Tuesday, March 21, 2023

On Area Movie Screens – March 23, 1963

Sixty years ago there was a veritable smorgasbord of movie fare on area screens, with something to satisfy everyone's taste. Above is the movie page from the Lorain Journal of March 23, 1963.

Although it was only a few days into Spring, the drive-ins were open. Over at the Lorain Drive-in, a cinematic blood bath was taking place with a trio of old Dracula movies: Blood of Dracula (1957), Brides of Dracula (1960) and Horror of Dracula. If that wasn't enough to lure them in, according to the ad there was a "free gift worth 95 cents to each car."

At the Tower Drive-in (with its in-car heaters), Jimmy Stewart was taking a vacation from his normal movie roles by starring in the comedy Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962) along with Maureen O'Hara.

Other family-friendly fare included the bloated comedy Son of Flubber, playing at both Amherst Theatre and Avon Lake Theater.
The Courtship of Eddie's Father starring Glenn Ford was at the Ohio. It sure looks different than the version with Bill Bixby that was on TV. Hey, the movie version had Ron "Opie" Howard as Eddie!
If racy movie fare was your thing, there was The Bellboy and the Playgirls featuring June Wilkinson at the Palace. Somehow I suspect that Francis Ford Coppola wouldn't mind crossing this flick off his cinematic resume.
And lastly, if Westerns are your thing (that's me), then there was one at the Tivoli with a gimmick. Young Guns of Texas (1962), starred the offspring of several famous movie leading men. There was Jody McCrea (son of my favorite Joel McCrea); James Mitchum (son of Robert Mitchum); and Alana Ladd (daughter of Alan Ladd).
Hey, want to check out the movie right now, pardner? Just grab yourself a tin cup of hot coffee, a big ol' plate of beans and watch it below online on YouTube!

4 comments:

  1. I caught the double feature at the Dreamland, particularly remembering the Three Stooges flick, although I liked Westerns too .

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  2. The Day Mars Invaded Earth is a classic sci-fi flick.Marie Windsor was the queen of B movies and was very beautiful.We need more natural beauties like her now instead of all of these actresses using filters and such now.

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  3. Hey...

    What about Geisha Playmates (bottom left)? A movie so bad it isn't listed on IMDb.

    Son of Flubber: Early proof that sequels are hardly ever as good as the original!

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  4. ...Just a little surprised at the drive-ins opening that early - I truly don't remember them opening until mid April. I DO remember the heaters at the Tower; by the time we started going the darn things had a decade or two of grime and bugs and other natural ingredients, and the aroma when they warmed up (IF they warmed up) was...unique.

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