Bring Back the Drive-Ins!

The Burgomaster · January 28, 2003, 04:13:00 PM

I did some of my best "bad movie" and "cult classic" viewing at drive-in theaters during the 1970s and early 1980s. I saw such all-time favorites (?) as "Don't Look in the Basement," "Barbarella," "Cherry Hill High," "The House that Dripped Blood," "Don't Go in the House," "Last House on the Left," "Ben," and "The House that Vanished" at some fine local drive-ins. There were at least 6 drive-ins within 10 miles of my house. Sadly, they are all gone. Bring them back, I say!

Funk, E. · January 28, 2003, 04:43:28 PM

Joe... as in Bob Briggs?

Vermin Boy · January 28, 2003, 05:29:25 PM

The one in my town, the Mohawk, just closed down last year, to make room for a housing development. There's another one about half an hour away, but it's just not the same.

This is completely off-topic, but do they call things "Mohawk" outside of Massachusetts, or does it just sound like the name of a punk club? With the Mohawk Trail going right through my area, I've grown up not noticing that every other establishment is called the Mohawk, but the more I think about it, the more odd it seems.

raj · January 28, 2003, 05:34:19 PM

There are some "Mohawks" in New York (naturally), but I haven't seen many places named Mohawk outside of the Northeast.

And I agree about bringing back drive-ins. The overhead has got to be a lot lower than a regular theater.

I saw Ben at the drive in too, real cool. I can't imagine seeing Barbarella on that big a screen, it must have been awesome.

Gerry · January 28, 2003, 05:44:49 PM

I'm lucky enough to still have a drive-in about 10 minutes from my home. Now if I could just figure out a way to get them to play BARBARELLA I would be in heaven!

BryceDavid · January 28, 2003, 05:52:57 PM

I saw so many movies at drive-ins. And I really love the big screens. The main problem with them is they're not very useful during the fall/winter/spring months in colder places. Having some land used only 5 months out of the year is not seen as a great way to make money, unfortunately.

Building more drive-ins would probably bring back regional filmmaking, which couldn't compete with Hollywood and was killed with the advent of videos, and was a great source of memorable b-movie experiences (legend of boggy creek, etc).

The Burgomaster · January 28, 2003, 05:55:44 PM

Something disturbing just occurred to me: I saw BARBARELLA as part of a double feature. Do you have any idea what the other movie was? It was SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND starring the Bee-Gees. I guess that explains how I turned out the way I am today . . .

Deej · January 28, 2003, 06:00:23 PM

The only time I ever went to the drive in was when I was 9 or 10. This was around '83 or '84 when drive-ins were breathing their last. I saw Batchelor Party. I don't remember a damn thing about the movie(it's for the best) but I do remember enjoying the entire experience no end. Imagine...a movie...in YOUR CAR!!!!! I had no idea drive-ins had been around forever, I thought it was a new thing(VCR's and cable tv were just coming into their own). I guess this is my lon winded way of saying I'd like to see the drive-ins come back too. It would also be nice to have a revival house that didn't fold after a year. In a perfect world

The Burgomaster · January 28, 2003, 06:03:09 PM

One of the best things about going to the drive-in was visiting the snack bar. They had such greasy, fatty cuisine as "clam cakes" and of course, good old fashioned burgers, fries and hot dogs (which were sitting under heat lamps when you bought them and had probably been cooked several nights in advance).

jmc · January 29, 2003, 01:30:24 AM

It's so depressing...there's this website [sorry, can't remember the URL off-hand] where you can look up the number of drive-ins in various states and localities. Even places like Texas only have a handful left. Then they tell you how many they used to have....

There is one in my city, but it shows the same stuff as the indoor theaters.

Ash · January 29, 2003, 08:29:41 AM

Go to: http://www.driveinworkshop.com/index.htm
for everything you ever wanted to know about drive-in's!

The Burgomaster · February 02, 2003, 11:00:57 PM

I forgot to mention this in my original posting, but a lot of DVDs from Something Weird Video have a feature on them called "Let's Go to the Drive-In." If you access this feature, it is like spending an evening at a drive-in theater. They show coming attractions, advertisements for the snack bar, short "message" films that deal with subjects like juvenile delinquency, then they show the first feature film, then an intermission show, more coming attractions, ads, short subjects, then they show the second feature! The whole experience takes 3 1/2 to 4 hours to watch and it brings back a lot of drive-in memories.

Bring Back the Drive-Ins!

Funk, E.

BryceDavid

jmc