Let's all go to the Drive-In

Amanda Aikman, Managing Editor

© you remember that scene in
The Outsiders when Ponyboy
chats up the lovely be-
sweatered Cherry Valance for the first
time? Or the one in Grease when Sandy is
bummed ovet her recent discovery that
Danny and Cha Cha had been up to more
than just dancing—but ends up forgiving
him when he asks her to go steady? Well,
if you do, you'll probably remember that
both of these scenes were set in drive-in
movie theatres.

True, these films feature the glory days
of the 1950s’ outdoor-theatre culture, but
drive-ins aren’t just for the poodle-skirt-
and-Bryll-Cream set.

I remember attending a Mr. Mom and
Tootsie double feature in the ’80s with my
the

Saskatoon. It was great. We had a van with

family at Sundown theatre in
a bed in it, and I tried relish on a ham-
burger for the first time (which I
promptly scraped off and hid behind the
make-shift van bed). Then there were the
high-school years in Winnipeg when |
would queue up with hordes of drunken,
sunburned teenagers for the famous May-
long-weekend all-nighters at the Odeon.
Ah, “May Long” at the Odeon. Once the
gates opened, we’d descend on the 998-
vehicle-capacity grounds and eagerly take
in the multitude of laughs, tears, and gory
fight scenes. And then the films would
begin. Good times.

But those good times, along with the

August 10/2005

drive-in theatre itself, are facing extinc-
tion. And unlike the spotted owl, the
drive-in is one endangered species I’m
actually going to miss. I’m sorry, but
c’mon. I’m sure the spotted owl is a love-
ly creature, but you can’t exactly eat
nachos, watch a horror flick, and makeout
in one of them, now can you?

True, going to the drive-in is not the
same as going to one of today’s hyper-
mega-colossal-funplexes. No, you won’t
have access to a state-of-the-art arcade at
the drive-in. Nor will you have the pleas-
ure of purchasing Burger King and Taco
Bell products at three times their current
street value. But you »#// get to take part in

 

 

a genuine movie-going tradition that dates
back to 1933.

Tuesday, June 6, 1933, to be exact.
That's. the day
Hollingshead’s aptly named “Drive-in

when Richard
Theatre” first screened W7fe Beware to car-
loads of excited onlookers in Camden,
New Jersey. It didn’t take long for the likes
of Shankweiler’s Auto Park in Orefield,
Pennsylvania and the Starlight Auto
Theatre in Akron, Ohio, to open their
(out)doors as well. In Canada, things
began rolling in 1946, when the Skyway
opened near Hamilton, Ontario.
Throughout the ’50s, babies weren’t
the only things booming in North
America—the drive-in theatre industry
was as well. And it wasn’t just the number
of theatres that had increased (approxi-
mately 5000 were in operation by 1958)
the very concept of the drive-in had
expanded, as well. Playgrounds, seating
areas, and more elaborate concession
stands began cropping up. One theatre in
Copiague, New York, boasted enough
space for 2,500 cars, 1,200 seated patrons,
and a shuttle bus to shift everyone to and
“Ed

Brown’s Drive-In and Fly-In” theatre in

from the various onsite attractions.

\sbury Park, New Jersey, even featured
an airfield, which allowed the pilots of up
to 25 small planes the opportunity to join
in on the drive-in experience, too.

Here in BC, we’ve seen our fair share
of drive-ins come and go. Of the 15 that
once occupied the Lower Mainland, there
is currently a grand total of zero in
And with fewer
handful remaining in the rest of BC—
Prince George’s Park Drive-In and
Enderby’s Starlight were the only two I
could confirm still in active duty—the
coming attractions for the drive-in theatre

operation. than a

 

www.theotherpress.ca

are looking bleak.

There is a possibility of hope on the
horizon, however. The website for the
Twilight Drive-In (a.k.a. “The Drive-In
Formerly Known as Hillcrest’) claims
their theatre will be opening this summer
in Langley. Of course, they also claimed
to be opening last summer, and a gal can
only hold her breath for so long, You can
visit members.shaw.ca/twilightdrivein for
updates, or to submit a résumé. Imagine
that, working at the drive-in. What could
be more romantic? And I don’t mean in
the steaming-up-the-car-windows kind of
way, either.

No, I’m talking about the romance
associated with the vintage drive-in expe-
rience: looking up at the stars past the
dancing hot dog on the screen, settling in
with a popcorn and a Cherry Coke from
the concession stand, holding hands with
your sweetheart while your slutty best
friend makes out with a greaser in the
back seat...these are the things we’re los-
ing, people. And it breaks my heart.

So why not take the opportunity while
you still can, and find your way to a drive-
in theatre this summer? Sure it might be a
bit of a trek, but that just makes it all the
more exciting. Of course, if you’d rather,
by all means continue to embrace the
modern cinematic experience. Go on pay
ing your black-market popcorn prices.
Keep oohing and ahhing over the latest
advancements in giant-screened, Dolby-
blasting, multiplexes. Go ahead, turn your
back on the cultural significance and good
times of the drive-in theatre, allowing
something beautiful and valuable to be
killed off. But don’t say I didn’t warn you
when it dies.

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