An event of epic proportions with a chance for audience participation. Hang on for the final reel (below)!
Note (after the fact): I just realized that I forgot to include a thanks to Rachel (Hamlette) in this post for the button. Thanks, Rachel!
Drive-In Movie Day is Saturday, June 6th. If you have been following along all these years, you know of my endearing love for the drive-in movie experience. Many of my favorite memories involved going to the drive-in, either with my folks and my sister, or, as I got older, with a bunch of friends, or even sometimes solo. At the time, my only two sources were two drive-ins in Sherman/Denison area of north Texas. Both of these (pictured below), coincidentally, were located directly across the highway from each other, on the Sherman/Denison city limits dividing line (where FM 691 intersected Hwy 75, if you are of a mind to Google map the location...). My vague memory is one of them actually being on Denison side of that dividing line and the other actually being on the Sherman side, but my memory may be faulty... Both of them were torn down sometime late last century. (I was not living in the area at the time, so I can't actually say when, but one has been replaced by apartments and the other has a couple of convenience stores on the property formerly occupied by them).
(Photos courtesy of a website I found: Pinball Rebel.)
Of course, if I wanted to drive that far, there were plenty of drive-in options all over the Dallas - Ft. Worth area. Joe Bob Briggs, a columnist and drive-in movie critic for the Dallas Times Herald, had a weekly column that came in the Weekend supplement of the Friday issue of the newspaper. Based on his recommendations, after I moved to that area, I found my way to the local D/FW drive-ins.
Memories abound in my recollections of movies I saw. The standard format for the drive-in was a double feature. The headliner, the draw, was a major recent release, while the second feature was an older movie, sometimes as much as 3 or 4 years prior.
Many is the time that I remember that second feature and can't recall what the first feature was, the one I ostensibly went to see. The Warriors is a perfect example. I went to the drive-in to see some film, I can't recall what, and the second feature was The Warriors. (Possibly could have been Conan the Barbarian, since I DID go to the drive-in for that one, but I'm not sure..)
Another one was Partners, a buddy cop film with Ryan O'Neal as a straight cop and John Hurt as a gay cop going undercover as a gay couple to find a serial killer. Probably some gritty cop drama was the first bill movie.
For the week of this event, Celebrate the Drive-In Week, I am going to write up some of those movies I wish I had had the chance to see at the drive-in... I wasn't born until 1961, so I didn't see any of the 50's entries (not even born yet) or even 60's entries (too young). Even the 70's movies were not available for me for the most part, since I had a very restrictive upbringing. (Nothing rated higher than G, until I finally broke down my father's resolve and he let us kids go see Star Wars.)
Over the week of the celebration you will see various reminiscences as well as reviews of the movies I chose. I did not pick any movies from the 1940's simply for the fact that the drive-in did not really come into its own as far as popularity until the 50's. The list, below in chronological order, rather than order I am going to present them (since even I don't know what order that is going to be...), are:
There is a variety there, indicative of the kinds of stuff you could get at the drive-in in it's heyday. As I described this blog for the Classic Movie Blog Association, the essence of the drive-in movie can be distilled down to what I call the three "b"s, "beasts, bikes and babes".
For "beasts" you are getting "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" and "Day of the Triffids". For bikes (and by association, cars) you are getting "The Born Losers" and "Hot Rod Girl" (and "Smokey and the Bandit"). For "babes" you are getting "Coffy" featuring a butt-kicking Pam Grier and "Smokey and the Bandit", featuring a fairly enticing Sally Field. And as an added bonus, I am going to feature a comedy from the late 1970's simply titled "Drive-In".
Audience Participation!
But, there is also a chance for you to join in the fun. If you would like to share memories of attending drive-in theaters in your younger days, or if you would like to highlight a movie that features a significant scene that takes place at the drive-in, or if you, like me, love those old cheesy low-budget movies you could only find at the drive-in and want to review one of them, then you can sign up to participate.
The following list is people who have agreed to participate in the celebration. Remember. This is NOT a blogathon. There are no rules about multiple entries on the same subject. If everyone wants to do a piece on the drive-in scene in Grease, that's fine by me. And last minute jump ins are totally acceptable.
Hamlette's Soliloquy : The drive-in scene in The Outsiders.
There will be door prizes involved. Everyone who joins in and posts something about drive-in movies or a drive-in experience will get their names entered into a hat. I have a few drive-in theater related trinkets that I will send out after the event. I don't have access to a program, so if you are interested in a specific set, you will have to let me know in comments.
The items are a sticker and a postcard (one of the following three sets) Left side is the postcard, right side is the sticker.
Set #1:
Set #2:
Set #3:
Quiggy
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