Gallery: A tribute to Thailand's leading man, Mitr Chaibancha

Today marks the 40th anniversary of Mitr Chaibancha’s death: the day when the most swooned-over leading man in Thai cinema history plunged 90 meters from a helicopter rope ladder in a film stunt gone horribly wrong.

To commemorate this heroic alpha-male with 266 film credits to his name, director Wisit Sasanatieng's reboot of the movie franchise he died shooting -- Thai action series "Red Eagle," or Insee Daeng -- opened all across Thailand yesterday, with Ananda Everingham reprising Mitr’s masked avenger role.

With each of his films from the 1950s and 1960s came movie posters featuring the neatly groomed heartthrob, often alongside the first lady of Thai cinema, the puppy-eyed Petchara Yaowarat.

Unlike the new film -- which, judging by the trailer, has swapped the original series’ low-budget kitschiness for slick, Batman-inspired urban realism -- the old posters were all immaculately sculpted quiffs and retina-popping colors.

"Golden Eagle" (Insee Tong, อินทรีคืนรัง), 1970
: The poster for Mitr’s last film doesn’t shy away from the helicopter stunt that killed him, but instead works it into the poster’s explosive, action-jammed narrative montage, albeit subtly.

"Aawm Ohk Sawan" (อ้อมอกสวรรค์), 1962
: The artist of this expressive watercolor has Petchara Yaowarat, the neatly beehived leading lady that Mitr starred in no less than 165 films with, posing affectionately with her grinning co-star.

"Dtamnak Phet" (ตำหนักเพชร), 1964
: Not much is known about "Dtamnak Phet," but judging from this beautiful poster, Mitr plays a groom with last-minute jitters and Petchara Yaowarat a beaming bride.

"Phana Sawan" (พนาสวรรค์), 1964: 
Mitr comes over heroic yet vulnerable in this lyrical watercolor poster for 1964’s "Phana Sawan," or Heavenly Forest.

Click to the next page for more posters of Mitr Chaibancha