Anyone here old enough to remember drive in movies?

God I hope not.

Car sex > movie theater sex.

Even if the movie isn't that great, you can sit and look at the stars and the moon; plus the intermission ads are so much fun!

For teenagers in love, it was an opportunity to make out in the car.

For young families, you could load the kids into your car in their pajamas and have a nice family outing in comfort.

Plus there was a small playground for the kiddoes when the movie got boring. This type of playground is featured in Grease.

I remember seeing Clash of the Titan's when I was a kid at the drive-in with my family. It was a cheap way for a family to go to the movies and there was usually a playground and such.

But what about the sound? You stuck a little speaker in your car window. How did that sound, no surround sound or anything.

They still exist This town, Aldergrove BC is also home to the set for the Bates Hotel

And Wellfleet, MA

I remember seeing THE KARATE KID at the drive-in.

And Dade City, Fla.

OMG, they were wonderful. Air-conditioning wasn't in every theater, or car for that matter, but all the kids are in their PJs, you park the pickup in reverse and open the back door, and you sit under the stars, blankets if needed, trying to figure-out what the squak-box was saying. Yes, the sound was bad person, as was the picture quality. It was wonderful!

I think I say Star Wars that way, about 1976; whenever.

I go quite regularly when I'm in Maine. I love the drive-in

There was one in the late 90s where I used to live, but it had a bad fire ant problem.

I was a counselor at a sleepaway camp in Maine and on our off nights, we'd go to the drive in as it was the only place cheap and nearby. Unfortunately, Silence of the Lambs was a huge hit and played every week so I pretty much have that movie memorized. Fun times. We were stoned, of course.

It was a part of the culture. Everyone went to the movies and Drive-Ins were very successful, and well, down right fun. In their heyday, the lot would be filled with poles separating the parking spots with wired speakers that would hang from your window. There would be playgrounds for before the show. A double feature, cartoons, coming attractions. Parents could bring the kids, who if under twelve were admitted free. Little kids would come in pajamas and snuggle in the back seat. A huge refreshment stand would offer popcorn, burger and fries and ice cream for those hot summer nights. Here's the intermission clock counting down until the next feature!

I"ve never been to one.

There's still one in San Luis Obispo, CA.

A drive-in theater listing/info site;

They STILL exist. In my neck of the woods, San Jose, Sacramento and Concord are still open. In southern California, there are a few. 2 in the Riverside area, 2 in the San Diego area. 3 in the L.A. area.

The Paramount D/I just reopened.

[quote] But what about the sound? You stuck a little speaker in your car window. How did that sound, no surround sound or anything.

Not much different than the actual movie theatre

I remember seeing The Godfather and The Heartbreak Kid.

We would go on Wednesday night when it was $1.50 a carload.

There's one near UCONN in Connecticut, near the Willimantuc / Mansfield area.

Loved, loved, loved seeing horror movies at the drive in. As a kid, a teen, or a young adult. It was great summer fun. And easy to sneak liquor in!

VIVA LAS VEGAS!, Fayetteville, NC (1965). It's like it was yesterday (I was 8).

Child of the 70's here. I remember summer nights at the drive in. My folks had a station wagon so we would pile in the back, pick up a bucket of KFC, and head to the drive in. Or I would go with my friend who's dad had a truck. We would just sit there under the stars and it seemed magical. The last movie I recall seeing at the drive in was Disney's The Rescuers. And yes, movie sound was horrible, even in walk ins. I remember when THX sound first came out and how people would LOVE just to hear the logo for THX because your seat would rumble. The audience would applaud after that logo. It was amazing. It was much lampooned on TV at the time...the Simpsons had fun with it. I'm always sad nowadays when I go and they play these sound logos and the audience just sits there. Unless you grew up with mono sound, you don't quite understand the difference.

I first saw Norma Rae and Breaking Away at the drive-in, and a rerelease of Mary Poppins.

Sometimes I visit a fun site called the Memory Lane Drive In; you choose a movie to watch, then you see a screen that shows you the movie in a drive in setting, complete with a starry background, intermission ads and the sound of crickets behind the soundtrack.

We lived behind one. People would forget to turn off/down the volume on the speakers before replacing them. I could hear the movie (not clearly, mind you) through my bedroom window. Sounded like a big party.

Saw Lifeguard with Sam Elliot and Orca on a double bill at the D/I in Morris Plains, NJ a gazillion years ago. I had bronchitis and remember drinking Black Velvet out of a dixie cup. Mom was cool. It also rained REALLY hard during parts of Orca.

Oh yes, the crickets! That was part of it, seriously.

It was a great place to smoke pot in public when I was in high school.

Sound surround r7 ? How old are you, seventeen?

With all of those "tiny speakers" we had sound everywhere. Drive ins are one of life's little pleasures that everyone should experience.

What r4 said. I can remember being in the back of my parents' VW bug with my brother, in PJs, watching the Pink Panther. The sound wasn't that great, but who cared. If you watch That Darned Cat, you can see Disney's version of date night at the drive-in.

Anyone who is in Philly will remember the Lincoln Drive In on US-1. In the eighties, they showed hard core porn on their outdoor screen. Parents would make their kids hide their eyes when passing by. When I was in high school, I went with a bunch of friends. They didn't check I.D.'s; I know I was only about 15. It was amazing to be sitting in a car full of horny dudes with hard ons. It was straight porn, of course, but it still got me going because of how horny it made everyone. I still can't believe a drive in was allowed to show movies like that.

My aunt would swing by in her station wagon, along with her four kids, pick up my mom and the three kids in our family and head off for a double feature at our local drive in. Those were some of my best memories as a kid .

The first time I went to one was to see Disney's "Pinocchio" in 1955 when I was 8. During the scene where Pinocchio is swallowed by a whale & sets a bonfire in its stomach, a hard rain commenced. My dad had paid for the tickets (godammit!) & wasn't about to leave before the movie ended, even though we could hardly see the screen through the downpour & he had to start the engine to run the windshield wipers, which made so much noise we couldn't hear the sound through the speakers. We kids thought the rain & the noise made it all terribly realistic & loved the movie even more than we would have in a nice quiet theater.

Later, in California, my parents took us to drive-ins during the summer because it was cooler outside than indoors & a whole car was admitted for $1 no matter how many kids were packed in the back seat. We wore our pajamas & my mom brought a huge thermos full of hot dogs, which she served in buns with mustard & ketchup from yellow & red squeeze bottles, plus onions & relish & chips -- another big thermos had lemonade with ice cubes, & dessert was some kind of cookies or Hostess cupcakes. The kids soon fell asleep & our parents enjoyed the scenery in western movies starring John Wayne or Randolph Scott. Later still, drive-ins were a cheap & safe place for teenagers to make out in the car, while some movie or other played vaguely in the background.

Wonderful American institution -- kids today don't know what they're missing.

We had an Xrated drive in just outside of the city. It was the last of the driveins to go out of business!

Thanks for the thread, OP, and thanks for the memories, fellow DLers. Wasn't it great being a kid back then!

Yeah, when I was a kid the Blackford Drive In in Indiana showed XXX features--a concept I failed to understand at the time. I remember hearing a radio ad that advertised a double feature of Cinderella (complete with "a prince that would knock your socks off") and Wet Rainbow. Well what little girl doesn't just love Cinderella and rainbows? I begged Mom to take me and with a deep blush she said, "I don't think it's the Disney version of Cinderella, Dear.":)

Fond memories of the Pickwick Drive-In in Burbank, CA. I don't remember a lot of the movies we saw there, but I do remember seeing "With Six You Get Eggroll" as a kid, and after the "family" feature, there might have been a more "adult" title so you could go to sleep in the back of the station wagon, and the parents could have their time together too.

I think the last movies I saw there in the early 80's (I was an adult by then) was a double bill of "The Man With Two Brains" and "Ghost Busters."

The last time I went to a drive-in was in Orange County in the early 80's, with a double bill of "Jewel of the Nile" and "Burglar."

Oops..sorry, no. The double bill was "Jewel of the Nile" and "Jumping Jack Flash."

HORROR MOVIES!! YES!! They were the best! Our local drive-in was still open when I was in college and every summer when I came home on break, I'd go over to my GF's house after work and a bunch of us would pile into her Chrysler and go.

We'd bring a cooler full of pop and a grocery bag full of popcorn and watch the double feature. Some of the dumbest, campiest horror movies ever. Some of them scared the crap outta me, tho. Hallowe'en and hearing other people scream.

That was so much fun!! Yeah, kids today don't understand what a blast that was - it was so much more social than things are today.

It wasn't the same after they got rid of the tinny little speakers and beamed the sound through your car radio, instead.

We didn't know the sound was bad, it was just cool and everyone wanted the speakers on their side. It even had a dial to turn it up or down.

There is a drive-in movie theater less than 10 miles from my house. It is been open for about eight years.

The sound quality is greatly improved by using your car sound system radio instead of the single speaker

r38 Was that the drive-in where the screen faced the highway? I remember one that did(oddly enough) Used to create a real traffic jam as cars slowed down in order to see the naughty films they played.

We had a few here in Philly, one just outside the main gate of the old Navy Yard. I remember visiting cousins who lived near it, they had an interesting set-up so they could listen to(but not see) the film being played(all from the comfort of their home) They had an odd little radio that was shaped like a rocket ship(about the size of an average carrot) If they used alligator clips from the radio, and attached the other end to the metal piece that covered an electric socket, they could hear the film using earphones. Weirdest damn thing.

Summers down the shore brought us many nights at the drive-in right across the highway from where we stayed(just outside of Atlantic City) 2 bucks a carload was a real bargain. Loved/loathed the snacks we bought at the concession stand, can still remember the horrible pizza and cotton candy we just HAD to have(popcorn and hotdogs were terrific though) Went crazy at the great playground they had right up close to the screen. Don't remember the films, probably fell asleep on most of 'em.

Strangest drive-in I ever went to was in Ohio, near Wright-Patterson AFB. A roommate and I would stock up on snacks(pizza, chicken, drinks, etc) before we even got there. In addition to the speaker, they had in-car heaters(for the Fall and Winter months) almost the same size. In rain or snow they provided a nice size plastic awning that magnetically attached to the car's roof, with the supporting legs on the car's hood. It kept the windshield dry/snow free. The best was to go there during a snowstorm and watch horror movies(it upped the spine-tingling factor quite a bit) In Winter, we kept the drinks outside the car to keep 'em cold. I wonder if it's still there?

So many odd selections for double features. I remember seeing Love Story and Toklat on a double bill.

R1 and his ilk will never understand.

Privacy, OP. Get it?

I loved the drive-in theater. The first movie I remember ever seeing was The Sound of Music. One of the later movies I saw was Corvette Summer with Mark Hamill.

Growing up on Long Island we had probably twenty scattering the island. United Artists had the best. We had three "All Weather" Drive-Ins. They were open all year round. The building had not only the projection booth and concession stand but a huge indoor theater. They shared a projection booth and prints. The indoor show would start say 7:30 and by dusk, the projectionist would take the finished reel and walk to the other side of the booth and start it in the out door side, back and forth all night. Above the concession they had seats so you could sit outside and watch the picture. It was cool, because of the indoor, you could go to the drive-in during the day for matinees. This is a very early picture taken when they first opened in the 50's.

America's oldest drive-in continuously operating since 1934 in Orefield, Pennsylvania is Shankweiler's

Blowjobs, OP.

The drive in in my home town during the 60s was run by a narrow-minded cowboy who hated "long hairs." He would shine a spotlight into each car at the ticket booth to check the length of the hair of each male in the car. If the hair was too long for his liking--it it touched your ears-- then he would refuse to let the car through. A lot of longhaired boys would hide in the trunk in order to get in.

I was googling about drive-ins and came across this little article that does a pretty good job of describing their appeal back in the day.

The name "Shankweiler" pretty much says it all.

I used to LOVE going to the drive-in. I wish they would make a comeback. Remember those little coil repellents you would light to keep the bugs away?

We had one in the town over from where I grew up. First double feature I saw was Superman and Superman II. Thats over 4hrs of Superman...

[R45] Yep, that's the one! And yes, the traffic jams around that place were beyond belief. Not that much to do in Blackford County, Indiana!:)

Black Momma White Momma

We were huddled in the back of the station wagon. Looked up and there were titties in some hot house. Parents told us to lay back down!

then it became a porn drive in.. we would sneak in after the Methodist use group with No Boone' s Farm.

My oldest brother used to take me to the local drive-in to see Japanese monster movies and horror movies. One memorable one was THE VAMPIRE LOVERS. It was about a lezzie vampire who bit her female victims on the tit . Very eye-opening for a 10-12 year old.

Did anyone ever drive off with the speaker still in the car? We almost did one time when Dad put the car in reverse without putting the speaker back on the stand. Of course we started yelling, "The speaker! The speaker!"

R50 I remember the drive-in in Valley Stream. It was a great place for blowjobs.

I've been hearing about the Best Western Movie Manor in Colorado. It's adjacent to a drive in theater, and apparently you either can watch the drive in movie with sound from your room, or visit the drive in before making the short trip back to the hotel, which features movie themed rooms.

It wasn't that long ago, OP.

I am such the Eldergay right now!

I remember as a kid in the early 70's watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang one screen and on the other get this Beyond the Valley of the Dolls!!! I kid you not!

Of course at 9 years old, my eyes would drift...

Yes I'm gay but I DO have a big tit fetish! And that's THAT!

I just saw a Facts of Life rerun where Moon Unit Zappa harassed Blair at a drive-in.

Van Nuys Drive-in Theater on Roscoe Blvd., between Van Nuys and Sepulveda. Est. 1948, demolished sometime in the late '90s. I remember the whole family piling into my parent's Mercury station wagon and watching Star Wars, Superman, Logan's Run, King Kong, Grease, Every Which Way But Loose, Smokey and the Bandit, Cannonball Run, etc. Great memories.

Drive in theaters were so much fun. I was a kid when I went to them, and that was toward the end of their popularity (in the early 70s) but it was really exciting to watch a movie from your car. Much more so than from the theater.

And going to the concession stand was a total fucking thrill! Back then, most movie theaters only sold popcorn, candy, and soda. But at the drive-in, the concession stand was bigger so you could get nachos, hotdogs, even a burger! I was amazed. (Of course these days, you can get a four-course meal at the movie theater.)

The last movie I saw at the drive-in was "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and it was even scarier at the drive-in. (Actually, it might have been "Godzilla '85. I don't remember!) After that, the drive-in closed down.

As a porn addict in the pre-VCR days, drive-in movies that showed adult films (all straight, naturally) were the only way to see "adult" fare in an atmosphere with some privacy to ... uh... achieve release. The only other options were regular theaters or 8mm films and a projector at home. I fondly recall one in San Jose that showed censored versions of hardcore flicks, and the best one, the Westlane Drive-In in Davis, CA (just off I-80) that showed uncensored hardcore. I shot MANY a load in my car there; I would go at least once a week in the '70s.

That's really gross R69.

Hey BAG at r45! I remember the drive in by Wright Patt. It was near the flight path and occasionally the planes would roar in. My dad was stationed there when I was a kid and we went to that drive- in quite often. I don't remember the tent things though. There was a skating rink nearby. (Tony Orlando - Knock 3 Times on the ceiling if you want me...

Another great thing about drive-ins...you could take your dog. We took ours and he loved it. I swear he would watch the movie too.

I "saw" Jaws in the summer of '75 at the Wellfleet Drive In on Cape Cod.

The first scene takes place at night (the one where the dirty, dirty woman is justly murdered by the shark because she had sex on the beach) but we saw nothing thanks to the first of the double features starting at just before full dusk. The little metal speaker hanging on the partially rolled down car widow emitted tinny screams as we stared at the blank screen wondering what all the hubbub was about.

R16, the intermission video/clock was EVERYTHING. Also, the little clip to attend the church of your choice on Sunday morning. (Like we'd be wide awake enough to go. The drive-in: the playground, the Burt Bacharach music before the movie started, the double-feature Disney live action movies (The Monkey's Uncle, The Ugliest Dalmatian, Pollyanna, Darby O'Gill and the Little People, The Absent-Minded Professor, Miracle of the White Stallions, That Darn Cat!, The Happiest Millionaire, The Gnome-Mobile, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, The Barefoot Executive...) The fireworks after the movies were over. Waiting your turn to exit the parking lot rows. Now it feels like Saturday night in my pajamas. I always fell asleep before we got home, and Dad carrying me to my bed.

Don't forget when the film broke all the cars would turn on their lights and honk, as if the projectionist didn't know or could fix it in a second.

[quote]The Ugliest Dalmatian

They made a move about Lidia Bastianich?

We had Studebaker station wagon. Dad would back in so we kids could watch the movie with our back propped against the 2nd row seats. When we got sleepy, we would just scootch down and fall asleep.

Geneva Drive-In next to the Cow Palace, San Francisco. So crowded on a Saturday night, you tied a handkerchief to your raised way up high car attenna so you could locate your car again returning from the toilet or the candy concession. Sometimes the fog would roll in so thick you could barely see the movie screen.

There was always a double feature shown at a drive-in. My earliest memory is seeing Darby O'Gill and the Little People and Lady and the Tramp.

Ya know, the article r54 posted has some good points. Maybe drive -ins should make a come back. People who insist on taking the 3-month old to scream thru an entire movie wouldn't actually piss off anyone else at the drive-in. Nobody would hear it. And people who want to fucking yammer and text through the entire movie wouldn't bother anyone else, either. That sounds like a great idea to ME.

But, of course, these people probably do these fucking idiotic things just to get attention. And going to the drive in would defeat the whole purpose of getting attention.

This thread is the first time I've heard of drive in theaters showing porn or showing movies in the winter. Very cool. My memories are all summer blockbusters or schlock like the Police Academy sequels.

I arrived in America after their heyday...but was taken along for taste of Americana.

I saw the dreadful film 'Mannequin'.

I found the trailer. God, if it doesn't epitomise the '80s, down to the mega-shit music.

Smoke, talk, relax in your own car.

I recall watching double features in the eighties. Shitty movies

I went on a double date (I was in the back) to see "angel Heart" when it came out.

Here's one:

I worked at the Coliseum D/I down the street from the Oakland Coliseum. Trivia time: the stadium and arena (1966) were named after the drive-in (1961).

In June 1982 (and yes I'm an Eldergay!), the drive in had 3 screens. The original screen played E.T., screen where the marquee still stands played Poltergeist, the little screen next to the street played The Thing. When ET landed on Earth at the beginning of the movie, the scene was SO dark that people were honking their horns until there was daylight on the screen. When those movies came out, it wasn't completely dark until 10!

I miss that drive in. I also worked at Union City D/I and managed the Island Auto Movies in Alameda. Good times!

The last movie that I remember seeing at a Drive-In was the original Mad Max movie. It was great. I think we had sex while 'watching', if I recall. A young Mel Gibson in leather pants got us pretty horned up.

I remember seeing Chariots of the Gods at a drive in when young. Being under the stars while watching about ancient visitors to Earth made the movie seem better than it was.

I grew up in Ft. Lauderdale, which had a nine screen drive-in across the highway from the airport (so, naturally it was called the Airport Hwy 9 Drive-In). There were a few other drive-ins (The Thunderbird 7-screen, The Arrow twin- which was mostly porn- and the Margate 4, which was a shithole in which you took your life into your own hands to attend) but the Airport was the best. The screens were in a sort of circle and you could see (but not hear) at least three other movies wherever you parked. Two of the screens showed hard & soft core porn and were hidden behind very tall trees so the kids wouldn't accidentally see anything.

The best thing about the Airport was it was the only drive-in that had air conditioning. For 50 cents, you would get a hose that fit in your window, you'd roll it up to keep it in place and stuff the excess open area with towels or t-shirts, and freezing air would blow into the car. it was awesome, and it helped keep out mosquitos. By the early 80s, all the A/C units were busted and never got fixed, and the bug problem was so bad, it was a nightmare to go. The drive-in closed down in 1982 and their final weekend, they had a dusk til dawn movie party on each screen.

I miss the drive-in on Roscoe in the Valley. There's a high school there now. However, our small-town Ohio drive-in, with its endless swarms of mosquitoes and broken playground equipment was truely paradise for me, because I was too young to know any better. They started the porn at sundown, so when we went in the spring, I would sneak into the back of our hideous yellow station wagon and get myself quite an education.

Drive in movies didn't show porn..

I saw Star Wars at a drive in. It was pretty cool seeing an outer space movie with a backdrop of actual outer space -- the black night sky, the stars, plane lights blinking. My sister and I took our nephew who promptly fell asleep.

You're like a lot of young kids today. You never really had any fun. You never really learned how to play anything that didn't involve electronics and technology. As s child, have you ever spent an entire summer day outside playing with your friends, riding bikes, swimming? And obviously, you never knew the joys of the drive in movie theater. Oh , what you have missed!

R90 is for you, OP. And probably your friends as well.

[quote]Drive in movies didn't show porn..

Oh yes they did, all over the country.

The first movie I saw at a drive-in was "Mary Poppins." My brother and I were in our pajamas in the back of my dad's Ford Fairlane wagon.

The last movie I saw at a drive-in was "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in Binghamton, NY with two friends from college in one of their dad's Buick Electra wagon. We smoked so much pot that I didn't even remember most of the movie.

R88 is so confident in his assertion.

Well, sorry, toots. You're wrong.

There were dozens of porn drive-ins tucked away all around the country.

The first one I ever came across was in a wooded area just outside of Tyler, TX.

Did any of these porn drive-ins show gay features - or was it strictly straight sex?

R88, I live in a town whose drive-in theater has been in operation every summer for sixty years. In the late 70s, early 80s, before VCRs were ubiquitous, they used to show porn movies at midnight screenings and at regular twilight hours in the mid-to-late fall for a few weekends before cosing for the winter.

Porn and car sex. Why porn was ever shown at a drive in, I don't know but it was.

[quote] Did any of these porn drive-ins show gay features - or was it strictly straight sex?

It was mostly straight, but I think in FL, there was one screen that showed gay from time to time.

Maybe they weren't SUPPOSED to show porn, but I assure you that our nearest drive-in did.

I loved the drive-in, my parents would put us kids in the back seat with pillows and blankets so we could fall asleep. It was great, for some reason seeing a movie in the car, and sleeping in the car, seemed so exotic!

I checked the site at R19 and there's a drive-in 20 minutes from where I live now. Its season is almost over for the year. I'll have to check it out, though I'm sure it won't be nearly as much fun as an adult.

My oldest sister worked one summer at the concession stand at the Montrose drive-in near Akron, Ohio. sometimes my dad would load all the rest of the family in the car to go "pick her up from work" two hours early! "We're here to pick up Vivian from work." "Yeah, sure...go on in."

The first movie I remember ever seeing was there, "The Big Circus" (1959) with Victor Mature, Rhonda Fleming, Peter Lorre, Gilbert Roland, David Nelson. We thrilled to Gilbert Roland walking a tightrope across Niagara Falls, gasped in surprise and horror when the mad killer was revealed to be...DAVID NELSON! My little sister and re-enacted the tightrope walk for years on the grape arbor in our yard, holding the pole our mom used to prop up the clothesline for balance. Prior to VCRs, "The Big Circus" was our most seen movie since we watched it every time it showed up on TV.

Anyone remember public service announcements onscreen like this one....

R54's link mentions what would be the fave drive in of the Data Lounge--the Judy Drive In!

Do they only show movies featuring Judy Garland? Or Judy Holliday? Or Judy Canova?

One hopes so...

Also forgot to mention in previous post our family's preferred drive-in, The Blue Sky in Wadsworth, Ohio. The street side of the screen featured the Blue Sky name and stars and moons in blue neon. We couldn't wait for our first glimpse of it a la distance as we drove there. So glamorous!

Gosh, R101, SPOILER ALERT.

Now The Big Circus is ruined for me. RUINED!!!

Go ahead and watch "The Big Circus" any way! It has its charms.

Actually, I forgot to complete my signature in the last post....

Went to the drive in to see Soylent Green.

Got there too late, movie already going. We rolled down the window quick and grabbed the speaker, turning it up just in time to hear Charlton Heston say, " Soylent Green is PEOPLE!"

We had caught the end of the movie before it started again.

Pretty much ruined the suspense.

Just saw this today at Cinema Treasures. The Pickwick Drive-In in Burbank Ca, where "Grease" was shot had a sneak preview of "Blazing Saddles" where anyone on a horse was admitted free. Hilarious.

I was high school in the 2000s, and we still had drive-ins during the summer where I lived. It was fun!

There's one open about an hour from my house. Plan to go one night. Loved them in high school when we'd all pile in a car with beer and weed.

You're less likely to catch covid-19 than in regular cinema.

In high school, I loved the drive in theater in our area. The fun thing was you could joke with your friends in the car while the movie played - it was more like a group activity. Plus: booze.

R108 What inspired you to reboot this thread?

Did other countries have drive ins? I remember watching Independence Day surrounded by corn fields in Ohio with my ex whom I still love and miss.

There was a recent documentary on drive-ins. Was good.

This 80s music video is kind of a homage to the movie drive-in

The speaker sound was fine, it did it's job but you had to get their early to check it. When the box office opened the booth would play music so when you got in your spot you could check to make sure the speaker was working properly. If you left the car during the movie, because it was usually great weather the car windows would be down and you could hear the movie echoing all over the lot.

In the 70's the speakers were replaced with cinema radio. You tuned in you car AM radio to a specific spot on the dial and you got the sound. Or you could bring a boom box and use that.

There were two near me growing up in the 60's in Weymouth and Braintree, MA - one's now a shopping center anchored by a Lowe's and the other's the new offices (since they had to sell the old one to pay for the lawsuits) of the Archdiocese of Boston.

It was $3 a carload and I had a Chrysler - you could get eight or nine kids in it

R118 You're from Massachusetts. Rhode Islander here. DId you know about the Rustic Drive-in in North Smithfield? For years they showed XXX. And lots of underage kids were snuck in by 18yr olds with drivers licences. I was 15, under the seat in the back, then was able to watch Chesty Morgan in Dangerous Weapons. There was also a wooded area with a small cliff where you were able to watch the screen without the sound. Great for watching the porn movies.

Love that posr r119 Chesty Morgan lives upstate I read. Wonder what happened to her implants?

What DOES happen to implants?? Do you eventually find just bumps of pristine silicone among the bones and worms and rot, as Edie said on AbFab. Archeologists of the future have their work cut out for them.

Chesty had quite an interesting life, and according to Wiki, retired to Florida.

Sounds like poor people liked it.

We could afford the $1.00 it cost for a showing in a proper movie theatre..

You could sit and eat pizza and make out!

Sorry! I’ll try again

my 12 yo cousin sneaked me in to see "And God Created Woman" when i was10. he showed me how to jack him off in the back seat while the 16 y.o cousin worked in the concession stand

pivotal moment as i knew i liked dick and i wanted to be wrapped in a towel nude with jean louis, and not brigette

[quote]You're less likely to catch covid-19 than in regular cinema.

Drive-ins are the reason the U.S. is still releasing box office stats. A drive-in in Florida is showing new IFC films.

We saw “Airport” (1970) at the Airport Drive-in Theater in Santa Barbara. Just as suicidal passenger Van Heflin set off the bomb aboard the jetliner, the coastal fog rolled in and we couldn’t see what was happening on the screen. We could HEAR it, but we couldn’t see it.

AIRPORT! Jean Seberg! Burt Lancaster!

I remember that they had a lot of double features, which was a great value.

So you hung out in your car - eating and drinking whatever you wanted - or you could have sex or make-out - or smoke a joint.

You could also talk or joke to people about the film without interrupting others.

It was great! I loved them.

I was shocked to discover the drive ins where I was born and raised did show porn back in the 70's as well as some really grimy exploitation movies that would never play around there these days. Isn't it odd that, in some ways, we've gotten more open minded and, yet, in others it seems like we've regressed so much? I was a 90's kid, so they were all gone by the time I was born, but I've been to a few elsewhere and I really love them. They have a real charm to them and I'd be delighted if they were to make a comeback.

I think Tarantino's Grindhouse movie revived an interest in them too.

I’d much rather go to a drive in than a regular movie theater.

A lot of people annoy me.

I remember this place in San Jose. I was almost 17 when this aired and I remember it being a big deal. I never went of course, but word got around fast.

Strangest double features I ever saw:

Bonnie & Clyde with Up The Down Staircase

Judge Roy Bean & Harold and Maude

I loved going to the drive-in when I was in high school because once it got dark, you could get fucked as much as you wanted....I liked to go with three other guys - two would sit in the front while the third one and I got busy in the back.....then they'd trade places.....

If the movie was really good OR really boring, all of them took a second turn..... YOUTH! I always tried to go with guys who were not from my school, but word got around....

R133 - OHMYGOD - I know that woman being interviewed in that 1978 video clip! That is - holy fuck!

Most of my early childhood movie experiences were at any of several local drive-ins. I got to bring my pillow, a flannel blanket, and any of a number of non-noise-making toys, in case I was bored with the film. Since my parents usually chose the film, that was often the case - for instance, I hated 'Love Story' (1970). There were also the treats from the snack bar - popcorn, soda, snowcones, candy, canned chocolate abominations called 'Toddy', etc.. We often brought goodies from home with us. This was frowned upon, and at the ticket drive-thru, they would not admit you if they could see such stuff, but we snuck it in anyway.

The repertoire of films I saw this way was fantastic:

Cult of the White Rhino (1967) aka 'Prehistoric Women'

Planet of the Apes (1968)

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (1968 re-release)

Five Million Years to Earth (1968)

Destroy All Monsters (1969)

Latitude Zero (1969)

Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

Skullduggery (1970)

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1970 re-release)

Two Mules For Sister Sara (1970)

Cold Turkey (1971)

Man in the Wilderness (1971)

The Twilight People (1973)

Just off the top of my head - too many great films to list. Great times at the drive-in theater.

By 1977, we'd pretty much stopped, and were taking our films at indoor theaters.

R135 here - yep, I just confirmed with my cousin that woman being interviewed was my uncle's 2nd wife, which technically makes her my aunt. It is my cousin's mother. She died in Ft. Lauderdale 3 years ago.

I don't recall meeting her formally (except there are photos of me with her when I was 18 months old), but I reconnected with my cousin when I was 40. I saw this woman in a lot of family photos from the 60s.

How fucked up weird is that? I'm randomly on DL and a link is to an old interview with a family member?!!!

(R134) Whore!

R137, that’s crazy! I’m glad my post gave you some continuity with your past. Is the daughter she is referring to in the interview your cousin?

That's crazy that much screen was visible from the road if they were playing hardcore features.

I watched THE ROAD WARRIOR many times at the Aiea Drive-in theater. I was an ALIEN fan so I would drive all over to see it. I would stay all night to watch it play a second time. The other screen played APOCALYPSE NOW and I took no interest to it. I also saw MOMMIE DEAREST at Waialae Drive In and we were very impressed by Faye Dunaway.

[quote] The speaker sound was fine, it did it's job but you had to get their early to check it.

Oh, DEAR x2!

I saw Night of the Living Dead with a couple friends. We were scared shitless. Locked in the car, in the dark. It was GREAT!

It was a great family outing plus you could bring in your own food. As a teenager, going to the concession stand was a great chance to hookup and change cars. Oh god, I remember the stink from those restrooms!

R31 at mine, the sound came in on your car radio.

[quote] As a teenager, going to the concession stand was a great chance to hookup and change cars.

What do you mean? Like you drove in with a Pontiac and drove out with a Plymouth?

R133 - yep, the girl she was referring to is my cousin.

R134 (aka "the whore"), are you a girl or a boy?

LOL.....I am a boy - and I loved every minute of it. Less of a whore and more of a slut. By the time I went to college, I was mostly settled down and spent most of my time studying.....