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Group Writing: Drive-in Movies, Popcorn and Car Beds
Taking a family of five to a regular indoor movie could be very expensive in the 1950s, even if you tried to sneak in your own candy
(which we did). It was much cheaper to go to the drive-in theater. When I was around 10 years old, my brother was 8 and my little sister was 3 (and always slept through the movie), we would pile into the car to see a movie. Going to the drive-in was a true adventure, full of the unexpected and out-of-the-ordinary experiences.
Before we left in the late afternoon, Dad would make a huge batch of popcorn. He used a heavy metal skillet with a heavy glass lid. I would often watch him as he carefully measured the oil, the popcorn, and put on the glass lid, followed by shuffling the pan back and forth on the gas burner. (Obviously, this was long before popcorn poppers or Jiffy pop.) The amount of shuffling was important, since getting just the right rhythm ensured that most of the corn would be popped and not burnt. I was his right-hand girl, breathing in the aroma during the entire process.
Once he finished making the popcorn, he let it cool a bit and then put it in a large grocery bag, adding salt to each layer. (No one worried about germs from a paper bag back then.) Mom would pack up sandwich-sized wax bags so that we could each hoard our own portions when she handed them out at the theater. She would also make an extra-large thermos of ice-cold water, which was perfect for washing down errant kernels or quenching our salty throats.
Just before we headed out for the theater, Hi-Way 39, Dad would put the car bed in the back seat. If you’ve never seen one, it’s kind of a plywood contraption; I think ours had hinges so it could be folded up and put in the garage when it wasn’t being used. We covered it with quilts and pillows and bounced up and down, anticipating the undertaking. It was still daylight when we pulled up to the theater. Since they only charged by the carload, it was a pretty cheap entry for us. Dad would look for just the right position in the drive-in parking lot, scouting for the optimal view. His next duty was to check out the speaker. Dad would roll down his window and reach for the speaker on his side of the car, hook it over the window and turn up the volume. They usually played music before the movie began and if there were vocals, we could decide if they sounded more like zoo animals or human beings.
Once that task was taken care of, we kids would race off to the playground. There we had swings, slides, and a whirl-around, placed near the snack bar. (I’m sure that was strategic.) We were in our pajamas, slippers and robes, of course, and I have no idea if other kids were dressed the same way. Dad would keep an eye on us, and when it looked like the movie was about to play, we’d race back to the car—popcorn!!
As we patiently (not really) waited for our little waxed bags of popcorn, Mom would open the big shopping bag. The scent of still-warm popcorn was mesmerizing. I took my wax bag in hand and was determined to eat only one piece at a time, to make it last as long as I could. (I still eat popcorn that way.) The first piece would trigger my saliva glands, so I slowed down, but just a little. That first kernel tasted so good!
Suddenly the drive-in screen lit up! Advertisements for the snack bar tried to tempt us, and I don’t remember if we had cartoons before the main feature. I could swear that one time we saw The Wizard of Oz there, but I can’t be sure. Anyway, I would have my first paper cup of ice-cold water and snuggle into the blankets on the car bed. By then, my sister was usually asleep. I asked for another bag of popcorn (“say please”) and settled in for the duration.
Those were great times.
Published in Culture
I think it has been much closer to fifty for me.
My first drive-in experience was when my aunt took me and three younger cousins to the Joy drive-in in Texarkana. We were in her ‘53 Ford (which I acquired in ‘64). At intermission they advertised pizza, and that was when I heard about it for the first time. Guessing around ‘58 or ‘59.
An evening to remember.
Our paths must have come close “back in the day”. I also remember the Hot Shoppes in Bethesda.
My memory of Drive-Ins is just as memorable. The first time was in South Carolina and we went in my grandmother’s car – something like a 1948 Dodge to the next town over. I don’t remember much of a playground, but us kids climbed up on the roof of the car (a major first!) and ate boiled peanuts while we watched the movie. I remember it was some sort of Kurt Douglas movie about circus performers. The second major first was that as we shelled the boiled peanuts, we were allowed to throw the shells on the ground next to us! totally sinful
We took our kids to a drive-in about 50 miles away when they were little, but I doubt if they remember it.
There would be a considerable smaller population in this country without the drive-in theater. Lot’s of shotgun weddings took place because of them. I actually had a walk-in drive-in near me. The owner put several rows of old bus seats and a speaker on the hillside overlooking the theater. I’m not sure of his motives but before I had a driver’s license I took girls there. It was normal for a couple of dozen you’ve teens to be on that hill. Lot’s of beer too.
Very nice. But you didn’t say anything about the cartoons that came up before the movie. Those were the most important part of the show, especially for those of us who didn’t have TV at home.
Not exactly true, @thereticulator. I said I couldn’t remember if there were cartoons or not. Clearly if there were, they weren’t memorable. Sorry about that. (I’m pretty sure they were some, but after 60 years, the memories fade. . .)
Oh, I remember the cartoons, but not just at drive ins. Every movie had one. More memorable was the intermission clips between the movies, dancing hot dogs and popcorn.
Netflix (Disk not streaming) has DVD’s they call drive in double features ( I just searched and only saw 1, there used to be a bunch!). They played a b movie, the intermission clips, and another even lower than B movie. Campy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=26pQNKEOXjo&feature=emb_logo
Oh, man, I’m so hungry now! And we’re having healthy stir fry for dinner. . . ;-(
Sorry for off subject, but I seem to have lost the ability to embed a video in a comment. I think I followed the instructions found here: https://ricochet.com/kb/how-embed-videos/
but still, just the link appears. Did I miss something?
Let me try:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26pQNKEOXjo
Some youtube videos are limited to not allow embedding.
Just to try another:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeNCwf1pGmE
Edit: Hmmn…I’m about to blame Susan. 😜
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwYuevsozgQ
Nope. I have tried a few others in the last week or so and same result. Is it you tube blocking it?
I don’t know.
Someone posted a clip in the PIT a few minutes ago, and it worked.
OK, must be Susan then! ;)
https://youtu.be/MeNCwf1pGmE
Uh- uh! I just tried to do it above. I usually click on “Share” just below the video on the youtube site. Do we need to call Max?
Coconut oil? Really?
According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, you’re trying to kill your family.
Didn’t they retract that? in fact, I have heard recently it is one of the ‘healthy oils’. Or something.
Well, it’s no emergency, but I would like to know if the process has changed, or if it just won’t work any more.
While I remember going to a few when I was a young kid, they had one at my university when I was an undergraduate. Come to think of it… that’s at least 30 years ago, but hey ho. I’m younger in my own mind. :)
I don’t care. They don’t either. It is the key to authentic movie-popcorn flavor.
Yep! A couple of the companies I normally work for are starting to do drive-in movies for special events, and there’s some discussion about shifting over to do that as a full-scale business.
https://www.prg.com/-/media/Files/US/Other/Capabilities-Deck/Drive-In-Experiences
I lived in New Orleans as a youngster and summer drive-in movies. I remember the mosquito coils — they kept the mosquitos at bay, but may have shorten a few human life spans also. On the other hand, if we had not used them, between the sweating and loss of blood, there may have been little left of any of us when the movie finished. Bottom line is it was great memorable fun at a reasonable cost. We need to bring back the drive-in movies.
I love the idea myself, @chetross
It’s happening.
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I remember those days too. Halcyon dusk at the drive-in.
Yes indeed. Sigh.