Windy City Ballyhoo, hosted by historian and documentarian Adam Carston, is a podcast that explores film history through the lens of Chicago’s rich but underestimated cinematic legacy. Each episode is a deep dive into a particular week at the movies from Chicago’s past, exploring the films, theaters, and colorful characters that once populated this wild world. It’s like a cinematic time machine!
Just in time for next month's Godzilla vs Music Box and the big green guy's 70th anniversary, Kyle Cubr guests on a new episode of Windy City Ballyhoo to talk about a creature feature kiddie matinee—War of the Gargantuas (1966), Monster Zero (1965), & Skullduggery (1970)—that opened at the Congress Theatre on October 2, 1970. Topics include Chicago's secret connection to the Godzilla franchise, Chuck Berry, the underrated talent of Ishiro Hondo, kaiju battles, alien invaders, missing links, Burt Reynolds, American actors in Japan, and more Chicago history than you'll know what to do with.
Guest Will Morris (Oscarbate/Music Box of Horrors) joins in on the fun this week for the wild pre-code double of Millie (1931) and Chinatown Nights (1929), which opened at the Davis Theater on May 20, 1931. Topics include the underrated Helen Twelvetrees, queer characters in pre-code cinema, the joys of melodrama, Yellow Peril in pop culture, Warner Oland's complicated brilliance, the transition from silent films to talkies, gangster films, German imports, lost films, Great Depression Era ballyhoo, and more Chicago history than you'll know what to do with!
In this episode, we travel to the far Northside with comedy writer and podcaster Aaron Lee (Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, Ted) to see the Rockin’-Ringo-Rama double of 200 Motel and The Magic Christian, which opened at the Devon Theater on February 4, 1972. Topics include movie theaters Herschell Gordon Lewis owned, The Monkees' influence on Frank Zappa, The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, Flo & Eddie, Ringo's acting chops, Peter Sellers's talent, Christopher Lee's Dracula cameo, Badfinger's soundtrack, and more Chicago history than you'll know what to do with!
Oscarbate co-host and film programmer John Dickson joins the show to talk about the Western double feature Man of the West and Wind Across the Everglades, which opened at the iconic Uptown Theatre on November 14, 1958. Topics include macho auteurs of the 1950s, President Eisenhower sticking it to the commies, a biblical sexploitation film from Mexico, and more Chicago history than you’ll know what to do with.
For the inaugural episode of Windy City Ballyhoo, pop culture writers Rachel McPadden and Heather Drain come on the podcast to talk about the rockin’ Roling Stones double of Gimme Shelter (1970) and Sympathy For the Devil (1968), which played at the Wilmette Theatre on September 15, 1972. This episode includes copious amounts of Charlie Watts love, roaming hippie hoards, Marty Balin’s risque “Hearts” video, minor Jean-Luc Godard bashing, Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's, respect for Stacy Keach, and more Chicago history than you’ll know what to do with.