Of all the Bass/Kallis drawings that we are posting today, I find the work Saul Bass designed for the Naval comedy “Mister Roberts” among his least inspired.  I don’t really get these ads, though they do have a certain graphic look emphasizing action that’s appealing.

Mister Roberts No. 1

Mister Roberts No. 2

Mister Roberts No. 3

Mister Roberts No. 4

Mister Roberts No. 5

Mister Roberts No. 6

I could not find any instances where any of this work was actually used, either as posters or ads.

Here, according to the pressbook for “Mister Roberts,” are the two consumer ads that received the most exposure when the movie was released. There is a significant amount of white space in both of these ads, which makes them appealing (and is one of Bass’s trademarks), but I do not know whether Bass had anything to do with them.

The links below take you to the other Bass/Kallis work in this story:

“Magnificent Obsession” — Universal-International — release/premiere date: Aug. 4, 1954

“A Star is Born” — Warner Bros. — Sept. 29, 1954

“Carmen Jones” — Twentieth Century Fox — Oct. 5, 1954

“The Racers” — Twentieth Century Fox — Feb. 4, 1955

“Not as a Stranger” — United Artists — June 28, 1955

“The Shrike” — Universal-International — July 7, 1955

“The Virgin Queen” — Twentieth Century Fox — July 22, 1955

“Mister Roberts” — Warner Bros. — July 30, 1955

“My Sister Eileen” — Columbia — Sept. 22, 1955

“The Rose Tattoo” — Paramount — Dec. 12, 1955

“The Conqueror” — RKO — Feb. 22, 1956

“On the Threshold of Space” — Twentieth Century Fox — March 29, 1956