Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the American Drive-in Movie Page #5

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neon, you know, and it moves." And each drive-in would try

to outdo the other drive-in. [ Oldies music continues ] -They had

beautiful neon structures. Absolutely amazing. You know, wagon wheels turning,

like, old-west pioneer scenes. You know, there was one with the Spanish flamenco

dancers going like this. - Drive-in tonight Drivin' at the drive-in Drivin' at the drive-in -Indoor theater is two hours

on a Friday or Saturday night. The drive-in is what you do.

It's a commitment. You're gonna be there

all night long. -You never felt like

you were completely isolated, but you didn't feel like

in a regular movie theater, where everyone could see

what you were doing. You had that aspect of privacy

that was always a really nice feature

of the drive-in. -But then you also had

the larger experience of being out of your car

and almost part of this -- you know, for two hours,

this is your neighborhood. -You can have a meal

at a drive-in theater. They showed two movies. People will be there

for a long period of time. Between films,

you have an intermission, so people can go

to the snack bar. That's the source

of most of their income. -A lot of people don't realize that that's the business

of the drive-in, is actually the food and the atmosphere

and the experience, and not the tickets. -Drive-in theaters

probably would not have survived if was not

for the concession stand. -Soon as the credits

hit the screen, we turn the lights on,

and that lights the way for people to get

to the snack bar. -That's where the lifeblood

of the place really is, is the people

going to the snack bar. -We figured, if we're gonna have them there

as a captive audience, we've got to provide not

only food but good food. -Most drive-ins have hot dogs,

french fries. -Pizza, pizza!

Everybody loves pizza. -Shrimp dinners,

chicken dinners, barbecue sandwiches. -Soda -- pepsi, sprite, orange,

root beer, and grape. -Some sort of ice cream. -Grilled cheese, barbecued beef, all the way up

to the chilly dilly pickle. -Chocolate-covered dill pickles. -They're very, very happy to run

a trailer up on the screen to help entice the audience

to go buy refreshments. -Hurry, hurry, hurry. Step right over

to our refreshment center for the most extravagant array

of refreshment goodies ever assembled under one roof. -Intermission became the time to sell your popcorn,

your candy, your pizza, whatever. [ Spanish music plays ] -The countdown clock, which counts down

the intermission time, so you know

how much time you have to get your food

and get back to your car and not miss any of the movie. -This camera behind me is an

Oxberry master animation camera, which we have since

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