Time period post: Drive-ins and Drive-ins
I’ve mentioned both types of drive-in’s a ton of times through my time period posts, but that was largely the social aspects more than technical. I think it’s interesting and may be helpful if you like that sort of detail in your fics/art or are just interested.
Not yet fast food- Drive in diners-
While it is a lot of burgers, fries and fried foods drive-in’s aren’t necessarily “fast food” as we understand it. All of this started as diner fare and would take a while to get as everything was made to order and fresh. While “fast food” was on the rise with companies like McDonald’s and Dairy Queen becoming more popular, it was still much slower than we expect today. Though part of the appeal of drive ins and later on drive thrus was that it was much quicker than sitting inside.
Most of the time you’d have a speaker to come up to and order, other times and at older places you might flash lights or honk for service depending on availability. Car hops -> waiters. Would sometimes come out on roller skates if the place was going for the gimmick but it wasn’t everywhere and could lead to more spills than the speed was worth.
And I’ve spoken on the social aspect before, it was a great place to grab a bite before heading out on the town or starting a cruising circuit. Hanging out was not yet criminalized (I’m slightly exaggerating) in the country and you were allowed and expected to take your time or be social.
Speakers and drive in theaters-
Are you guys sick of me saying “post war” or “car culture” yet? Because you’re going to be by the end of this one. So, during and post war building material was costly and outdoor theaters offer a great alternative, added to the greater affordability of cars and gas. Another benifit is the new hook on speakers, which now they don’t have to be build a certain way as cars can just pull up and attach to their windows - you had control over volume and the public around wouldn’t complain about movies blasting into the night.
A another benifit to drive-in theaters v. In door theaters I hadn’t truly considered is privacy! You can dress down a little, take off your shoes- eat messy or complicated food (like shelled peanuts) without causing a scene! You can also talk without being a nuance, smoke. Comfortability! Cara had nice, soft-ish bench seats and leg room. Not to mention the amount of teens who took the privacy to do far more than they could get away with in an indoor theater…
As time goes on some theaters instead of having speakers attach to your car would have a frequency to tune your radio to instead. Now in the modern drive in— which are few and far between, it is back to huge outdoor speakers with improved sound quality… bringing back the problem of annoying the surrounding homes and businesses… can’t even picture a double-feature night… ow.
Added to this, because they were far more of a public screen the screenings tended to be more suited for ‘general audience.’ And children/families since it was out in the open, because of this a lot of studios would send their B-movies or comedies than their big name pictures(In the outsiders they’re watching the beach party movies- which are B-movie/popcorn flick fare)… though you would get a few horror movies the most common were westerns, action films, comedies, and musicals.
It’s mentioned in the Outsiders but drive-ins were cheap! Usually the better option compared to a indoor movie when strapped for cash, it was only a few cents per person and even less if you were in the small seated section by the screen and not a car. That being said it didn’t stop people from finding another way in… walking through the woods, fence hopping, hiding on the floor/in the trunk (all things we see in the outsiders too)
Intermission-
Concessions are a big deal, in fact they made theaters like this a majority of their money. They’d come well stocked with the standard snacks and sometimes a little extra depending on the owner.
‘Let’s all go to the lobby🎵’
I’ll start off the bat by linking this video here, filled with the bumpers, intermission titles, tips for behavior and speakers and snack adds that would be common at the drive in of the 50s and 60s. Indoor movie theaters would have similar intermission bumpers and encouragement to replenish snacks, while a drive- in urges you to visit the snack bar, the theater would urge you to the lobby.
Little vignettes showing theater etiquette and location of exits etc have actually been around since as long as moving pictures, it’s interesting to see what they were saying in the 1910s-1920s as compared to the 1950s and on. Now days you only get a ‘silence your phone’ message right after previews… and commercials before that!
