Windy City Ballyhoo

More drive-in mayhem from July 24, 1970: the regional horror film combo of Night of Bloody Horror and Night of the Living Dead screened at Harlem Outdoor, while the hit MASH was paired with Elvis' Speed Way at the North Outdoor. Which one do you pick?

A double dose of first-run fun hit Chicagoland on July 22, 1960, when George Pal’s lavish adventure The Time Machine and Jerry Lewis’ wacky directorial debut The Bellboy shared a double bill across Chicagoland at several movie theaters and drive-ins.

70 years ago today in The Loop, Billy Wilder's comedy The Seven Year Itch was a smash hit at the Oriental Theatre. Although only partly visible in this photo, there was a giant Marilyn Monroe figure attached to the venue's marquee during the run—a surefire way to attract crowds!

The Oasis Drive-In, as described in this article, opened in 1960 with a Middle Eastern motif that included an elaborate entrance and fake camels throughout the venue. Being so close to O’Hare, moviegoers had to frequently contend with the noise of buzzing airport traffic nearby.

The early exploitation film Ingagi was a major hit in Chicago in 1930, playing for months in The Loop—initially at the Garrick and later at the Castle Theatre. Marketed as an African documentary but filmed in Los Angeles, the sensational film capitalized on taboo themes.

On July 17, 1970, both versions of Jean-Luc Godard's Sympathy for the Devil (1 + 1) opened at the 3 Penny Cinema. Roger Ebert highlighted the film in his column, focusing on Godard's feud with his producer over final cut and Chicago censors denying it a general release permit.

Don't lose your HEAD in the heat...HEAD for A COOL SEAT at the MOVIES!

Garden of Eden, an early nudist camp film from 1954 that helped change censorship laws regarding screen nudity, finally opened in Chicagoland on July 15, 1960, with a screening at the Starlite Drive-in alongside The Lost Continent and Italian melodrama Barefoot Savage.

The exterior of the Woodfield Theatre, a suburban mall-megaplex in Schaumburg, IL, during the summer of 1985. Titles on the marquee include Silverado, E.T., Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, Explorers, St. Elmo's Fire, Fletch, The Emerald Forest, The Goonies, and Back to the Future.

70 years ago, the French thriller The Wages of Fear, directed by H.G. Clouzot, pulled into the World Playhouse. At that time, a young William Friedkin frequented Chicago arthouses, and one wonders if he first saw the film during this engagement before remaking it years later.

Fifty years ago today, Jack Hill's girl-gang opus Switchblade Sisters opened almost exclusively at drive-in theaters in Chicagoland, Northwest Indiana, and Southwestern Michigan. Although an engagement at McVickers was promised in this ad, it never materialized in The Loop.

Russ Meyer's cult classic Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, written by Roger Ebert, opened at the Roosevelt Theatre on July 10, 1970. Four days later, Gene Siskel penned a scathing zero-star review of the film in the Chicago Tribune, calling it "a cesspool on film." Meow!

TALK TO JIMMY STEWART—Call HA 7-7850: For the summer release of Anthony Mann's Strategic Air Command across the Chicagoland area, ads were placed in local papers for weeks with a phone number that allowed fans to "TALK" to the film's star. I'm sure Jimbo answered every call.

A combo of classic film noirs opened at McVickers Theatre on July 7, 1950: Jules Dassin's wrestling yarn Night and the City, the director's first film made while exiled in Europe, shared a double with Nicholas Ray's In a Lonely Place, starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame.

The People's Army Has DECLARED WAR! 50 years ago, in The Loop, Ghetto Warriors opened at the Oriental Theatre before moving down the street to McVickers, where it shared a double with The Devil's Rain. Some may know the film under its more provocative title—The Black Gestapo.

RAMBO AMERICA'S HERO WANTS YOU! By July 4, 1985, the pulpy extravaganza Rambo: First Blood Part II was an unqualified hit across Chicagoland, including a stint at United Artists in The Loop. Rambo's fantastical antics soothed the bruised ego of America that summer.

"LOSING YOUR COOL? TIME TO RELAX and REFRESH YOURSELF in Air-Conditioned COMFORT AT THE MOVIES!" — Ancient cinematic proverb circa 1970

Sixty years ago today, the budget-friendly Monroe Theatre—proudly advertising "LOW LOOP PRICE"—dusted off a pair of golden oldies from 1961 for a double feature: The Festival Girls and Ecstasy on Lover’s Island (also known as Honeymoon of Terror).

Roughly fifty-five years ago, this image of The Village (Village Art Theatre) exterior was captured in Old Town. At the time, Roger Corman's Bloody Mama, starring Shelley Winters and newcomer Robert De Niro, shared a double bill with What Do You Say to a Naked Lady?

With Pride Month in full swing, it’s a perfect time to remember Steve Toushin’s legendary Bijou Theater in Old Town. Although the venue has since closed, you can see it in its vibrant prime in this clip from A Winter’s Tale (1984), courtesy of Bijou Video.