Spying On Area Movie Screens – Jan. 13, 1965

Sixty years ago, there was a lot of spying going on when it came to area movie screens. One of the very best in the James Bond series – Goldfinger – was playing at both the Palace in Lorain and the Avon Lake Theater, thus dominating the Journal movie page above from January 13, 1965. (Remember when the release of a new James Bond film was a major event? And when it eventually was shown on TV, it was something you stayed up all the way to 11 o'clock to see.)

Meanwhile, the "Carry On" gang had their spoof of the James Bond films: Carry On Spying, which was playing at the Ohio Theatre. (I'm always a little surprised to see the 'Carry On' films playing in Lorain.

Meanwhile, Cary Grant was starring in his next-to-last film, the classic Father Goose, showing at the Tivoli.

Elsewhere on the page: a group calling themselves The Ink Spots was performing at Benny's on West Erie Ave., but it wasn't the original group (which disbanded in the 1950s) and most likely had no original members at all; there were still some Hoop Restaurants that hadn't been converted to Manners Restaurants; and a nice story about three generations of an Avon Lake family all bowling on the same Ladies' League at Aquamarine Lanes.

On Area Movie Screens – April 3, 1954

There's plenty of things of interest on this movie page from the Lorain Journal of April 3, 1954 – seventy years ago today. 

Reaffirming my observation that Lorain moviegoers loved the Bowery Boys, there's two of their movies on the big screen : Paris Playboys (1954) at the Ohio, and Loose in London (1953) at the Tower Drive-in.

I've mentioned before how our first exposure to the Bowery Boys movies was on Sunday mornings in the mid-1970s on Channel 43 (billed as the Dead End Kids). Soon my brothers and I were walking around with baseball caps with the brim turned up, trying to work up a good vocal imitation of Huntz Hall's "Sach" character. "Hey Chief!"

What really leaps out at me on the page is the article and photo of Judy Holliday, as well as the ad for her movie It Should Happen to You! at the Tivoli. She was such a pretty and appealing actress, with a natural flare for comedy and an irresistible vulnerability. It's so sad that she had such a short career, passing away in 1965.

It's odd to see future Rat Pack member Peter Lawford as the male lead in It Should Happen to You! The movie also is the first for actor Jack Lemmon.

Surprisingly, there aren't too many Westerns playing. There's Gun Fury with Rock Hudson and Donna Reed at the Avon Lake Theater.

Conquest of Cochise was at the Tower Drive-in, and The Great Sioux Uprising with Jeff Chandler (who's always good) at the Grove. GRIT-TV does a Jeff Chandler marathon once in a while.

Grandma Brady's favorite actor, Robert Taylor, was in Above and Beyond, also at the Tower Drive-in.

Elsewhere on the same page are ads for Castle-on-the-Lake, Vians, and Avon Isle Park.

On Area Movie Screens – Sept. 30, 1953

We'll close out the week (and September as well) with a look at what was playing on local movie screens seventy years ago this month. Above is the movie page from the September 30, 1953 Lorain Journal. 

Opening the next day at the Ohio Theatre were perennial Lorain favorites Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall and the Bowery Boys in Loose In London. 

In this installment of the popular movie comedy series, the gang travels to London so that Sach (Huntz Hall) can claim his inheritance. 

(I remember the first time I saw the Bowery Boys was in the early 1970s, when Channel 43 showed the old comedies on Sunday mornings, billing them as the Dead End Kids. My brothers and I were soon imitating Huntz Hall, wearing our baseball caps with the brim turned up as we shouted, "Hey, Chief!")

For theater goers who preferred more mature movie fare, there was Gentlemen Prefer Blondes at the Tivoli with Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell. (Contrary to the movie title, and I'm probably in the minority, but I prefer Jane Russell to Marilyn, especially since Miss Russell made a lot of appearances in Westerns.)

It's interesting that Howard Hawks was the movie's director. He was also the director of some of John Wayne's best films, including Red River, Rio Bravo and El Dorado, as well as Hatari and Rio Lobo.

Elsewhere on the movie page, we had Audie Murphy (another GRIT TV favorite of mine) in The Duel at Silver Creek (1952) playing at the Lorain Drive-in. It was a pretty good Don Siegel-directed movie – with Lee Marvin in it too! (BTW, during her last few years living at home, Mom was a real Audie Murphy fan too, watching all of his movies on GRIT.)

But what about the Duke?

Contrary to his normal Western roles, at that time John Wayne was starring as The Quiet Man at the Dreamland. It's one of my favorite John Wayne movies, and I watch it on DVD (or TV if it's on) every St. Patrick's Day like a true Irishman.

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.

Frontier Week & On Area Movie Screens – July 1963

Sixty years ago this month, the city of Amherst was enjoying the second year of its annual Frontier Week celebration. Above is the page from the July 29, 1963 Journal with the story.

As it notes, "An estimated crowd of 5,000 persons turned out Saturday for the first day's festivities of Frontier Week which featured a 1 1/2 hour parade.

"The evening's attractions were two free-fall parachute jumps held at Memorial Field.

The festivities planned for that day included a Western sports act with knives and cracking whips by the Oklahoma Kids, as well as a rock-and-roll street dance.

As I noted back on this post (which highlighted the inaugural celebration), the last Frontier Week was celebrated in 1966. It's too bad, because it looked like a fun concept. 

Elsewhere on that same Journal page: an ad for the Al G. Kelly and Miller Bros. Circus (whose appearance was spotlighted on this blog post); the Radio Program listings for W-WIZ 1380 KC (the same radio frequency for today's WDLW Kool Kat station); a small ad for A&W Root Beer on W. Erie in Lorain; and the usual movie ads.

The movie listings seem to be in the summer doldrums, with such ho-hum fare as Walt Disney's Moon Pilot. But at least there was the classic musical Bye Bye Birdie. (Did you know that the name of the Conrad Birdie character in that movie was based on music legend Conway Twitty, who at that time was a rock and roll artist?)

Here's the trailer. It's funny seeing Ann-Margaret so young and cute.

I had forgotten that the wonderful and very hummable tune, "Put on a Happy Face," came from that movie. Hey, I like Janet Leigh as a brunette!

It's so nice that the great Dick Van Dyke is still alive and doing well at 97 years old. Ann-Margaret is still around as well, so there are two good reasons to put on a happy face.

One interesting thing about the movie Bye Bye Birdie is that apparently there was a Hanna-Barbara connection somewhere in the making of it; I think it's because Columbia Pictures sponsored their cartoon studio in its early days. Anyway, in the scene where young Ann-Margaret is in her bedroom making her bed, you can see plastic figures of Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble in the background! There's also a stuffed Cindy Bear (Yogi Bear's girlfriend).

We had those same Fred and Barney figures when I was a kid! (Remember, we were big Flintstones fans.) They were about a foot tall and hollow. I remember looking in the hole in the back of them and studying the inside of each of them. It was like looking inside a hollow tree.

We had Betty Rubble too, because I remember that she was leaning on a tree stump or something. But I'm not sure if I noticed at the age of 3 or 4 just how off-model they all were!

Speaking of Betty Rubble, she was probably the reason I've always favored brunettes.

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There's also a neat little triple feature at the Lorain Drive-in. All three movies have a 'bride' theme: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), Brides of Dracula and The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959). That last movie is an odd one, a solo effort by comedian Lou Costello without his longtime partner Bud Abbott. Sadly, Costello passed away shortly after finishing the movie.

On Area Movie Screens – June 1, 1963

Looking at the Journal's movie page from June 1, 1963 makes me feel a little wistful. 

Not just because you can't see a first run movie in Lorain, Avon Lake, or Vermilion these days (although that's bad enough). It's because Hollywood no longer has the kind of producers and directors who would envision a movie; get the financing or backing of a studio (or produce it on their own) so they could make it; assemble a group of talented actors and actresses, including stars and a supporting cast, to act in it; hire a cinematographer to photograph it; find a composer to write a memorable musical score for it; and ultimately create cinematic magic.

Nowadays, a movie doesn't get greenlighted unless it can predictably be a monster hit. Which is why we see mostly superhero movies (and their endless sequels) consisting almost entirely of CGI.

Anyway, sixty years ago this month, there was an incredible selection of movies playing in the area. The one that leaps out at me on the page is the area showing of the first James Bond film, Dr. No, at the Palace in Lorain. The film had only been released in the United States in early May 1963. I like the graphic design and use of color on the top poster.

For John Wayne fans, two of his latest – The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Hatari were still making the rounds at the drive-ins as a double feature. Both Tower Drive-in and the Lorain Drive-in invited their patrons to saddle up with the Duke. 

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a great film (and Lee Marvin is terrific in it), but it isn't one of my favorite John Wayne films. That's because I'm not too crazy about the wimpy James Stewart character, who steals the Duke's girl and becomes a pompous windbag by the end of the film. Meanwhile, Wayne ends up in a pine box.

The Lorain Drive-in also had a Jerry Lewis double feature comprising The Sad Sack and The Delicate Delinquent, as well as a Bob Hope oldie from 1950, Fancy Pants. It's kind of odd seeing Old Ski Nose and Lucille Ball on the big screen in a movie that was already thirteen years old.

For horror movie fans (like Alan), at the Ohio Theater there was The Day of the Triffids, about man-eating plants from outer space. Although the Journal gave it a good review, it looks rather nauseating to me. And I keep thinking of cute, lovable tribbles instead of disgusting triffids.

There were plenty of other now well-known films being shown locally, including the original West Side Story at Avon Lake Theater. But it just doesn't seem right that there wasn't a feature-length Three Stooges epic in local distribution at that particular time.

On Area Screens – April 1953

One of the funnier things I've discovered when looking at old Journal theater pages is that my tastes in cinema are pretty much aligned with the B movies of the 1950s: westerns and Bowery Boys comedies. You'll find both on this page, which ran in the Journal back on April 4, 1953.

Let's look at some of the features that were uh, featured on the page.

The Tivoli and the Warner Bros. Palace had the biggest ads. At the Tivoli was Seminole, with Rock Hudson, Barbara Hale and Anthony Quinn. If you're looking for a typical Indians-are-the-bad-guys flick, this isn't it; the Seminole people are presented in a sympathetic fashion, picked on by the mean U. S. fort commander who wants to wipe them out. The Palace had Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in The Stooge, (one of the few features with the word 'Stooge' in the title that doesn't star Larry, Curly Joe DeRita and Moe).

For Westerns, we had Randolph Scott and Donna Reed in Hangman's Knot at the Tower Drive-in. It's a good one (I've seen it on GRIT TV) and it also has Lee Marvin – one of the greats – in it.

The aforementioned Bowery Boys (Lorain favorites) were starring in their latest feature, No Holds Barred, at the Lorain Theatre as well as the Elvira Theatre. This time, Sach has mysteriously acquired superhuman powers that Slip hopes to exploit in the pro wrestling arena. Unfortunately, the power seems to randomly travel to different parts of his body and they don't always know where it's concentrated.

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One thing that caught my eye on the Journal page is the photo of comedian Eddie Peddie at the top left, announcing his appearance at the Showboat in Downtown Lorain. The photo caption notes that he is named with Billy Kozak.

Peddie appeared on this blog before (here). By 1956, he was teamed with musician Danny Stanton; the team of Stanton and Peddie appeared at the Auto Show at the Lorain Arena.

Restaurant & Movie Ads – Jan. 15, 1953

Here's the kind of page from the Lorain Journal of the 1950s that's a lot of fun to look at. It's the January 15, 1953 entertainment page of 70 years ago, with something for everyone.

I know I've been doing this blog for a long time, because I've researched and written about just about every restaurant or bar mentioned on this page, including Showboat, Lorain Diner, Vian's Barbecue, Gartner's Inn, and Stone's Grills. 

There are also indications of the booming economy at that time, with Help Wanted ads for Fruehauf and Thew Shovel.

There's also a large ad for the Brand Names Foundation featuring what I believe is an illustration of a cocker spaniel (remember, I'm a cat person).

I'll leave you to peruse the movie ads. There's some zany fare in there, including Bonzo Goes to College (at the Ohio), and Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (at the Dreamland) with a comedy team – Mitchell & Petrillo – that's an unapologetic clone of Martin and Lewis!

On Area Movie Screens – December 1, 1962

We'll kick off December with my favorite go-to topic when I don't have anything else prepared: what was playing on area movie screens sixty years ago.

If you sneak a peek at the Journal page above (from December 1, 1962), then you can see what star was dominating the screen: namely, Elvis! At the Palace was Girls! Girls! Girls! (with Stella Stevens); Follow That Dream (1962) was at the Dreamland; and Kid Galahad (1962) was at the Liberty Theatre in Vermilion. That's three flicks from the King, all released in 1962!

Alan Hopewell's jolly favorite, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? was slaying them at the Avon Lake Theater. Out in South Lorain, the Pearl was showing Spanish-language films: Ojos Tapatios and La Mujer Y La Bestia (The Woman and the Beast).

The ad attracting the most attention on the Journal page was probably the mayhem-filled one for The Pirates of Blood River at the Tivoli. "Women fighting for their lives... as blood thirsty buccaneers ransack a lost tropic island," reads the headline at the top of the ad. It's a Hammer film, so of necessity it has Christopher Lee in it.

After seeing the trailer, I think the poster looks better!

Other film fare in the area included The Vikings with Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Ernest Borgnine (clothed, I hope) and Janet Leigh at the Lorain Drive-in; Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window at the Amherst Theatre; and Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin in If a Man Answers at the Ohio.

What, no Duke anywhere? What gives, Pilgrim? And no Stooges either.

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I like the ad for Ye Olde Hen House cooped up between the ads for the Ohio and the Lorain Drive-in. That's quite a weekend special: pan fried chicken, home made soup, potatoes, cole slaw, home made biscuits and honey and coffee – all for a buck and a quarter. 

Ye Olde Hen House much later became Jack & Diane's Lounge, as I noted on this post back in 2013.