› › Drive In Theaters

Drive-in Theaters

Author : Kerry Segrave

Publisher : McFarland

Page : 296 pages

File Size : 37,27 MB

Release : 2006-04-21

Category : Performing Arts

ISBN : 0786426306

Get eBook

Book Description

A primarily American institution (though it appeared in other countries such as Japan and Italy), the drive-in theater now sits on the verge of extinction. During its heyday, drive-ins could be found in communities both large and small. Some of the larger theaters held up to 3,000 cars and were often filled to capacity on weekends. The history of the drive-in from its beginnings in the 1930s through its heyday in the 1940s and 1950s to its gradual demise in modern-day America is thoroughly documented here: the patent battles, community concerns with morality (on-screen and off), technological advances (audio systems, screens, etc.), audiences, and the drive-in's place in the motion picture industry.



The American Drive-In Movie Theater

Author : Don Sanders

Publisher : MBI Publishing Company

Page : 160 pages

File Size : 44,58 MB

Release : 2003-07

Category : Architecture

ISBN : 9780760317075

Get eBook

Book Description

The drive-in movie theater brought together two distinct American institutions: cars and movies. Since the earliest drive-ins of the 1930s, these entertainment complexes have been an integral part of American culture. Their appeal stretched to people from all corners of the country, offering a place for social gathering and various amusements. Take a ride down memory lane in this entertaining look at every aspect of the drive-in movie theater: the architecture, the marquees, the cars, the food, and much more. Black-and-white and color photos, along with period ads and other memorabilia, provide a highly illustrated tour from the origins of the drive-in, through its heyday in the 1950s, its decline, and its subsequent revival.



Drive-in Movie Memories

Author : Don Sanders

Publisher : Carriage House Publishing

Page : 0 pages

File Size : 16,39 MB

Release : 2000

Category : Drive-in theaters

ISBN : 9780967004709

Get eBook

Book Description

A colorful album with photos and stories that transport readers back to that innocent (and sometimes not so innocent!) time when Saturday night meant a hot date in Dad's De Soto under the big outdoor screen.



Ligonier Valley Vignettes

Author : Jennifer Sopko

Publisher : American Chronicles

Page : 0 pages

File Size : 25,10 MB

Release : 2013

Category : History

ISBN : 9781609495824

Get eBook

Book Description

Secluded between Laurel Mountain and Chestnut Ridge, the Ligonier Valley has been the mountain playground of western Pennsylvania since the nineteenth century. Yet this picturesque retreat was at the tumultuous center of history--during the French and Indian War, Fort Ligonier was key to the British strategy, and in the late nineteenth century, the Ligonier Valley Rail Road helped transform the industry of the region. Author Jennifer Sopko traces the story of the valley and its residents through a series of fascinating vignettes. From the earliest histories to nostalgic reminiscences of the Ligonier Opera House, socials at the Valley Dairy ice cream parlor and bygone days at Idlewild Park, Sopko captures the history and spirit of the Ligonier Valley and its communities.



UFOs at the Drive-In

Author : Preston Dennett

Publisher :

Page : 162 pages

File Size : 21,78 MB

Release : 2020-08-18

Category :

ISBN :

Get eBook

Book Description

UFOs at the Drive-In!Just imagine: you're watching your favorite movie at the local drive-in theater when suddenly you see a strange flying object swoop down from above and hover right over the movie screen. The object is metallic, saucer-shaped, with portholes and colored lights, and is totally silent. It's a UFO! Cars start honking and flashing their lights. People exit their cars, pointing and screaming. Some drive away in terror. Then the UFO starts to move around over the theater putting on a show that's far more interesting than the movie itself! It may sound like science fiction, except it's true! This unique and groundbreaking book, by veteran UFO researcher Preston Dennett, documents more than 100 firsthand cases in which UFOs have targeted drive-in theaters. In these cases, UFOs hover at very low levels for long periods of time, and are observed by hundreds of witnesses. Often there are strange electromagnetic effects. Sometimes humanoids are seen. -ARIZONA, APRIL 1952: A metallic structured object hovers over the Yuma Drive-In Theater in Arizona, not once, but multiple times. -CALIFORNIA, AUGUST 1952: Visitors at the Terrace Drive-In undergo an incredible encounter, causing an investigation that reaches the highest levels of government. -MISSOURI, JULY 17, 1954: Peter Davenport and hundreds of others sight a glowing object at the Skyline Drive-In. Davenport later becomes the director of NUFORC. -MASSACHUSETTS, MAY 1963: A fleet of eight UFOs appears over the Wellington Circle Twins Drive-In, and puts on a display lasting an incredible 45 minutes long. -GEORGIA, JUNE 29, 1964: A large metallic saucer swoops repeatedly over the crowded Atlanta Drive-In, causing the audience to flee in panic. -OHIO, MID-1960s: UFOs swoop so low over the Mentor Drive-In that the movie is shut off so that the audience can enjoy the unexpected bonus show in the sky above. -KANSAS, 1966: Hundreds of people see a UFO hover directly next to the Southutch Drive-In, causing the entire audience to chase the object down the highway. -CALIFORNIA, 1972: The audience at the Paramount Drive-In flees in panic as a metallic saucer swoops down and hovers right next to the movie screen. -FLORIDA, 1973: When a metallic UFO hovers over the Fort Lauderdale Drive-In, the audience is amazed to see strange occupants peering from the portholes. -NEW YORK, 1974: Viewers at the East Park Drive-In are stunned to see a UFO hover over the parking lot and start sending beams of light onto the movie screen itself! -OHIO, 1974: A UFO targets the Ascot Park Drive-In, blacking out the movie and causing the entire audience to become hypnotically entranced. -MAINE, JUNE 15, 1975: A UFO buzzes the audience of the Portland Twin Drive-In Theater, causing the audiences for two separate movies to race away in fear. -CHINA, JULY 7, 1977: Three hundred people are injured and two are killed when a low-flying UFO targets an open-air showing of a movie to a crowd of 3000 people. -CALIFORNIA, 1983: The entire audience panics and drives away when a UFO swoops down and hovers right next to the movie screen of the Edgewood Drive-In. -OHIO, SEPTEMBER 2004: The entire audience observes a UFO which hovers above the Wilmington Drive-In and stays there for the entire length of the movie. There are too many cases to deny. This area of UFO research has been ignored for too long. Something profound is happening here. This book reveals a bizarre type of UFO behavior that only a lucky few have ever seen. So, come along on a fascinating journey that is sure to change the way you feel about UFOs.



Drive-in Theaters

Author : Kerry Segrave

Publisher : McFarland

Page : 296 pages

File Size : 24,34 MB

Release : 2012-01-25

Category : Performing Arts

ISBN : 0786491701

Get eBook

Book Description

A primarily American institution (though it appeared in other countries such as Japan and Italy), the drive-in theater now sits on the verge of extinction. During its heyday, drive-ins could be found in communities both large and small. Some of the larger theaters held up to 3,000 cars and were often filled to capacity on weekends. The history of the drive-in from its beginnings in the 1930s through its heyday in the 1940s and 1950s to its gradual demise in modern-day America is thoroughly documented here: the patent battles, community concerns with morality (on-screen and off), technological advances (audio systems, screens, etc.), audiences, and the drive-in's place in the motion picture industry.



Michigan's Drive-In Theaters

Author : Harry Skrdla

Publisher : Arcadia Publishing

Page : 128 pages

File Size : 46,28 MB

Release : 2014-07-07

Category : Photography

ISBN : 1439646074

Get eBook

Book Description

Few American phenomena are more evocative of time, place, and culture than the drive-in theater. From its origins in the Great Depression, through its peak in the 1950s and 1960s and ultimately its slow demise in the 1980s, the drive-in holds a unique place in the countrys collective past. Michigans drive-ins were a reflection of this time and place, ranging from tiny rural 200-car ozoners to sprawling 2,500-car behemoths that were masterpieces of showmanship, boasting not only movies and food, but playgrounds, pony rides, merry-go-rounds, and even roving window washers.



Horror at the Drive-In

Author : Gary D. Rhodes

Publisher : McFarland

Page : 313 pages

File Size : 36,86 MB

Release : 2015-09-03

Category : Performing Arts

ISBN : 1476610517

Get eBook

Book Description

Drive-in movie theaters and the horror films shown at them during the 1950s, 60s, and early 70s may be somewhat outdated, but they continue to enthrall movie buffs today. More than just fodder for the satirical cannons of Joe Bob Briggs and Mystery Science Theatre 3000, they appeal to knowledgeable fans and film scholars who understand their influence on American popular culture. This book is a collection of eighteen essays by various scholars on the classic drive-in horror film experience. Those in Section One emphasize the roles of the drive-in theater in the United States--and its cultural cousin, Australia. Section Two examines how horror operated at the drive-in, the rhetoric used in coming attraction trailers, horror film premieres at drive-ins, double features, and the preproduction, production, and marketing of Last House on the Left. Section Three addresses the effects of the Vietnam War and counter-culture on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and the Cold War on Cat Women of the Moon. Section Four explores gender issues and sexuality, two of the most common and most important subjects of horror film analysis. Section Five covers drive-in culture via Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, 2000 Maniacs, and the films of Mario Bava. Section Six investigates a variety of issues, such as the drive-in horror film's embrace of DNA, the use of cinematic form to create a non-Hollywood look in Wizard of Gore, and the many different prints and running times of I Drink Your Blood.



Cinema Treasures

Author : Ross Melnick

Publisher : Motorbooks

Page : 236 pages

File Size : 46,49 MB

Release : 2004

Category : Motion picture theaters

ISBN : 0760314926

Get eBook

Book Description

More than 100 years after the first movie delighted audiences, movie theaters remain the last great community centers and one of the few amusements any family can afford. While countless books have been devoted to films and their stars, none have attempted a truly definitive history of those magical venues that have transported moviegoers since the beginning of the last century. In this stunningly illustrated book, film industry insiders Ross Melnick and Andreas Fuchs take readers from the nickelodeon to the megaplex and show how changes in moviemaking and political, social, and technological forces (e.g., war, depression, the baby boom, the VCR) have influenced the way we see movies.Archival photographs from archives like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and movie theater ephemera (postcards, period ads, matchbooks, and even a "barf bag") sourced from private collections complement Melnick's informative and engaging history. Also included throughout the book are Fuchs' profiles detailing 25 classic movie theaters that have been restored and renovated and which continue to operate today. Each of these two-page spreads is illustrated with marvelous modern photographs, many taken by top architectural photographers. The result is a fabulous look at one way in which Americans continue to come together as a nation. A timeline throughout places the developments described in a broader historical context."We've had a number of beautiful books about the great movie palaces, and even some individual volumes that pay tribute to surviving theaters around the country. This is the first book I can recall that focuses on the survivors, from coast to coast, and puts them into historical context. Sumptuously produced in an oversized format, on heavy coated paper stock, this beautiful book offers a lively history of movie theaters in America , an impressive array of photos and memorabilia, and a heartening survey of the landmarks in our midst, from the majestic Fox Tucson Theatre in Tucson, Arizona to the charming jewel-box that is the Avon in Stamford, Connecticut. I don't know why, but I never tire of gazing at black & white photos of marquees from the past; they evoke the era of moviemaking (and moviegoing) I care about the most, and this book is packed with them. Cinema Treasures is indeed a treasure, and a perfect gift item for the holiday season. - Leonard Maltin"Humble or grandiose, stand-alone or strung together, movie theaters are places where dreams are born. Once upon a time, they were treated with the respect they deserve. In their heyday, historian Ross Melnick and exhibitor Andreas Fuchs write in Cinema Treasures, openings of new motion-picture pleasure palaces that would have dazzled Kubla Khan 'received enormous attention in newspapers around the country. On top of the publicity they generated, their debuts were treated like the gala openings of new operas or exhibits, with critics weighing in on everything from the interior and exterior design to the orchestra.' Handsomely produced and extensively illustrated, Cinema Treasures is detailed without being dull and thoroughly at home with this often neglected subject matter. Its title would have you believe it is a celebration of the golden age of movie theaters. But this book is something completely different: an examination of the history of movie exhibition, which the authors accurately call 'a vastly under-researched topic.'" - Los Angeles Times



The Starlite Drive-in

Author : Marjorie Reynolds

Publisher : William Morrow Paperbacks

Page : 0 pages

File Size : 28,23 MB

Release : 2011-11-22

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 9780062092649

Get eBook

Book Description

When human bones are discovered on the grounds of the old Starlite Drive-in, only Callie Anne Benton knows the identity of the victim who mysteriously disappeared thirty-six years ago. It’s the sweltering summer of 1956 when a handsome drifter named Charlie Memphis arrives at the Starlite to help Callie Anne’s injured father run the theater. Both she and her mother, Teal, fall for Memphis’s rugged style and gentlemanly manners, but Callie Anne’s father—bitter in his role as caretaker for the rural drive-in and his agoraphobic wife—doesn’t like the drifter’s increasing interest in Teal. A disastrous turn of events changes their lives forever, and it’s up to the grown-up Callie Anne to unlock the secret of the decades-old mystery. Told through the voice of Callie Anne, a whip-smart tomboy reminiscent of Scout Finch, The Starlite Drive-in is a vivid snapshot of 1950s America. A compelling novel infused with hope, tragedy, and suspense, Callie Anne’s story will strike a chord with readers both young and old.