Entertainment Page – March 31, 1955

It's the last day of March – hard to believe, isn't it? I guess that's what happens when you get older, the months (and years) simply fly by.

Seventy years ago today, the entertainment page from the March 31, 1955 Lorain Journal had plenty of options for people looking for something to do or somewhere to eat (or drink). The page is loaded with interesting ads, with many from old blog favorites.

The one that ad that leaps out at me is the one for Stone's Grills (the subject of three previous posts), which was an Ohio chain of outlets that were both taverns and carry-outs.

It's hilarious to see the Easter Bunny hoisting a glass of wine, especially since the illustration of him looks like it came out of a book of nursery rhymes. 

It's nice to see an ad for the well-remembered McGarvey's, a favorite topic on this blog.

I like that Spring Lobster Bake menu (and the $5.50 price, although today it would cost about sixty-five, er, clams (or $65.48).

Many of the other restaurants and night clubs (such as the Showboat in Lorain, Ben Hart's and "333 Bar") I've written about before as well. 

As for movies, one of my favorite Westerns was opening at the Lorain Drive-in on Lake Road: Ride Clear of Diablo (1954) with Audie Murphy and the always-great Dan Duryea. Audie plays a very green deputy sent out by corrupt superiors to arrest the cocky Duryea character, with the hope that he would fail and get killed. However, Audie succeeds – to the crooked sheriff's disappointment – and ends up enlisting Duryea's help in avenging his father and brother's murder. It's a great story of redemption.

But the Journal movie ad that really grabbed my attention is the huge ad for Chief Crazy Horse, which was playing at the Tivoli. 

But why is that movie of interest to me? I'll explain tomorrow, pardner.

In the meantime, why not watch Magoo's Check Up, the cartoon that was on the same bill? 

For those of us raised on the made-for-TV Mr. Magoo cartoons, in which the nearsighted character was warm and likable (with a Chinese houseboy and various pets), the characterization of him in the theatrical shorts is quite different. He's downright crabby and ornery in them, unlike the softened version of him that we Baby Boomers are used to.