The Man With The Golden Arm (1955)
Year: 1955
Format: Record cover
Illustrator: Saul Bass (1920-1996); Phyllis Tanner (b. 1918); Al Kallis (b. circa 1926); and Maury Nemoy (1912-1984)
Client: Edinburgh International Festival
Details: This record cover was created for the soundtrack to "The Man with the Golden Arm", a film released in 1955. The image is a version of the design used for the poster and other publicity materials. I have always seen the poster artwork credited to Saul Bass (1920-1996). Indeed, the design bears his name and awards citations from the time credit him as art director and artist. However, they also credit Phyllis Tanner (b. 1918), Al Kallis (b. circa 1926-present), and Maury Nemoy (1912-1984) as artists.
Phyllis Tanner was born in Ohio, studied at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and relocated to Los Angeles after World War II. Tanner moved into a studio with Saul Bass in 1954, when Bass had recently started his own business. She collaborated with Bass until the late 1960s. After leaving, she continued to produce work and advised other women about how succeed in the business. There is a fascinating insight into an archive of her work on Design Observer, which was posted in 2017.
Albert “Al” Kallis worked as a professional illustrator and art director from 1951 to 1973 for clients including Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, American International Pictures and Capitol Records. He has produced numerous documentary films and is known for being a co-founder of IHOP, International House of Pancakes.
Maury Nemoy worked as a brush lettering artist in the 1930s. He was an advertising art director at Columbia Pictures and a lettering artist at Universal Studios Hollywood. He also designed 200 album covers for Capitol Records and Warner Bros. Records. He went on to establish the Society for Calligraphy in 1974.