Drive-in Movies

How many of you - especially you other old guys - remember going to the drive-in movie theater, with the tinny monaural speaker that you hung on your window, the slides and merry-go-rounds for the little kids, the snack bar, and the steamed up windows? When I was 6 years old I had polio, and for a number of weeks in the hospital my only evening entertainment was looking out my room window at the adjacent drive-in movie screen - and the hospital even had a speaker in the room for me. I have no recollection of what I saw, even though I must have seen the films several times each. This image is from 1958.

We still have one in the town where I live. Nice to go to once in a while.

Oh, John, the childhood memories you just brought back! My parents never drove but we went on family vacations with friends who did so when we went on vacation together, periodically we'd all pile into the car and go the local drive-in. The one movie I can actually remember seeing at one was The Story of Ruth, a biblical epic.

I saw all the Star Wars movies at the Drive In along with Raiders of the Lost Ark. Then they tore the theater down and replaced it with a WalMart. There's a couple a few towns over now, but not much ever plays there.

I don't think there were any drive ins in New York as most people didn't own cars. My first drive in encounter was when I moved to Florida in the early 70s. That one was torn down in favor of a flee market I think in the late 80s.

When growing up in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, there were 5 drive-ins within 5-miles of my home. Went a few times as a kid but don't remember much about those ventures, but boy oh boy, do I remember the drive-in experiences with dates after I started driving.

This would turn in to an adult conversation real quick, so I will just leave it there.

They were good times.

John, i have been a few times and it was a good experience except when it rained. Hee hee.

There is a drive in theater near my home in Kent, WA that seems to threaten to close down every year, but they always seem to stay open. I haven't been to a movie there in years, though.

We must have gone as a kid because I do remember it. It is a foggy memory though.

(07-19-2012, 05:31 PM)celestino Wrote: John, i have been a few times and it was a good experience except when it rained. Hee hee.

Oh my friend, when it rained those were the best experiences.

The demise of drive-ins, along with local amusement parks and bowling alleys is IMO a loss for our culture. They represented good, inexpensive entertainment for young families.

I recall my parents bringing us to the drive-in to play on the swings and slides before it got dark, us kids watching the cartoons before the main feature and then going to sleep on an air mattress in the back of the station wagon while my parents watched the main feature.

It was an inexpensive night out for them and they got some alone time as we snoozed in the back of the car.

As a teenager, I recall at one time packing 9 guys into a 61 Bel-Air for a cheap night out.

Does anyone remember the surreal fluorescent lighting at the snack bar?

We still have one in town and we try to go at least once a year. However, it is a full evening event. You have to get in line to get in the place by 5:30 in order to get a decent spot when they open at 7:30. The first movie starts around 8:30 and it isn't always dark enough. But if they waited later than the 2nd movie would be finishing way too late. However, it is certainly enjoyable - except for when you have to deal with the crabby children the next day. :~)

I certainly remember them. I wish there were some still around here.
We would go to the drive in and my dad would go order us all hotdogs and root beer or a milkshake. Those were great times. I'd like to live them over again if I could.

Your story of polio caught my eye. I got sick at 5 years old (1956) and the doctor told my mother it looked like polio. I received gamma globulin and recovered. Fast forward: I have just been diagnosed with myasthenia gravis. Turns out it's symptoms are often misdiagnosed as polio and one of the standard treatments for it is gamma globulin. So in my case I believe I've had MG all along. Next week I start some medication that should fix me up pretty well (I hope).

Heck yeah! Our town had two of them for a while. Starlight South & Starlight North. I don't remember the Starlight South one much but I went to the Starlight North through high school. I remember it had 3 screens and if you movie got boring, you could turn around, or walk over to the other screens.

I think it finally closed around 1988 then spent a few years as a flea market site. The one movie I saw there that really stands out in my mind is Mad Max, the movie where Mel Gibson got his start.

If you want to see if any are still open around you, or to see if you can find pictures of one that you used to go to, check this site out:

http://www.drive-ins.com/

I vaguely remember seeing Star Wars at a drive-in. I was pretty little then, but it's one of my earliest memories.

My wife and I went all the time when we were dating in the 60's. And later on when we had kids (and a hatchback) we used to take them, feed them and let them sleep in the back. In the early '80's we took the kids to see the first Star Wars movie at a drive-in although they were much too young to remember.

The best movie we ever saw at a drive-in was Night of The Living Dead when it first came out. People shuffling through stones going to and from the snack bar, scared the bejesus out of you. It's like the dead were walking past the car. We also saw Dawn of The Dead at a drive-in.

When I was a boy, I remember seeing MASH at an outdoor theater where I grew up.

As I got older, me and my friends used to kill the headlights, put it neutral and sneak in thru the exit.

I do remember drive-ins and the speakers that hung on the windows. The great concession stands too.

Just west of us in Oklahoma there is a very popular drive-in still.