Lorain Drive-In Halloween Triple Feature – October 31, 1959

Well, it's Halloween Night 2024. If you are handing out candy tonight to the trick-or-treaters, or perhaps are observing the holiday in some other manner, here's hoping a safe and good time is enjoyed by all.

Sixty-five years ago, you might have decided to celebrate Halloween by making a late season visit to the Lorain Drive-in on Lake Road. Above is the ad that ran in the Lorain Journal on October 31, 1959. As you can see, it was a special Halloween program consisting of three spooky features.

First up was Horrors of the Black Museum (1959), a British-American horror film. The gimmick here is that it was shown in Hypno-Vista, which "puts YOU in the picture."

Here's the creepy trailer, with a preview of Hypno-Vista. I was kind of grossed out with the needle demonstration. And I probably would stay away from binoculars for a while.

Next up was The Headless Ghost (1959). It's another British film, but this time a horror-comedy. The poster makes it look like a live-action Scooby-Doo episode.

Interestingly, its Wiki entry notes, "The film was made specifically as the second feature for an American double bill with Horrors of the Black Museum." So there was no chance it would be on the same bill with one of the Bowery Boys' haunted house flicks.

Here's the trailer. It actually looks pretty good!

Last up is The Giant Behemoth (1959) a British-American monster film. The 'giant behemoth' (is there any other kind?) is a dinosaur, created by way of the usual nuclear radiation. The live action scenes were all shot in Great Britain, but the stop-motion animation of the monster was done in Los Angeles.

Here's the trailer. Note how when the creature emits radiation, it is accompanied by a goofy sound.

Anyway, the triple-feature looks like it was a lot of fun. But with all those British flicks onscreen, I wonder if drive-in attendees were at the concession stand asking for fish and chips?