About these Cards
32 card set issued out of New York by the Moviebook Corp.
Each card measures approximately 1-3/4″ X 2-5/8 inches.
Printed on card stock, black & white photo with no borders. Biographical text on back of each card.
25 of the 32 cards feature MGM stars with the bulk of the set made up of 5 RKO stars (McCrea, Bennett, Dunne, Harding, Dix) and 2 Hal Roach stars (Pitts, Todd).
Text on back of the card denotes this as Series A. This is the only series I’ve seen of these rare cards, but I have bumped into other collectibles issued by the Moviebook Corp. of New York.
The other Moviebook issues I have seen have all been flip books. A year prior to this issue in 1932, they put out a series of 12 flip books featuring MGM stars. Eleven of those twelve stars are featured in this set, Jean Harlow being the exception.
The Moviebook Corp. also issued a 1932 flip book featuring Johnny Weissmuller titled “Tarzan, the Ape Man.” The flip book features a scene of Weissmuller battling a lion.
Their most famous issue also came during this period with the “Babe Ruth Hits a Home Run” flip book. This item is seen being offered in Wheaties advertisements published the following year.
A complete text checklist for the 1933 set follows the gallery.
Gallery of Moviebook Corp. Film Stars
Just click on any image to open to full size and from there you can scroll through the entire set. Please excuse the rubber band marks on the front of card #1 and back of card #32. A text checklist follows the gallery. Many thanks to Amit Benyovits for his contributions to this page.
Moviebook Corp. 32-Card Checklist:
1 – Clark Gable
2 – William Haines
3 – Wallace Beery
4 – Buster Keaton
5 – Joel McCrea
6 – Polly Moran
7 – ZaSu Pitts
8 – Karen Morley
9 – Joan Crawford
10 – Maureen O’Sullivan
11 – Constance Bennett
12 – Thelma Todd
13 – Norma Shearer
14 – Jackie Cooper
15 – Irene Dunne
16 – John Barrymore
17 – Conrad Nagel
18 – Helen Hayes
19 – Marion Davies
20 – Marie Dressler
21 – Walter Huston
22 – Ann Harding
23 – Madge Evans
24 – Greta Garbo
25 – Richard Dix
26 – Robert Montgomery
27 – Ramon Novarro
28 – John Gilbert
29 – Lewis Stone
30 – Lionel Barrymore
31 – Johnny Weissmuller
32 – Jimmy Durante
