I'm ashamed to say that I've never been to a drive-in. The only one near where I live is now permanently closed after having been around since 1949. I think it was the first drive-in that National Amusements operated.
I don't think you need to feel ashamed, I imagine there are alot of posters here, who have never been to a drive-in. But, if you have, the memories.
The first film I ever saw was at a drive-in. It was "Shane." Of course, I was too young to remember, but my parents told me about it later. Twice we tried to see it. Twice the fog rolled in, and they had to stop the film. The third time we tried, the manager just waved us on through, and we got to see it for free. The third time must have been the charm, as we finally saw it all the way through.
Other drive-in memories . . .
Newsreels. I'm old enough to remember them showing newsreels before the start of the feature.
The ads for the drive-in concession stand. And they always made the food sound so good.
The playgrounds at the drive-ins. One had a miniature train you could ride.
Driving pass a drive-in at night. You couldn't hear what was being said, but for one shining moment, you got to see what was on the screen.
Putting on our p.j.s, before being put in the car and driving to the drive-in to see a film. Actually, a drive-in was one of the best places you could take a kid to see a film. You could put them in their p.j.s, and if they fell asleep during the film, they didn't disturb anyone, and you let them sleep.
When I first came to the area, where I now live, there were two or three drive-ins the area. But, they are all gone now. The land where they sat, just became too valuable not to sell for other development.
That is one of the problems with drive-ins. The land they sat on, just became too valuable.
Other problems . . .
The weather. Rain. Fog. Which made watching the film impossible. And if it was on a summer night, in an area, where it got dark late, sometimes you had a hard time seeing the film anyway.
Those tinny speakers, which sometimes didn't work. Of course, if they didn't you just moved your car to a different one. Rolled down your window, always on the drivers side for us, put the speaker on the window, and then rolled the window all the way up.
Ah! What memories.
