What was playing at the Palace on Aug 1, 1960?

After the special appearance of the Three Stooges at the Palace Theater on July 31, 1960, it was back to business as usual for the Lorain movie house.

And what was playing on August 1? None other than the Bowery Boys in Spook Chasers.

In a way it was kind of appropriate for the Bowery Boys to follow the Stooges, as they were both popular comedy teams that had somehow lasted longer than anyone could have imagined.

Much like the Three Stooges, who were forced to hire a new 'third stooge' to keep the act going, the Bowery Boys had to replace Leo Gorcey, who had retired from the movies. The Boys made seven more movies with Stanley Clements as "Duke Coveleske," the leader of the gang, but it was Huntz Hall who had become the star of the series by then.

Here's the trailer for Spook Chasers.

I like the way all of the Bowery Boys films used the "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here" theme song in their movie credits and trailers. It's a nice way to tie them all together through the years despite all the cast changes.

Also on the Palace bill with the Bowery Boys was a Ma and Pa Kettle comedy, Ma and Paul Kettle at Waikiki (1955). Hawaii would become a state on August 21, 1959 so the movie was actually fairly topical.

Here's the trailer from the movie, featuring Marjorie Main as Ma.

Hearing Marjorie Main's voice reminds me that it was her that June Foray was imitating on all of those Fractured Fairy Tales cartoons on Rocky and Bullwinkle.

I wonder if the popular Ma and Pa Kettle comedies paved the way for the success of The Beverly Hillbillies on TV?