The 1965 Drive-Ins
BY: Mia Wiltshire
Beginning
"Ozoners" (clipping from pop culture encyclopedia)
THE SNACK BAR
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"The Snack Bar" (clipping from pop culture encyclopedia)
food service was refined into a profitable venture for ozoners. for example, for every dollar of ticket sales, 45 cents was spent on concessions at drive-ins, compared to the 26 cents spent at indoor theaters. While typical foods sold were popcorn, soft drinks, hot dogs and candy, Jack Farr's Trail Drive-In, in Houston, Texas, served chicken, tamales, shrimp and chili. Some theaters provided a Snack-Kar to deliver refreshments to viewers. Viewers at one North Carolina theater ordered food during the movie by pressing a special button on the pole and speaking into a microphone—the food was delivered to their car. Prior to the construction of pizza parlors, the drive-in theater was the only place in many communities that served pizza. Restaurant equipment entrepreneur Al Gordon (Morris Gordon & Son) recommended that drive-ins provide a more cafeteria style snack bar, which proved successful. Theaters advertised their food services during film trailers, and at intermissions.
Jobs
Drive In progression
During the 1950s, drive-ins got bigger: Stanford Kohlberg's Starlite Drive-In, near Oak Lawn, Illinois, for instance, expanded to 1,875 outdoor spaces; interestingly, it also included an enclosed auditorium that seated 1,000 walk-in viewers. During its opening weekend, the theater featured live entertainment: the hillbilly group Sleepy Hollow Gang. Other acts booked included sway pole artist Penney Millette, human cannonball "The Great Wilno," and various circus acts. The movies shown in these drive-in venues had often been released several weeks earlier in conventional, walk-in theaters.
Drive In movie favorites
One of my favorite drive-in movie experiences was "Night of the Grizzly"with Clint Walker. I also enjoyed "The Longest Day" and of course, all the Elvis movies we went to see. "Blue Hawaii" almost put me to sleep, whereas"Roustabout" had me humming for weeks after. Elvis convinced me that the best life had to offer was a motorcycle, leather jacket, and karate. My favorite drive-in memory is when My brother Kenny took me to see The Beatles' "Help!" The second feature was"Mister Moses"
**some of the movie posters are shown in this presetation, take a look**
** the link to this paragraph is http://www.jeffs60s.com/