VIDEO: At the Autoblog Drive-In Part 1
If you miss drive-ins, we've got it all worked out for you. How you recreate the experience is up to you. The simplest method would be to just plop your laptop on the hood, but the screen is a bit small for that, and the sound would be worse than those little speakers that clipped on the windows. Kicking the video out via HDMI to an LCD or plasma would be better, you could even mount the screen in the garage! We don't recommend idling the motor, though.
Most drive-ins now have either been turned into bumper crops of McMansions, or stand barren. It's an eerie sight to see orderly rows of 1-meter high poles standing at attention in a sea of failing asphalt, vegetation pushing through the cracks, detritus blowing like tumbleweeds across the sun-bleached decay. Back in the day, double-features of spooky movies were de-rigeur at drive-ins, it's ironic now that the drive-in would be a perfect setting for one of those creepy films. Details of what's on the marquee are after the jump, and it's double-feature night (Well, day, really. -Ed.) at the Autoblog Drive-In, so be sure to be back from the snack bar for Part 2, coming soon.
We stumbled across a treasure trove of old horror films, commercials, and interstitial inducements to visit the snack bar. Brightcove user 13 Shades of Black has done us all a great service by putting all these classics online, so we can recapture the life that once milled about the ubiquitous cinderblock and blacktop funfairs, people flitting to and fro like blood cells.
Tonight's double feature starts with Bloodlust, a 1961 adaptation of The Most Dangerous Game, notably featuring Robert Reed (ahem, Mr. Brady!). Roger Corman's The Terror is the second feature, pairing Boris Karloff with Jack Nicholson in a 1963 tale of imprisonment and misery, set in Napoleonic France. It wouldn't be a drive-in without ads and PSAs before the film, so click these in order for the full experience, and keep an eye out for intermission and part 2.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
porker 1:49PM (8/17/2007)
As a matter of fact, my son and I are discussing going to the drive-in in Maryville, Tennessee, tonight. For $5.00 per person, we get to see Rush Hour 3 and 1408. They also have one of the best concession stands in the area. This company has bought three drive-in theatres in the East Tennessee area, and the only complaint I have about them is that you have to go there early (about 7:00 P.M.) to get a good spot. They usually fill up with cars before showtime. (about 450 cars capacity) My children, and lots of other people I know truly love the experience. We take a coller full of Cokes and snacks, and make a real outing of it. Some people bring their dogs. I hope the rest of the country can get the experience again, as well.
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BartMack 1:55PM (8/17/2007)
sadly, if drive-ins still existed normally, who would be able to see over all the SUVs?
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porker 2:21PM (8/17/2007)
Ours requires that hatches be bungie-corded down to no higher than the roof of the vehicle. The rise on the ground that is located in the parking area allows even the smallest cars to have good vision over the SUV's and trucks. Of course, we sit in the back of my or my son's pickup.
Jon 2:03PM (8/17/2007)
There is a drive-in about 45 min from us in Muskegon, MI. I have to say that it is one of the best movie going expriences to date. We go about twice a year and love it every time. I agree with porker too. They have some of the best consessions I have ever had at a movie. I love these old movie. If you think Bloodlust is hilarious find a copy of the MST3K version.
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BartMack 2:48PM (8/17/2007)
OH!.... you hit a nerve big time... I painfully *MISS* MST3K soooo much. You know, I could even enjoy housework with that show on the tube (incredible)... it never failed to make me laugh over and over again.
SB 2:44PM (8/17/2007)
Porker,
We are going tonight also. It may not be the best way to see a film in these THX days, but it is sure a fun experience.
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kevin 2:52PM (8/17/2007)
We have a fantastic double-screen drive-in here in Wichita, KS. They show triple and double features during the summer. What's great is that they do reduced rates early and late in the season (like now) - $10/carload. They're heavy on the nostalgia too - they've been open in some fashion since my parents were in middle school.
www.starlitefun.com
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benjamin 2:57PM (8/17/2007)
Saw Transformers @ the drive in this summer. Ended at 2:00 am! There were whole families out there with big battery stereos and lawn chairs and snacks & sleeping bags... great fun!
Our snack bar isn't all that evolved: same cruddy place as when I was a kid, but still a gallon of fun. :-)
Bb
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len simpson 3:09PM (8/17/2007)
someone was brave enough to put up a brand new multi screen in Dothan Al last year. makin money!
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