The Seven Year Itch (1955), standee, US

Unframed: 78 x 40 in. (198 x 101.6 cm)

Framed: 83 3/4 x 41 3/8 in. (212.6 x 105.2 cm)

Standees are made to boost the film's marketing, as they have real impact in cinema foyers. They are only produced for major films, and this iconic image lends itself perfectly to this type of advertising. This standee was made in two sections - the image section at the top is one piece, and the base with the credits the lower piece.

Owing to the size and fragility of standees they were hard to store, and most were discarded. It is exceptionally rare to find standees from the 1950s as they were expensive to produce and only used in flagship cinemas. Due to their fragile material and unusual shape they were hard to store and most were destroyed over the years. To-date this is the only example to have surfaced.

The Seven Year Itch was co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, and stars Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell. Ewell had also starred in the Broadway production, before taking on the same role in the film, where he won a Golden Globe.