# What, exactly, is the appeal of going to a drive-in movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [September 2, 2023, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-appeal-of-going-to-a-drive-in-movie/989518 "2023-09-02T17:31:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2023, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-appeal-of-going-to-a-drive-in-movie/989518/141 "2023-09-07T21:44:47Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > The films in this “Guilty Pleasures” showing are > > Howard the Duck > Over the Top (with Sylvester Stallone) > Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare > Showgirls So bring some wine and crackers, because they’ll supply the cheese? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-appeal-of-going-to-a-drive-in-movie/989518/142 "2023-09-09T07:20:53Z")
There was one in Southern Indiana that hadn’t operated in over 10 years, but reopened during COVID, IIRC. Not sure what the property was used for in the interim. Seriously could have been cattle grazing. You never know. I heard it is still doing weekend shows, but I’m not sure how it’s making bank on that. There was another one for a while that through the 90s had a ballfield over the area where the cars parked, and the county kids’ & adults softball leagues played there during the day, and I think the Peewee football league also played, but I’m not sure about that. They had concessions opened for the games as well as the movies, and had pizza, hot dogs, ice cream, tons of stuff. They probably broke even on the property rental, and just profited on food sales. Then they showed double features on Friday and Saturday nights. Their last day open was Halloween, and they’d do some kind of marathon of horror films from “dusk” to about 3am. It was really cheap-- $20 or something a car, when you could still get 7 people in a car, but they probably made a fortune on the food. People went in costume. It was hilarious. They’d show a couple of classics, like _The Wolf Man_ & _The Fly_, then something more recent, but still kind of classic, like _The Exorcist_, or _Jaws_, something just terrible buried in there, like _The Manitou_, that people were half asleep-giddy, and willing to laugh at by then, and finish up with something that was from the last year or two. I’m pretty sure I saw _Candyman_ there, and they did _Dusk to Dawn_, though I wasn’t there that year. I’m not even sure their screen is still up, though. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-appeal-of-going-to-a-drive-in-movie/989518/143 "2023-09-09T13:08:03Z")
Someone besides me was subjected to _The Manitou_? You have my sympathies. What a waste. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2023, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-appeal-of-going-to-a-drive-in-movie/989518/144 "2023-09-10T03:06:21Z")
Avatar and burpo the wonder mutt- Can you both tell me what you thought of _The Manitou_? I know I must have seen it, because I’ve seen just about every scary movie made, but this movie is not ringing a bell. Maybe I “saw it” at the drive-in. 😉 I checked out this link… > **[The Manitou](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Manitou)** > > The Manitou is a 1978 American supernatural body horror film produced and directed by William Girdler. It stars Tony Curtis, Michael Ansara and Susan Strasberg. It is based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Graham Masterton, which was inspired by the concept of manitou in Native American theology, believed to be a spiritual and fundamental life force by members of the Algonquian peoples. > Girdler died in a helicopter accident prior to the film's release. > A woman named Karen Tandy (Susan St... ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2023, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-appeal-of-going-to-a-drive-in-movie/989518/145 "2023-09-10T06:18:34Z")
There was a small, single screen drive-in in the rural North Carolina community where I grew up. It was the closest place to us to see movies, although we didn’t go there often; the closest indoor theaters were ~30 minutes away in Charlotte. My parent’s said we saw _The Muppet Movie_ at the drive-in when I was very young, but I have no memory of that. I do remember seeing _Follow That Bird_ (a Sesame Street movie) there with my friend when I was probably pre-school aged, although my parent’s have no memory of that (we’re thinking maybe my friend’s parents took me). That drive-in closed in probably the mid-1980s. Since it was pretty much just a grassy field with a screen at the far end and some wooden posts to attach your speaker to, nature took it over petty quickly. Eventually the screen got torn down, and the field got overgrown. Then pine trees started growing there. If you look at the spot today, it just looks like a patch of woods. You would have no idea there used to be a drive-in there if you didn’t know. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-appeal-of-going-to-a-drive-in-movie/989518/146 "2023-09-10T14:06:14Z")
> [@saucywench](#): > > tell me what you thought of _The Manitou_? Caveat: it’s been 45 years. Hopeless mess of a horror movie. I remember one nifty special effect and the rest was crash and bang. Someone really conned that cast: Tony Curtis (in a monster flick?), Susan Strasberg (wasn’t she supposed to be a “serious” actress? Her father was Lee Strasberg – premiere acting coach?), Burgess Meredith, who was enjoying a resurgence in his career (“Rocky [1-15]” “Magic” “Foul Play”) and Michael Ansara, who I don’t remember being in that POS, and I would remember him. The highlight was Strasberg giving birth to a full-grown, human sized demon from a tumor on her back – ICK! If you’re an obsessive completist (I am), watch it once then wait 45 years for someone to ask _you_ to recommend it to _them_. Have fun! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2023, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-appeal-of-going-to-a-drive-in-movie/989518/147 "2023-09-10T15:33:00Z")
So **Burpo** would give it just one belch? And maybe just a _small_ bilious upchuck on the carpet? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2023, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-appeal-of-going-to-a-drive-in-movie/989518/148 "2023-09-10T16:04:14Z")
Maybe not so small. And maybe not an upchuck, exactly. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2023, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-appeal-of-going-to-a-drive-in-movie/989518/149 "2023-09-10T22:56:37Z")
I saw a number of the great classic movies at the drive-in. Though there were limited alternatives then, their appeal is not just nostalgia. They tended to show several movies, usual good big name ones, offering reasonable value to families back when people still had things called “attention spans”. The car environment presumably offered social distancing, should a pandemic supervene. I presume it also made importing alcohol easier and offered a degree of privacy for the otherwise preoccupied. Movie theatres have less privacy and seeing multiple different shows more costly. The local ones had snacks, at reasonable cost, which at the time enhanced the experience. A big screen is still sometimes better than a small one. Sound was not always perfect but was adequate enough. Also still a shared experience with other people. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-appeal-of-going-to-a-drive-in-movie/989518/150 "2023-09-11T04:44:03Z")
Thank you! I can’t believe I don’t remember Tony Curtis being in a movie like that. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-appeal-of-going-to-a-drive-in-movie/989518/151 "2023-09-11T14:27:33Z")
Why go to the Drive-in? 1.) Smooching – already mentioned. Drive-ins used to be noted for their make-out appeal 2.) Nostalgia 3.) Social interaction. We took our daughter and a bunch of friends in our van to a drive-in for a birthday party. Try doing THAT at your local cineplex. You can talk and also get up and walk around. 4.) Price – it’s still pretty cheap to take a carload of people to what is still a double feature. There are two drive-in theaters about an hour’s drive away from us, and one other that I know about. DRive-ins used to be ubiquitous (there was one within walking distance (ironically) from the house where I grew up, but now they’ve mostly faded. The last I heard they were still big down in the South. There was also a bif drive-in complex when I lived in Salt Lake City. That was decades ago, but a quick check of the internet tells me that the REdwood Drive-in, where I used to go, is there going, along with two others in the SLC area. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-appeal-of-going-to-a-drive-in-movie/989518/152 "2023-09-11T14:48:24Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > We took our daughter and a bunch of friends in our van to a drive-in for a birthday party. Sweet! You can have the birthday cake in the van during the show. 👍 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-appeal-of-going-to-a-drive-in-movie/989518/153 "2023-09-11T15:15:06Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Sweet! You can have the birthday cake in the van during the show. 👍 Just what we did. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-the-appeal-of-going-to-a-drive-in-movie/989518.md?page=7)