Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: The appeal of drive-in movies

This is topic The appeal of drive-in movies in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Thomas Pitt (Member # 4322) on 02-19-2018, 04:03 PM:

Being from the UK, it's very rare over here to find a drive-in movie theatre. I've just been wondering what is the actual appeal of watching movies in a drive-in compared to a traditional auditorium? I assume it's to do with being able to watch in the comfort of your own car, with the heating and volume level set to whatever you want. Of course a disadvantage is when it rains, it'll blur your view of the screen unless you have the wipers going constantly...

What about you guys? What do you think are the pros and cons of drive-in movies?

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 02-19-2018, 04:32 PM:

There's a social aspect to it. A lot of people will set up chairs and blankets in front of their cars (especially in the front row) or back their pickup trucks or SUV's into their space and set up camp in the back.

The drive-in here has a nice lawn between the screen and the first row. Kids fill the area and toss Frisbees and balls before the show starts, then lay out on sleeping bags to watch the show.

Some of the people parked in the back, of course, aren't really there to watch the movie.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 02-19-2018, 04:35 PM:

I agree with Sam. Drive-ins are more about the social aspect of watching a movie than just watching a movie. Plus people like the independence of being in their own vehicle and/or setting up chairs. Plus a night at the drive-in is usually cheaper than a night at the indoor theatre for the same number of people.

Posted by Steve Wilson (Member # 2411) on 02-19-2018, 05:50 PM:

at 62 years old, I long for the days of being on the back row with some cute chick! LOL

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-19-2018, 06:31 PM:

I went to the drive-in countless times when I was in my teens and 20s. Hardly ever watched the movie. I was too busy wandering around socializing, as were most of my friends. We spent more time around the concession area and projection booth than anywhere else. Eventually I started working there and it was basically the same thing, with more of an emphasis on the booth.

Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 02-20-2018, 12:34 AM:

They're now rare in the U.S. as well. According to Wikipedia (for better or worse) in 2017, there were 330 left, compared to a peak of 4000 in the late 1950's. They list one in Fort Lauderdale, FL with 14 screens which also doubles as a giant flea market with a 180,000 square foot indoor building that houses 2000 vendors, but it's not clear whether it's still operating as a movie theater. Looking at it on Maps, it looks like at least some of the screens are ripped up.

For couples, drive-ins were a place to "make-out". For families, since many drive-ins charged by the carload, it was relatively inexpensive. And when they charged per-person, sometimes people would hide in the trunk. And many had playgrounds or even some amusement rides in addition to the food concession. Starting in the 1970's, many became flea markets during the day.

In the summer of '65, when "Help" was released, it ONLY played at a drive-in in Rockland County, NY, so I made my father take us. I wound up leaving the car and watching the movie from an outdoor seating area in front of the concession stand. I may have had bad food taste in those days, but I remember the concession food being pretty good.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-20-2018, 10:07 AM:

The concession at our drive-in used to sell these cellophane wrapped microwaveable hamburgers that had onion mixed in with the beef patty. They were insanely tasty. I never did find out who made them. Given how awesome they were, I'm sure they were unhealthy anyway, so it's probably a good thing I never found out.

Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 02-20-2018, 10:15 AM:

The social aspect of it very much plays into the appeal of the drive-in. At my drive-in we have folks who've traveled from 40-50 miles away "just to come to the drive-in"... they don't have a clue what we're playing.

Families find it more economical, it still has sort of that retro-trendy factor that the 20-30 year old crowds are searching for, and teenagers... they still do what all teenagers have always done at the drive-in.

At an indoor theatre, "going to the movies" is 2 hours of what you do on a typical Friday or Saturday night. At the drive-in, the drive-in "IS" what you do on Friday or Saturday night. Many nights our customers get here 2 hours BEFORE the first movies start, and end up staying with us all night long. They are literally here from 6 p.m. until 1:30 a.m. It's the perfect storm of dinner, entertainment, desert, and more entertainment.

Posted by Dave Bird (Member # 490) on 02-20-2018, 10:39 AM:

Ditto to what most of the other drive-in owners here have said, it's very much a social thing, sort of a 6-8 hour "block party" without the booze, mostly families. About half of our crowd drives roughly an hour to visit. We're also situated in "lake country" so there are a lot of people who have spent all day on the water just extending the "vibe". The old days of not caring what's playing can still be somewhat true, but less and less I think, we play day and date and a bad program hurts our draw significantly. The picture and sound is now very, very good and on those nights when the sky is clear I'm not sure there's a more pleasant atmosphere to catch the latest film(s). But Barry's correct, I love going to movies myself in the off-season, but you go to see the film and leave, I sense people really perceive their night outdoors as a little more of a social outing. Typically kids meet at the playground, which leads to families meeting and for the "regulars", a whole little "community" starts to develop. Which ain't a bad thing in this day and age.

Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 02-26-2018, 08:37 AM:

quote: Martin Brooks
They're now rare in the U.S. as well. According to Wikipedia (for better or worse) in 2017, there were 330 left, compared to a peak of 4000 in the late 1950's. They list one in Fort Lauderdale, FL with 14 screens which also doubles as a giant flea market with a 180,000 square foot indoor building that houses 2000 vendors, but it's not clear whether it's still operating as a movie theater. Looking at it on Maps, it looks like at least some of the screens are ripped up.

The Swap Shop Drive-In on Sunrise Boulevard in Ft. Lauderdale is open and showing movies:
https://www.bigscreen.com/Marquee.php?theater=7916

It appears that they have seven simultaneous movies playing currently, but we do list them as having 14 screens. I am able to see 8 on Google Maps. Most appear to be ripped, so a storm must have gone through right before the overhead images were taken, or that's just the way they are.

Our records show that there are 371 drive-ins in the U.S. and Canada that are open, or were at the end of the 2017 season. That number fluctuates wildly as these operations are hard to track at times. I've gone through our records and tried to verify them and fill in details, such as web sites and facebook pages, but some don't have much in the way of marketing. For example, some web sites don't list an address, as I think they assume everyone knows where they are. I've gotten quite good at hunting down current and former drive-in operations while scanning Google Earth imagery...

Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 02-26-2018, 12:35 PM:

If I come up with some reason to drive in that direction, I'll take a look at the Swap Shop screens. I assume the damage was from Hurricane Irma back in September.

Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 02-26-2018, 05:38 PM:

Preston Henn, the owner of the Thunderbird, recently died but had in his will that the family had to keep running the 14 plex.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 03-01-2018, 03:09 PM:

I began in this industry at a Drive-in (ozoner) and stayed there 5 years before I moved to a hardtop (indoor) location.

But, off and on, I found work at the drive-ins on the side.

Presently, I take care of two drive ins in my area as their repair and help guy.

Some owners are members of the UDITOA, being the United Drive-in Theatre Owners Association.

-Monte

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 03-16-2018, 10:09 AM:

Wow, 14 screens -- that must have been an expensive conversion. How many projection booths? How do you design a DI like that and not have some screens facing the West and the setting sun, which of course is awful for keeping a reasonable starting time and still see an image.

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 03-16-2018, 11:19 AM:

While they have the original screen the place was built around, some older pictures showed projectors pointing at the white-painted walls of buildings. Show schedules are/were single-feature with 2 or more daily shows and the "lots", are mainly flat spaces between swap-meet attractions. Concessions are served to some screens by motorized food carts with K-Mart-style flashing beacons.

I'm told some "booths" could serve more than one "screen", but they were spread out all over the place. Makes you wonder what make-up / break-down and general evening monitoring must have been like back in their film days.

What I'd like to know is, what sort of community has enough empty space on their dial to accommodate 14 drive-in sound channels?

Their web site once mentioned a business jet charter they were running on the side, in addition to the movie and swap-meet operations. Really versatile folks over there!

Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 03-18-2018, 08:11 AM:

I saw Preston Henn a few months before he died..... he jumped in a racing sports car and peeled some rubber....Henn was a former race car driver. The cinemas where equipped with Century projectors in the film days. There was also a circus and amusement rides. I did a national 35mm commercial at this location which I had to phase lock the projector to an Arriflex BL to show a drive in audience enjoying the client's "product". Had to remove the projector shutter to brighten the image.