Quinn Minute – Drive-in movies

Published 9:35 am Wednesday, July 23, 2025

By Rix Quinn

Columnist

  There’s nothing like a cool night, a warm date, and a cold drink at a drive-in movie.

  It’s sad to read that this sunset entertainment is declining. In the 1960s, there were about 4000 nationwide. Today, there are reportedly fewer than 200.

  Drive-ins were places that welcomed children (many had playgrounds), several teenagers piled into one car, young romantics, and older people who enjoyed an open-air event.

  At our neighborhood drive-in, they sold admission tickets “by the carload.” For $5, teens could bring in as many bodies as they could squeeze into a vehicle. This made the kid who owned a pick-up truck a really popular guy.

  But some teen couples – and young adults too – didn’t want company. They wanted darkness and privacy, and they didn’t even care if the car speaker worked.

    What about the movies? My favorite drive-in carried mostly older films, and ran them as multiple features. These started around sundown, and stayed onscreen until past midnight.

  And one evening near Halloween was really special. They showed a triple horror feature of The Birds, King Kong, and Dracula.

  They called it “The Birds, The Ape, and the Guy with the Cape.”