On Area Movie Screens – August 1, 1973

We'll kick off August with a look back at what was playing at local theaters fifty years ago today on August 1, 1973. Above is the page from the Journal from that day.

Regular readers of this blog know by now that this feature provides a shameless reason for me to write about John Wayne, and – sure enough – the Duke was starring in Cahill, United States Marshall at the Palace Theatre. 

Here's a lobby card for your perusal, Pilgrim.

Although I generally like all John Wayne movies, this one's not on my list of favorites. Its plot (Cahill's sons feel neglected by their pa and end up becoming involved in a bank robbery) seems to have been conceived to interest younger viewers. Gary Grimes, fresh from his appearance in Summer of '42 is one of the Cahill boys.

Gravel-voiced Neville Brand plays an old Indian buddy of Cahill. That's him on the left in the photo below.

Quite a different role for the decorated World War II war hero than his usual slow-witted oaf (like his role on Laredo).

The Journal wasn't crazy about the movie either. Here's the review from the August 3, 1973 edition of the paper.

Although the Bradys didn't see Cahill, United States Marshall at the Palace, we did see it at Amherst Theatre (where else?). And amazingly, it was the last film of the Duke that I remember seeing first run in a movie theater. I missed The Train Robbers, both of his non-Westerns (McQ and Brannigan), as well as his last movies, Rooster Cogburn and The Shootist – all of which I saw on TV. 

In fact, with the exception of The Sound of Music, which my family saw in Cleveland when it first came out in its 'road show' version, I don't think I've seen any of the other movies shown on the page. We had the Sound of Music record, which Mom played occasionally on the stereo that was in the living room (which we never used and generally stayed out of). That record was played so often that I can 'play' much of it in my head to this day. 

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Of particular interest to me on the page, however, is the ad for the Lorain County Fair appearance of Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass. Since the Bradys loved the sound of trumpets and brass (we had all the Herb Albert albums), Mom and Dad took us to the fair to catch the show. I'll be doing several Lorain County Fair posts when it gets closer to Fair Week.

Click here to learn more about Danny Davis and his band.