” said Patchell, a visiting instructor in Visual and Performing Arts at Arcadia. “Those are classic movie showings the theater periodically does throughout the year, but reaches its height in October.”

In five years, students in the class went from designing one poster – beginning with John Waters’ film Crybaby – to now designing one or two of their own for the theaters. 

Tommy Agnew ‘24, a Graphic Design major, said the students were provided a list of the theaters’ showings. His mother is a huge horror fan, so he let her pick – she chose The Exorcist and Silence of the Lambs.

“I implemented iconic scenes from the movie into the posters,” Agnew said. “For The Exorcist specifically, I tried to layer information… so the more you look at it, the more you notice.”

“We added the logo of the theater and the showtimes,” he added. “I’m really excited to see my posters in the theater… I’m actually going to go see The Exorcist when it’s playing. They then let us keep the posters, so I’m going to hang them in my room.”

Shyann Bilbrough ‘24, a Graphic Design major, chose to redesign a poster for Corpse Bride, the 2005 animated musical directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp.

“When I saw Corpse Bride on the list of movies we could choose, I immediately picked it because it’s a childhood favorite,” said Bilbrough, who has an older brother, Jace, who took the class last year. “I wanted to keep it somewhat true to the original poster, which is why I put the moon in the background. From there, I hinted at different things that happened throughout the movie… Unfortunately, I won’t be able to see the movie when it’s playing at the theater, but I plan to get a photo in front of the poster over there.”

Posters have been a staple of cinema since the Nineteenth century. It is believed that the first promotional movie poster was created in 1895 for the French short film L’Arroseur Arrosé. From there, theaters would hang posters to show what movie(s) they were currently playing or used them to tease a movie coming out in the future. Most theaters still hang promotional posters today. 

In addition to the posters, students print out their art as a coloring page for kids who come to the theaters. This has been a big hit with children who come with their family for the matinee screenings, according to Shannon Quinty, programming coordinator at Renew Theaters, the company that runs both the Hiway and Ambler theaters. 

“Visitors really love seeing the work of local artists,” said Quinty. “The horror fans at the Hiway Theater have loved the original takes on cherished horror icons like Freddy Krueger, Leatherface, and Chucky.”

“We have at least one attendee who has been collecting the local posters,” she added. “Overall it has been a really positive experience and one of our favorite community collaborations.” 

The partnership also led to a freelance opportunity with Arcadia graduate Sarah Orvis ‘23, who designed the Sci-Phi film festival poster and shirts for the theaters. 

For Patchell, the opportunity for students to get some work published outside the classroom is one of the most rewarding aspects. 

“Seeing your work in print for any young designer is really fun,” said Patchell. “It helps make them think about their work and their place in design outside of the classroom.”