Drive-in classics

Remember going to the drive-in as a kid? Has anyone seen a (future) classic Mst3K episode at the drive-in? I saw Laserblast at a drive-in double feature with some movie called Star Wars back in 1978. We had a station wagon and opened the hatch so we could lie down, relax, and watch the movies. I think I fell asleep five minutes into Laserblast, which was the “late” movie. Dull surprise!

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Oh, very much so. I loved it when I was a little kid in the 80s.

Going to the movies was wonderful, but to make it a drive-in feature? Doubly spectacular. There was something about that environment that felt extra special. (Having a car full of snacks and soda-pop certainly didn’t hurt matters any!)

I didn’t get to see any future MST3K targets there, but I got to see fun stuff here and there, some of which ended up as RiffTrax selections.

First movie I ever caught there? Willow. And yes, I liked Willow!

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Okay, THAT’S awesome.

Heh, that makes the appearance of the random Star Wars sign in Laserblast even funnier!

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Thanks for the memories Opti! I loved the drive-in as a kid. There was no memory like going to the movies in your family car, and in your PJ’s to boot! I remember bringing soda and candy from home and trying to stay awake for the late feature (I lost that battle every time)!

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Very welcome, and in turn, thank you for sharing!

The drive-in experience as a youngster was something else. There was something so cool about watching a movie under a summer night sky.

Not to mention how one car honking “shave and a haircut” would lead to several honked responses of “two bits!”

Yeah, we brought chips and little sandwiches, maybe some fresh carrot sticks…

… but that was the real trick, wasn’t it, trying to stay up for that second feature? That first movie would leave me zonked!

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The second feature would start around 10:30-11:00. So, my younger sister and I would try like crazy to stay awake. But, honestly, I don’t think I ever made it through that second feature. The truth is though, falling asleep in the back of the wagon was just SO comforting. A really great childhood memory. There’s a local drive-in here in the Baltimore area (Bengies), and I’m taking my kids there this summer. They need to experience it.

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That’ll be something terrific, and I’m glad that you folks will have such an experience as that!

Our drive-in theater closed down some time ago, and we still feel the sting of that loss. That’s why I’m always crazy glad to hear of any drive-in doing well. It’s a fine tradition, and you always like to see that still around in some form.

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My nearest one is where this video was filmed in Montclair, CA.

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! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Traylor Howard! :smiley:

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I saw Shatner Ruins The Franchise there when I was 8 going on 9 and fell asleep. Seeing it years later on Rifftrax, I realized I made a very wise decision. Row row row a boat up your ass, Shat.

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I do! We went once every three weeks or so starting as soon as it opened for the season. And I seem to share many of the same memories. Bringing own popcorn/soda. Already being in pj’s. Staying at the playground up front after the cartoons had started. Being hauled off said playground by an irate parent. Being eaten alive by mosquitoes.

They were still playing Fred Harryhausen flicks like any three of the early Sinbad’s, Jason and the Argonauts, and Mysterious Island. Loved that stuff. Willy Wonka, Aristocats, Bedknobs and broomsticks, Pippi on the run, and so many others. I’m waxing nostalgic, lol.

Last time I was at a drive-in? 1973-ish? By the time I could drive and had a car all the nearby ones had vanished. :frowning_face:

Ray Harryhausen Art GIF by Ryan Seslow

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My family and I went to the 66 Drive In in Crestwood (suburb of St. Louis) when it was open (it closed sometime in the '90s). I can remember seeing, among other movies, Batman Returns there. I remember that one in particular because my brother fell asleep on the roof of my mom’s station wagon during the movie. We knew something was up because he was usually very talkative, and then all of a sudden, he conked out. He must have been six then.

I live in suburban Maryland (near DC) now, and someone in an earlier comment mentioned Bengies. My husband and I were actually looking at going to a movie there last summer, but never got around to it. I definitely want to go there this summer.

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I have faint memories of going to the drive-in a couple times when I was very young–one time to see STAR WARS, and one time to see THE VILLAIN, which was. . .uh, I’m not sure how to think about the idea of a western made by Hal Needham featuring a very early Arnold Schwarzenegger in what essentially a live-action Wile E. Coyote is one of those movies that could only be made in the 70s.

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My drive-in memory does involve Star Wars. It wasn’t first run at that point; I just got my driver’s license, and took my little brother. Right in the middle of Luke’s run down the Death Star trench, brother urgently declares he has to pee. THE NERVE! I’d only seen Star Wars about two dozen times before, and I didn’t want to miss a single frame. I made him step outside the car and pee into the lot.

I did see Godzilla VS Megalon on a Saturday matinee at a regular theater.

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I went to the drive-in once. We saw Star Wars. It was the last time we went there. In the middle of the movie, a kid in the car next to us got out and started peeing right there on the ground. THE NERVE!

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The last movie I saw in a drive-in was Tim Burton’s Batman. It was a bit too dark to see properly on a drive-in screen.

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Our parents weren’t drive-in fans. Or else the nearest one was too far away. This would’ve been especially true early on, as my Mom was a nurse who generally worked evenings and weekends.

What we did have was the Public Library, a mere 5-minute drive from our house. They’d do “pajama shows” where we’d put on our pajamas and go with our folks to watch movies in a big viewing room there. I think that’s the first/only time I saw Disney’s Robin Hood. There was also a weird kiddie comedy-drama from England about a little girl with a giant rabbit friend named “Mr. Nibbles.” Only she could see him. Shades of Harvey, but made much later.

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The local university would occasionally have a summer outdoor film series for kids. They often showed a Harryhausen film or two. Others I remember were the usual Disney fare but also, two MTS3K movies, The Land that Time Forgot, and At the Earth’s Core.
They had a grassy half bowl and people would bring blankets, lawn chairs, and food. I had a great time at these.

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I remember seeing The People that Time Forgot (sequel) at the drive in as a kid.

When I was 16 the local drive in was $5 a car load. We went all the time. We would grab the couch from my friends living room and put it in the back of my pickup. I probably saw Masters of the Universe followed by Evil Dead 2 25 times.

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