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 TV Horror Host |
Share a favorite drive-in experience! |
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Posts: 2959 (14-03-02 5:19 AM) Site Admin/Owner |
You know, one of those nights when it all just came together magically and you had a drive-in experience that really stuck with you and that you still look back fondly upon. Something wacky, weird, or adventurous happened, or you just enjoyed seeing a favorite movie up on the big screen, whatever.
Happy Haunting!
Keith Milford |
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Unregistered(d) |
A Drive-In experience | ||
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Posts: 0 (14-03-02 12:26 PM) |
Cheech and Chong's comedy routine about going to the Drive-In. It's on their first or second album. Pass the Castleberrys please. Have fun.
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TV Horror Host |
Re: A Drive-In experience | ||
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Posts: 2959 (15-03-02 4:11 AM) Site Admin/Owner |
I take it it's funny. Not familiar with it. I can imagine, tho! Heh.
Happy Haunting!
Keith Milford |
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jd1961 |
Re: A Drive-In experience | ||
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Posts: 42 (15-03-02 11:10 AM) |
I could fire an MP3 your way, but I'd have to re-encode it-it's 12 minutes long. It's on the second album, "Los Cochinos."
Where are we going and what are we doing in this handbasket?
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TV Horror Host |
Re: A Drive-In experience | ||
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Posts: 2959 (15-03-02 11:17 PM) Site Admin/Owner |
If you feel like messing with it, jd, I'd appreciate that, sure. Thanks a lot!
Happy Haunting!
Keith Milford |
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Unregistered(d) |
Brush with fame at the Drive-In | ||
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Posts: 0 (16-03-02 8:33 AM) |
Remember the local ads that used to run in the intermissions? In the late 70s, my sister appeared in an ad for John's Crazy T-shirts. She and her boyfriend took me to the Michigan Drive-In in Southgate to see the ad's premiere. It was the first time that I can remember being at the drive-in. The double feature was "The End" and "Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid To Ask)". I'm pretty sure they showed a cartoon, too. The highlight of the night was the intermission. About halfway through, we saw the commercial with my sister. What a big deal (I think she got a free t-shirt for her appearance). I was thoroughly hooked and have loved drive-ins and the drive-in experience ever since.
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TV Horror Host |
Re: Brush with fame at the Drive-In | ||
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Posts: 2959 (17-03-02 5:31 AM) Site Admin/Owner |
Wow! Pretty cool story, Nick! Thanks.
 Happy Haunting!
Keith Milford |
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Unregistered(d) |
A Drive-In experience | ||
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Posts: 0 (17-03-02 11:25 AM) |
Took a date to see Jack Nicholson & Faye Dunaway in Roman Polanski's much lauded film "Chinatown" in '74.
Could have seen it at the Gratiot Drive-In. This was the flick that supposedly made Nicholson a star. To any "Chinatown" fans, sorry, I didn't get it. Matter of fact, shortly after Polanski gave Nicholson another "nostril" we exited, stage left. And remember, you can pick your friends and you can pick your nose but you can't pick your friend's nose. Have fun. |
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jd1961 |
Re: A Drive-In experience | ||
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Posts: 42 (18-03-02 2:28 AM) |
I told a little of this story before, but...
It wasn't here, it was at a drive-in in El Paso, Texas (I forget the name). Summertime can be hell there during the day, but those nights in the desert are divine. (You haven't lived until you've been to a desert party!) Anyhow, I was in the Army, and a bunch of us decided to see "Friday The 13th," the original, on its premiere night, Friday, June 13, 1980. One of my buddies had a Ford pickup truck, so three of them rode up front and three of us rode in the bed (hey, we were young & stupid!), stopped for some beer, and went to the drive-in. You can't beat a pickup truck for the ultimate drive-in experience-it was a warm, clear night, as most nights there are, so we backed the truck into a space, put the speaker inside the bed, and gathered back there. Now I'm not sure what the official policy on drinking at this drive-in was (BTW, the drinking age was 19 then), but we weren't the only people partying there, and as long as we didn't act too foolish, I guess nobody minded. The movie was secondary, it was just an excuse to party. And if anyone might have been smoking something illegal, I don't know anything about it. (Did I hear a "Yeah, right"?) All this and we didn't get kicked out-I guess we behaved ourselves. Try THAT at an indoor theater... |
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TV Horror Host |
Re: A Drive-In experience | ||
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Posts: 2959 (18-03-02 4:04 AM) Site Admin/Owner |
 Great story, jd!! Thanks for sharing it. I know I always liked the drive-in much more than the cinema's--though if I really wanted see a movie in order to actually enjoy the movie itself and seriously watch it, I'd go to a cinema. Both have their good and bad points, obviously, depending on what your intentions were. Happy Haunting!
Keith Milford |
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Unregistered(d) |
drive in experiances | ||
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Posts: 0 (19-09-02 5:37 AM) |
well i have alot of drive in stories because i am a projectionist and have closed my share of drive ins in the detroit area but my fav was at the Fort George drive in the last year it was open i cant remember the main feature but the second flim was The seventh sign starring Demi Moore the film came from the AMC Southgate right next door to the drive in and they had the reels miss marked (wrong numbers in the reels) i had never seen the film so i had no idea what it was about so imagine my suprise when after the first 20 mintue i change over and i have reel 4 on screen well needless to say i was a little shocked when a costumer came in to the booth and told me i had the wrong reel on the screen. I shut down the show and gave an announcment that there would be a short delay in the show while i fixed the problem i had the costumer in the booth and when went though each reel almost half an hour to get it right. that wasa night at the drive in i will never forget and one reson the fort george or "jungle larry's " hold a spiecal place in my heart
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Unregistered(d) |
drive in experiance | ||
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Posts: 0 (19-09-02 6:21 AM) |
got one more for you though it might be a sad one.
it was the last night of the old wayne drive in. just before the first intermission was starting we had some visitors from ford moter company show up and inform the manager that it would be the last night of the drive in. well being the good union projectionist that i am i notified me b.a. with the news that we were closing after the show well he asked me if i had recieved a 2 week notice as per the contract and i told him i hadn't, well to make a long story short a got my notice written on a piece of hand towel and promptley announced to the 1300 people in attedance that the drive in was closing after that night performance well about half an hour after the second feature staterd a fog rolled in couldnt see a screen from the booth. well all heck broke lose as people started taking everything that wasnt nailed down as suviners of the wayne drive in. well i had to stay and get all eight films ready to be shipped back to the film company and that took till 8 am the next day as i left the drive in for the last time i notice not a single speaker was left in there or any play ground eqiupment the costmeres had taken everything. |
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unocal76 |
Re: drive in experiance | ||
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Posts: 200 (19-09-02 8:00 AM) |
My best drive-in experience was snooping around at the site of the former Alpena Drive-in north of Alpena. Just when I thought I wouldn't be able to find a dang thing... I found TWO marquee letters, as well as the screen foundation!
Cleveland rocks... so do the towns on the San Andreas fault.
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Unregistered(d) |
Re: The Fort George | ||
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Posts: 0 (19-09-02 3:36 PM) |
Hey, Boris, I worked at the Fort George (mainly as a janitor, though I checked cars a few times) for a few weeks in the late 80s. What's the "Jungle Larry's" nickname about? Any other Fort George memories?
Any tales about the AMC Southgate? I wanted to scavenge some stuff when they were demolishing it but, by the time I got there, there was nothing worth taking. Very few folks with downriver memories post on this board and it's kind of groovy to find someone talking about something from my neck of the woods. |
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Unregistered(d) |
drive in experiance | ||
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Posts: 0 (19-09-02 9:43 PM) |
the "jungle Larry's come from my pitch when the show ended i worked there the last year it was open and the weeds grew as high as the speaker polesso everynight when the last film ened i would make this annoucment
"ladies and gents that concludes our show for this evening please hang your speakers on the poles and exit to the right, thank you for coming to jungle larry's fort george experiance good night and good morning". as far as the old southgate theater my dad was the projectionist there in the 70' while it was still one screen not to many memories i can post but i do remember the booth was huge and and the aduitorium was done in a beautiful gold drape i do remember opening night of "The Godfather" they only sold maybe 10 tickets to both screenings the manger thought the film was going to be a dog, so he changed the schedule for the employees and only had two girls at the snake bar but when my dad and i drove up to the theater at 1230 on saturday the line was around the buildingthey sold out all shows by 3pm that i think was the happiest i had seen my dad in a while and that day learned what it was to be a true projectionist. |
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Unregistered(d) |
Fort George & Southgate | ||
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Posts: 0 (20-09-02 5:03 AM) |
Thanks for sharing the info/memories! I sure miss that big blue Goliath on Fort St. I wish I could've heard the "Jungle Larry's" pitch.
A most vivid memory of the Southgate was seeing lines of people outside the place when the big movies played there. The only giant line I remember standing in was for "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". I think the opening day crowd were the only people that went to that crummy flick. The last time I was in a "line" (nothing like the glory days, but a crowd of people in the lobby waiting for the next show) was for "Batman" in 1989. It broke my heart when they chopped that theater up to make room for more screens. It got a little run down near the end and it was almost a relief to see it close. I still miss it, though. |
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TV Horror Host |
Thanks! | ||
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Posts: 2959 (23-11-02 1:44 AM) Site Admin/Owner |
Thanks guys, for all the great stories and memories you've posted here! It's great to have this stuff documented for all time now. I love having a permanent record of these great, long-lost DI experiences.
 Happy Haunting!
Keith Milford |
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CougarMark67XR7 |
Fort George | ||
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Posts: 18 (29-04-07 9:33 PM) Recurring Character |
I especially remember two movies at this ozoner. The first was Jaws circa 1975, this movie ran for MONTHS! The other was Smokey & The Bandit circa 1977. The cars were lined up all the way down the southbound right lane to see this one. I believe it was b/w Kentucky Fried Movie. It was pretty cool if you lived in the Fountain Park Apts. right behind the George because you could easily see the screen and with some luck you could reach someone on the CB radio and have them key the mike up all night on channel 23 for sound!
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MistyMarco |
Drive-In Memories | ||
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Recurring Character
Posts: 29 (25-10-07 10:35 AM) Recurring Character |
My earliest memory of going to the drive-in theater was when my mom finally took me to see "Mary Poppins" at the Galaxy on Dequindre in Madison Heights. Mom fell asleep midway through the first showing, and I happily sat through the movie (and whatever was the second-billed feature) many times until the theater closed for the night. (Anyone remember the days when drive-ins, like indoor theaters, would run films more than once per evening?)
Another memory is an ad for Van Dyke Clothiers, a tuxedo rental joint. I remember seeing the ad at a few different drive-ins in the metro Detroit area - at the end a chimpanzee in a tiny tuxedo and top hat wandered across the screen, and the voiceover said "Hey, Tarzan! You forgot the monkey!" |
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