Drive-Ins Recall Days of Big Cars and Low Budget Films
by Cookie Curci
The concept of the drive-in movie theater was the brainchild of
Richard Hollingshead, who opened the very first public drive-in movie theater on
June 6, 1933, in Camden, NJ. It held 400 cars.
The film shown that night was a laugh riot called Wife Beware,
a howler starring Adolf Menjou. The popularity of this new alfresco theater
spread across the land. By 1941, supply and demand had encouraged the state of
Illinois to construct the world's largest drive-in theater, with a 1,500 car
capacity. Drive-ins were at a premium, with only 52 in actual operation
across the country, and many more in the planning stages.
By 1950, the "Automobile Theater", as it had come to be called,
was as much a part of America's summer as was ice-cream, lemonade and
baseball. By the mid-'50s, the number of drive-ins across the country had climbed to
4,063. The late 1940s and early 1950s saw the popularity of the drive-in
climb to new heights and soar to the top as a pop-culture icon.
From then on, summer nights for teenagers would never be the same. The
drive-in movie offered teens the perfect place to be alone with their
sweethearts; the perfect place to hide behind steamy car windows. For the
suburbanite, the joys of seeing a movie from the casual comfort of the family
automobile was limitless. Now Mom and Dad could go out for the evening
without the need of a baby sitter. They simply dressed little "Junior" in his pj's
and baby sister in her Dr. Denton's and tucked them cozily into the back
seat of the family car. Refreshments were packed, and the family was all set for
a night at the drive-in.
Those roomy, luxury cars of the 1940s and '50s were a perfect match
for the drive-in movie fad. Cars like the Cadillac Coupe Deville, Oldsmobile
88, Lincoln Mark IV, Ford station wagon and the Chevrolet Impala came equipped
with sofa-like seats, front and back arm rest, push-button radios, reading
lamps, built in ash trays, cigarette lighters, and a huge curved front
windshield that allowed passengers a panoramic view of the out door screen.
While waiting for the movie to begin, drive-in patrons flashed
their car headlights, honked their horns, and streaked their spotlights across
the screen in a display of impatience and camaraderie; all part of the Friday
night fun at the drive-in movies. The sounds of Buddy Holly, Frank Sinatra,
and Elvis Presley echoed from our car radios.
By the time the moon crusted over the movie screen, the second
feature was well under way. Although , the drive-in theater was never really
about cinema, its marquee reflected the taste of its teenage patrons and
spawned the era of the low budget black - and -white B-movie film. Movies such
as: I Was A Teenage Werewolf, The Body Snatchers, Godzilla, and
my personal favorite, The Creature From The Black Lagoon. The acting in
these films was rarely Oscar material and the photography was a bit out of
focus, but there was always plenty of action.
It really didn't matter what was playing, it was the going out to the
theater that was important for teenagers. Chevy's and Buicks full of teens
poured through the gates of the drive-in every Friday night. It was exciting
to see and be seen, whether on a date or piled into the car with a group of
friends. America's teens rushed to the movie show every weekend. Sometimes, the first feature
was half over by the time they arrived,
but it didn't bother them a bit. They could watch the second half of the movie,
the "Movie Tone" news, a cartoon, a stage act and the second film , then
watch the first feature again.
During a movie marathon, die-hard faithfuls would spend as much as
eight consecutive hours at their favorite drive-in.
National theaters like the Moonlite drive-in syndicate
offered customers "Movies 'till Dawn". If a customer could stay awake long enough
they could see a collection of B-film classics such as: The thing, It came
from Outer Space, The Day the Earth stood still and Them. Some familiar
local drive-ins from the 1950s included: Moonlite, Tropicana, The
Winchester, The shamrock, Frontier, Capital, and The El Rancho.
As bad as those old B movies were, they were loved by a generation
of teenage movie goers with wheels, pocket cash and a penchant for drive-ins.
These same teens reveled in the birth of Rock 'n' Roll and the car
culture. In 1955, they ruled suburbia in their hot rods and low riders and
cruised up and down main street every Saturday night before catching the final
flick at their local drive-in.
Today, a mere 725 drive-ins survive in the United States, while
others, with their blank screens and empty playgrounds are a nostalgic reminder
of a bygone day. There are some who believe that America won't let the
drive-in fade away from the American scene. They believe that these establishments
are too much a part of our past to ever let go.
To be sure, the drive-in movie is a beloved part of our
cultural heritage, and I agree to loose it would be a great loss. But didn't we
also feel the same way about Movie Palaces, soda shops, Mom and Pop dinners, and
drive-in restaurants and bowling alleys? Just asking.
For over 14 years, Cookie Curci wrote a popular nostalgia column for The Willow Glen
Resident. (The Silicon Valley Metro Newspapers...San Jose califonia)
www.metroactive.com. She's currently writing a column called "Looking Back" that
appears monthly in FRA NOI - a Chicago based newspaper. In additon she writes for
"Mature Living" in Toledo, Ohio, "Senior News" in West Virginia and THE WILLOW GLEN TIMES in San Jose. More about Cookie is at On Writing a Nostalgia Column.... If you would like to comment on an article, Cookie can be reached at Cookiecurci@aol.com.
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