Adam Carston

On November 19, 1975, the Chicago International Film Festival hosted the world premiere of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at the Granada Theatre. This is Jack Nicholson, Milos Forman, Louise Fletcher, and Saul Zaentz at a premiere press event, with Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel in the background.

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?

Seventy 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 exterior of the Woodfield Theatre, a suburban mall-megaplex in Schaumburg, IL, during the summer of 1985. Titles on the marquee include Silverado (in 70mm), E.T., Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, Explorers, St. Elmo's Fire, Fletch, The Emerald Forest, The Goonies, and Back to the Future.

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 a forthcoming engagement at McVickers was promised in this ad, it somehow never materialized in The Loop.

Russ Meyer's cult classic Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, written by Chicago film critic 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 himself.

A combo of classic film noirs opened at McVickers Theatre in The Loop 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 feature with Nicholas Ray's In a Lonely Place, starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame.

2 1/2 YEARS IN THE MAKING! Universal's science fiction cult classic, This Island Earth, opened at McVickers Theatre alongside the British film Project M7 on June 24, 1955, with star Rex Reason in attendance to greet moviegoers for two shows on opening day.

After days of ballyhoo in local newspapers, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho debuted in Chicago at the Woods Theatre in The Loop on June 22, 1960. Highlighting Hitchcock himself and the film's shocking ending, the promotion proved effective, as the thriller became a record-breaking hit that summer.

Drive-in theaters regularly made extra cash by running daytime flea markets, as seen in these images of South Englewood's Double Drive-in (2800 W. Columbus Avenue) from June 1969. You could buy almost anything there—antiques, guitars, invisible Japanese fighting fish...

Canadian import Dr. Frankenstein on Campus, one of the oddest entries in the campus film craze, opened in The Loop at the McVickers Theatre in June 1970. You have to respect the audacity of the distributor for blatantly using Universal's intellectual property in this ad.

New World Pictures' Humanoids from the Deep opened in theaters and drive-ins across Chicagoland on May 30, 1980, including an engagement in The Loop at Woods Theatre alongside Angels Brigade on a double bill.

30 years ago, Terry Zwigoff's brilliant documentary Crumb opened at the Music Box, alongside Baraka (1992) and Pasolini's Mamma Roma (1962). With strong reviews and word of mouth, including glowing praise for the film and theater from Gene Siskel, it played the arthouse circuit through that summer.

Two photos of the Modé Theatre (3912 N. Sheridan Rd.) showcasing its stunning 1935 remodel: one is a nighttime shot from around 1941, and the other is a daytime view from circa 1936. For the record—it's pronounced "Moe-day." It was demolished in 2005.

Twice the Screaming Terror on One Double-Thrill Show! 4D Man (1959) and The Leech Woman (1960) were released as a double feature across Chicagoland movie theaters and drive-ins on May 27, 1960.

Fifty years ago, Rudy Ray Moore was in Chicago to promote the Midwest premiere of Dolemite at the Woods Theatre. The added publicity seemed to pay off—the film remained in The Loop for the rest of the year, rotating between theaters as it paved its way to cult classic status.

In May 1960, Chicago native Sam Cooke returned to the South Side for a week-long run at the Tivoli Theatre, headlining a star-studded live revue alongside the low-budget crime film Ma Barker’s Killer Brood on the big screen.

A century ago this month, The Lost World (1925)—Willis O'Brien’s groundbreaking special effects spectacle—was a box office sensation at The Loop’s Roosevelt Theatre, paving the way for future epics like King Kong and Jurassic Park.

Walking Tall debuted in The Loop as a SNEAK PREVIEW at the Chicago Theatre in March 1973, sharing a double bill with Sam Peckinpah’s The Getaway. Walking Tall became an enormously successful sleeper hit of that year and briefly made the rugged Joe Don Baker a box office draw. #joedonbaker #chicago

In the spring of 1992, the glowing marquee of @musicboxtheatre.bsky.social showcased an eclectic lineup: the German film My Father Is Coming (1991), the French drama Overseas (1990), and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (1991), with Raise the Red Lantern (1991) coming soon.

Ninety years ago this week, The Bride of Frankenstein premiered on Chicago’s South Side at the Tivoli Theatre, accompanied by a lively stage revue featuring Popeye the Sailor Man himself (voice actor Billy Costell) and an assortment of White Sox players.

Forty-five years ago today, Friday the 13th opened in The Loop at State-Lake and other movie theaters across Chicagoland. In his zero-star review of the film, Gene Siskel infamously doxed star Betsy Palmer for being involved with the slasher film and urged a letter writing campaign to protest it.

The cult classic noir Kiss Me Deadly had a two-week run at the Chicago Theatre in the spring of 1955, paired with a "ROCK 'N ROLL REVUE" headlined by Ella Fitzgerald. The bill captured two of the era’s most electric trends: the gritty allure of Mickey Spillane’s fiction and the rise of rock music.

ONE WEEK ONLY! Starting May 2, 1980, the new horror film Death Ship played as part of a triple feature at the Woods Theatre, alongside two golden oldies: the Shaw Brothers' Duel of the Iron Fist (1971) and the Roger Corman-produced Night of the Cobra Woman.

TRIPLE SHOCK-FEST! WE DARE YOU TO SEE ALL 3! FREE! PASSES TO LADIES WHO DON'T FAINT! Hammer's The Devil's Bride (aka The Devil Rides Out) and Brides of Dracula shared a triple bill with dark comedy Pretty Poison at Sheridan Drive-In on May 1, 1970.

Sixty years ago today, Chicago filmmaker Herschell Gordon Lewis's Scum of the Earth opened at the Plaza Art Theater, shown as part of a triple bill alongside Proibitissimo and another adult feature—with the Plaza Playmates performing live in person!

Russ Meyer and star Shari Eubank photographed on State Street in the spring of 1975 during the premiere run of his latest film, Supervixens, at the Loop Theatre. Always a crowd favorite, Meyer's films garnered an especially enthusiastic audience in Chicago.

Joyous Easter Show! One hundred years ago, Buster Keaton’s classic comedy Seven Chances premiered at McVickers Theatre in The Loop on Easter Sunday, accompanied by a variety stage revue between screenings.

Fifty years ago today, freebies flowed in The Loop: the first 1,000 moviegoers at the Chicago Theatre received a Sonny Chiba poster with their ticket for The Street Fighter and Policewomen; the first 1,000 at the Woods Theatre got a free poster for The Candy Tangerine Man.