| Cruisin' the Past |
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| Cruisin’ the Past by Ed Dooley |
Drive-In Nights
In many parts of the country, drive-in movie theatres shut down for the winter, opening
again in March. But in Tucson they were open year-round in the normally warm climate of
the “Great American Desert.” For many of us in the late 1950s, with a newly acquired
drivers’ license and use of the family car, the drive-in theatre was the destination of choice
on Saturday nights, and in Tucson we had many options.
A desert city like Tucson, with a growing population and an exploding number of
automobiles, could support a large number of drive-in theatres. In our day there were the
Apache Drive-In, on Benson Highway; the Biltmore Motor Vu, at Oracle Road; the Cactus
Drive-In on Alvernon; the Fiesta Drive-In, on South Park Avenue; the Midway Drive-In, on
Speedway; the Prince Drive-In on Campbell Avenue; the Rodeo Drive-In on the Nogales
Highway; and the 22nd Street Drive-In, on 22nd Street and Belvedere. Our favorites,
because of proximity to our part of town, were the Cactus, the Midway, the Prince, the
Biltmore, and the 22nd Street.
The choices were many, but all the theatres were pretty much the same. For some reason,
all of them were known as “theatres,” perhaps to distinguish them from indoor “theaters.”
The main physical feature was the large outdoor screen that could be seen from miles
away and, much to the owners’ chagrin, by local residents who could watch (although not
always clearly hear) movies from their homes for free. At the entrance to the theatre was a
ticket booth where drivers paid admission from their cars, usually one price for a carload –
normally $1.50 – with children under 12 admitted free. The parking area from the location
of the screen to the rear of the establishment contained parallel rows of gently rising
terraces separated by driveways. These terraces – wide enough for a standard car to park
facing the screen – were studded with upright pipes to which window speakers were
attached. In the middle of these terraces was a low building that housed a projection
booth, a snack bar, and restrooms. Some of the more family-friendly theatres featured a
playground that invariably featured a merry-go-round from the Miracle Whirl Sales
Company. The playground was always at the base of the screen so parents could watch
their children and the movie simultaneously.
Families arrived in cars, but the favorites were the station wagon because it could
comfortably hold children – who often fell asleep in sleeping bags in the back -- and the
pick-up, which was parked facing backwards so viewers could sit in lawn chairs in the bed
of the truck. Teenagers, sometimes on “double-dates” and sometimes on “single dates,”
preferred enclosed (“hard top”) automobiles because of the privacy they afforded, as
attending a drive-in theatre was not exclusively for watching the movies. This led some to
refer to drive-ins as “passion pits.” A double-date had its advantages because each
couple had to sit close together on one side of the car or the other in order to see the
screen. If the couple in the front sat on either side of the car and the couple in the back sat
in the middle, things were not going well for the former. Teenagers also tended to park in
an area unofficially set aside for them. For those who didn’t care about privacy and who
enjoyed watching a movie in the open air and under the starry western sky, a convertible
with top down was just the thing. As the summer months arrived and Tucson’s “dry heat”
increased, an evening in the cool fresh air of the drive-in became one of life’s simple
pleasures.
All the theatres offered at least two feature films, with a count-down film at the very start of
the evening’s program, a cartoon or two for the kids, and a 20 or 30-minute intermission
between films. Normally the main feature was run a second time, but some theaters offered
a “triple feature.” As the movies were projected outdoors, viewing had to wait until the sun
had gone down. The normal starting time, therefore, was 7 p.m. for the first feature, 9:30
for the second feature, and 11:30 p.m. for the second showing of the main feature.
Remaining for a third film meant getting home in the wee early hours of the morning.
Intermission, which was accompanied by a film of animated dancing or marching hot dogs,
buns, candy boxes, and pop corn bags meant to encourage snacking, allowed for a trip to
the concession stand (also known as a refreshment center or snack bar) for hot dogs,
hamburgers, fries, heavily-salted popcorn, and soft drinks. Some families got around this
by bringing their own snacks, and even meals, in picnic baskets and coolers. That practice
was only for families, however, as bringing a picnic basket to a drive-in was not considered
“cool” by teenagers. Intermission also allowed for visiting between cars and for taking note
of who was there and who was dating whom.
The first film shown was usually the main feature, while the second was often a B movie, a
low budget motion picture described as the “bottom half of a double feature.” Some of the
main features offered in Tucson theatres on the first weekend of March 1960 were: “The H
Man,” “Solomon and Sheba,” “Operation Petticoat,” “The Violators,” “On the Beach,” “Never
So Few,” “Lil Abner,” “Some Like it Hot.” Those who stayed around for the second film
were treated to “”The Name on the Bullet,” “The Hot Angel,” “Hong Kong Confidential,”
“Machete,” “That Kind of Woman,” “36-Ft. Bride of Candy Rock,” “The Hangman,” “A Hole
in the Head.” Among the stars of the main features were Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred
Astaire, Anthony Perkins, Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon,
Gina Lollobrigida, Glen Ford, Debbie Reynolds, Cary Grant, Robert Taylor, Fess Parker,
Jack Lord, Audie Murphy, Yul Brynner, and, of course, Marilyn Monroe.
When the films were over, scores of engines simultaneously started, headlights came on,
and cars filed out of the parking area row by row heading for the exit. Inevitably someone
would shine car lights on the screen and project animal shadows with his hands, much to
the delight of small children. From time to time, because of a run-down battery, a car
wouldn’t start and other drivers would push it to get it started. And occasionally a
distracted driver would pull away without removing the speaker from the car window, which
resulted in a broken speaker wire – at best – or a broken window – at worst. If the hour
was late, sometimes the occupants of a car were asleep when the last film came to an end,
which brings to mind the 1957 Everly Brothers’ favorite “Wake Up Little Susie.”
It would seem that Saturday night at a drive-in theatre would have become routine and
boring, but that was not the case. Going to the drive-in remained a major feature of the
dating game in the 1950s and beyond. It certainly remained popular with us at CHS. The
admission price was right, little gas money was required, the films were diverting, privacy
was savored, and a good time was had with friends.
In many parts of the country, drive-in movie theatres shut down for the winter, opening
again in March. But in Tucson they were open year-round in the normally warm climate of
the “Great American Desert.” For many of us in the late 1950s, with a newly acquired
drivers’ license and use of the family car, the drive-in theatre was the destination of choice
on Saturday nights, and in Tucson we had many options.
A desert city like Tucson, with a growing population and an exploding number of
automobiles, could support a large number of drive-in theatres. In our day there were the
Apache Drive-In, on Benson Highway; the Biltmore Motor Vu, at Oracle Road; the Cactus
Drive-In on Alvernon; the Fiesta Drive-In, on South Park Avenue; the Midway Drive-In, on
Speedway; the Prince Drive-In on Campbell Avenue; the Rodeo Drive-In on the Nogales
Highway; and the 22nd Street Drive-In, on 22nd Street and Belvedere. Our favorites,
because of proximity to our part of town, were the Cactus, the Midway, the Prince, the
Biltmore, and the 22nd Street.
The choices were many, but all the theatres were pretty much the same. For some reason,
all of them were known as “theatres,” perhaps to distinguish them from indoor “theaters.”
The main physical feature was the large outdoor screen that could be seen from miles
away and, much to the owners’ chagrin, by local residents who could watch (although not
always clearly hear) movies from their homes for free. At the entrance to the theatre was a
ticket booth where drivers paid admission from their cars, usually one price for a carload –
normally $1.50 – with children under 12 admitted free. The parking area from the location
of the screen to the rear of the establishment contained parallel rows of gently rising
terraces separated by driveways. These terraces – wide enough for a standard car to park
facing the screen – were studded with upright pipes to which window speakers were
attached. In the middle of these terraces was a low building that housed a projection
booth, a snack bar, and restrooms. Some of the more family-friendly theatres featured a
playground that invariably featured a merry-go-round from the Miracle Whirl Sales
Company. The playground was always at the base of the screen so parents could watch
their children and the movie simultaneously.
Families arrived in cars, but the favorites were the station wagon because it could
comfortably hold children – who often fell asleep in sleeping bags in the back -- and the
pick-up, which was parked facing backwards so viewers could sit in lawn chairs in the bed
of the truck. Teenagers, sometimes on “double-dates” and sometimes on “single dates,”
preferred enclosed (“hard top”) automobiles because of the privacy they afforded, as
attending a drive-in theatre was not exclusively for watching the movies. This led some to
refer to drive-ins as “passion pits.” A double-date had its advantages because each
couple had to sit close together on one side of the car or the other in order to see the
screen. If the couple in the front sat on either side of the car and the couple in the back sat
in the middle, things were not going well for the former. Teenagers also tended to park in
an area unofficially set aside for them. For those who didn’t care about privacy and who
enjoyed watching a movie in the open air and under the starry western sky, a convertible
with top down was just the thing. As the summer months arrived and Tucson’s “dry heat”
increased, an evening in the cool fresh air of the drive-in became one of life’s simple
pleasures.
All the theatres offered at least two feature films, with a count-down film at the very start of
the evening’s program, a cartoon or two for the kids, and a 20 or 30-minute intermission
between films. Normally the main feature was run a second time, but some theaters offered
a “triple feature.” As the movies were projected outdoors, viewing had to wait until the sun
had gone down. The normal starting time, therefore, was 7 p.m. for the first feature, 9:30
for the second feature, and 11:30 p.m. for the second showing of the main feature.
Remaining for a third film meant getting home in the wee early hours of the morning.
Intermission, which was accompanied by a film of animated dancing or marching hot dogs,
buns, candy boxes, and pop corn bags meant to encourage snacking, allowed for a trip to
the concession stand (also known as a refreshment center or snack bar) for hot dogs,
hamburgers, fries, heavily-salted popcorn, and soft drinks. Some families got around this
by bringing their own snacks, and even meals, in picnic baskets and coolers. That practice
was only for families, however, as bringing a picnic basket to a drive-in was not considered
“cool” by teenagers. Intermission also allowed for visiting between cars and for taking note
of who was there and who was dating whom.
The first film shown was usually the main feature, while the second was often a B movie, a
low budget motion picture described as the “bottom half of a double feature.” Some of the
main features offered in Tucson theatres on the first weekend of March 1960 were: “The H
Man,” “Solomon and Sheba,” “Operation Petticoat,” “The Violators,” “On the Beach,” “Never
So Few,” “Lil Abner,” “Some Like it Hot.” Those who stayed around for the second film
were treated to “”The Name on the Bullet,” “The Hot Angel,” “Hong Kong Confidential,”
“Machete,” “That Kind of Woman,” “36-Ft. Bride of Candy Rock,” “The Hangman,” “A Hole
in the Head.” Among the stars of the main features were Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred
Astaire, Anthony Perkins, Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon,
Gina Lollobrigida, Glen Ford, Debbie Reynolds, Cary Grant, Robert Taylor, Fess Parker,
Jack Lord, Audie Murphy, Yul Brynner, and, of course, Marilyn Monroe.
When the films were over, scores of engines simultaneously started, headlights came on,
and cars filed out of the parking area row by row heading for the exit. Inevitably someone
would shine car lights on the screen and project animal shadows with his hands, much to
the delight of small children. From time to time, because of a run-down battery, a car
wouldn’t start and other drivers would push it to get it started. And occasionally a
distracted driver would pull away without removing the speaker from the car window, which
resulted in a broken speaker wire – at best – or a broken window – at worst. If the hour
was late, sometimes the occupants of a car were asleep when the last film came to an end,
which brings to mind the 1957 Everly Brothers’ favorite “Wake Up Little Susie.”
It would seem that Saturday night at a drive-in theatre would have become routine and
boring, but that was not the case. Going to the drive-in remained a major feature of the
dating game in the 1950s and beyond. It certainly remained popular with us at CHS. The
admission price was right, little gas money was required, the films were diverting, privacy
was savored, and a good time was had with friends.
| Gina Lollobrigida |
| Click on arrow to play "Wake Up Little Susie" by the Everly Brothers |