So what was playing in the local theaters back at the end of May 1962 – sixty years ago? Leave us take a look at the Lorain Journal movie page from May 31, 1962.
Why, none other than Elvis was starring in two features – Wild in the Country at the Lorain Drive-in and Blue Hawaii at the Carlisle Drive-in. Also on the bill at the Lorain Drive-in was Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961).
Here's the trailers for Wild in the Country and Blue Hawaii.
Over at the Tower Drive-in was an odd double feature: Walt Disney's Nikki - Wild Dog of the North(1961) and the un-Disney-like Sail a Crooked Ship(1961) with Robert Wagner, Dolores Hart, Carolyn Jones, Frankie Avalon and Ernie Kovacs. Maybe the theater was counting on the kids to fall asleep after Nikki.
In Lorain, there was a pretty good flick at the Tivoli: the classic Cape Fear(1962)with Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck.
At the Dreamland, there was a quite a double bill: Roger's and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song and Everything's Ducky (1961) with Mickey Rooney and Buddy Hackett. (Hey, those two also performed as a comedy team in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.)
And finally – (I'm saving the best for last), over at the Avon Lake Theatre was one of my favorite classic Westerns, with two of my favorite Western stars: Ride the High Country (1962) with Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott.
I'm a big Joel McCrea fan thanks to GRIT TV, and this one is a fitting cap to his long career (although he made a couple of films after it). If you've never seen it, you're in for a real treat – and a few shocks as well. It's terrific!
