![BOY-070 [trade : UK] Boys Cinema "Famous Heroes" (1922) 4/6](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2021-10/houdini%20pair.jpg?itok=kftRH4Qa)
This card actually shows Houdini - The Handcuff King and it is dated precisely, to have been issued on March the 25th, 1922.
For a checklist of this set, go to Prewarcards/FamousFilmHeroes.
Now in the late 1950s Mr. J. H. Wilson wrote several articles on "issues from periodicals" in the London Cigarette Card Company's "Cigarette Card News" - and Volume 22, No. 264 (May/June 1959) just happens to deal with Boys Cinema, and listed twelve different sets. This set, "Famous Heroes", was first, being issued on a weekly basis from 4th March to 12th August 1922, twenty four cards in all
He adds that numbers 13 and 24 were on unglazed cream card, but not why.
This card is unusual as one of the films listed was never actually made. You can read about that at WildAboutHoudini.
The set was replaced by "Famous Film Heroes" a series of just six, starting on December 2nd, 1923 and continuing over Christmas with the last card being dated 20th January 1923.
Both of these sets were slightly larger than standard, and had descriptive texts on the back of each card. These were the only two sets that had titles.
The next issue was a plain back set, postcard size, which is sometimes known as "Super Portraits" for which the special wallet says "12 Art Plates of Famous Stars". Card no.2 in this set includes the first female subject so far, Lila Lee, pictured with Ralph Graves and Jack Holt in "Soldiers of Fortune". Whilst the first female to get a card to herself was "Joan Crawford, famous and charming as a Metro Goldwyn Mayer heroine" on card no.5.
After this came several more sets of untitled cards, usually known just as "Film Stars". One unusual group is of postcard size and it is perforated so that the heads of the stars can be pulled forward and the background bent backwards out of sight.
The final set was designed for the "Boys Cinema Pocket Wallet of your Favourite Film Stars", the cards are again untitled. These were issued from 2nd March 1940 to 6th April 1940, and the final issue of "Boys Cinema" was dated May 18th 1940.