Remembering The Drive In

Last Saturday, I was looking at the movie timetables in the newspaper.

I happened to see in the listing a drive-in. All of the drive-ins in my immediate area are long gone. This was at a place over an hour away in Connecticut, the Mansfield Drive In. I was surprised it was even listed in our paper. What made it even more interesting was it is a three screen drive in, with three different double features every night.

What was playing on one screen?

A double feature of GREASE and SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER.

That is something of a dream double feature for me. The rerelease of the singalong of GREASE never made it to my area, but to see it on a double bill with SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER? Sure, GREASE 2 would be a perfect pairing, but FEVER is pretty darn cool as well. I seriously thought about making the drive to see it.

It was back in the late 70's, when the two films might have originally played together, that I first went to the drive in. In the late 70's, early 80's, there were at least three drive ins in my area. They would always have the biggest ads in the newspaper.

My first trip must have been in 1978 when my parents took me and my sister to see a double feature of YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. I remember little about LIFE except for the theme and fell asleep early on in CLOSE ENCOUNTERS.

Next up, probably in 1980 or 81, was the Don Knotts / Tim Conway comedy THE PRIVATE EYES and BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS. Once again, remember little about the first, fell asleep in the second.

I've always been a bit confused about the next double feature. I always thought it was THE CANNONBALL RUN and MEGAFORCE. That would make sense, as they were both Fox releases, directed by Hal Needham. BUT, they were also released in two different years. Since I literally begged my parents to take me to CANNONBALL (due to Roger Moore starring in it), I may have already seen it by the time MEGAFORCE opened and was seeing it for a second time. However in 1982, we had cable and it might have already been playing. Anyway, I stayed awake for this one.

My final drive-in experience was the Tom Cruise film ALL THE RIGHT MOVES and BACHELOR PARTY. My parents once again took my little sister and I to the films. My mom thought the second film was just a little comedy with "that nice guy from BOSOM BUDDIES, Tom Hanks". I was just excited because Adrian Zmed from GREASE 2 was in it (at the time, and still today, I was a little obsessed with GREASE 2). What I remember most about this trip was that it was like we were seeing the end of the drive in. The place was disgusting. It was falling apart.

By this time, home video had taken off. In looking at the release dates for the films, they always paired films from different years. In later years, one of the films would have already been on video. In those days, before video or even cable, it was a way for the studios to get secondary income from a title.

A few months after that visit, the drive in closed. It closed before I even got a drivers license to go on my own.

They were a lot of fun. The pre-show movies, the snack bar, listening to the soundtrack on the speaker or later radio.

I am glad to see that they are still around.