Tag: Drive-in movies

The Tingler Under the Stars

cladriteLeave a comment

We typically limit our focus to the first half of the 20th century, but periodically we dip our toes in the warm waters of the 1950s.

Last night, on Turner Classic Movies, they showed the cheezetastic William Castle classic The Tingler (1959). It’s long been a favorite of ours (and of—let’s face it—all right-thinking Americans), but did you know that the famous blackout scene—the one set in a movie theatre in which Vincent Price encourages the patrons of that theatre (and the one we’re sitting in) to scream for their lives, lest they be terrorized by the titular Tingler—had an alternate audio track, one designed to be substituted when the movie was shown at drive-in theatres?

Now’s your chance to hear both the original audio track and the alternate one, which features not Price’s voice, but Castle’s, as the producer/director urges drive-in patrons to not only scream for all they’re worth, but to turn on their headlights, too.

It’s anarchy, we tell you!

At the Drive-in

cladrite1 Comment

photo of a 1950s drive-inYesterday, on Jeopardy, there was a category in the Double Jeopardy round that was entitled “At the Drive-in.” Host Alex Trebek noted that the category was intended to commemorate the fact that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the first drive-in theatre.

Below are the five questions in the category; how many can you answer? (Hover your cursor over the questions to reveal the answers.)


Camden in this state was the site of the 1st drive-in; creator Richard Hollingshead's large mom hated theater seats.
Made a national standard in 1967, it annoyed drive-in owners by forcing them to start the show an hour later.

The opening credits of this animated TV show feature a trip to the drive-in, Dino & all.
The 4,000 drive-ins of yesteryear are now 400;

Intermission trailers often reminded patrons not to drive away without removing this from their cars.

Happy Hollingshead Day, 2013!

cladriteLeave a comment

We don’t often repeat posts, but on this date every year, we make an exception:

It was 80 years ago tonight that the world’s first drive-in theatre opened in Camden, N.J. It was the brainchild of one Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr. The first movie shown at the first drive-in? Wives Beware, starring Adolphe Menjou (Wives Beware was originally released some months before under the title Two White Arms).

Mr. Hollingshead’s theatre is long gone, we’re sad to report, but the second drive-in ever built—Shankweiler’s DI in Orefield, Penn.—is still going strong.

If you’re within an hour’s drive of an ozoner, you owe it to yourself to pack up the kids and take in a movie under the stars tonight. Not sure if there’s a drive-in near you? Drive-ins.com is the place to find out.

And just to whet your appetite, we’ll share these drive-in intermission clips with you, plus a television advertisement for a now-much-coveted Remco miniature drive-in toy from the 1950s (watch for a familiar face in the commercial).

Happy Hollingshead Day, 2011!

cladriteLeave a comment

We don’t often repeat posts—in fact, we’re not sure we ever have—but on this special occasion, we’ll make an exception. Heck, we may offer a reprise of the following post every year on June 6:

It was 78 years ago tonight that the world’s first drive-in theatre opened in Camden, N.J. It was the brainchild of one Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr. The first movie shown at the first drive-in? Wives Beware, starring Adolphe Menjou (Wives Beware was originally released some months before under the title Two White Arms).

Mr. Hollingshead’s theatre is long gone, we’re sad to report, but the second drive-in ever built—Shankweiler’s DI in Orefield, Penn.—is still going strong.

If you’re within an hour’s drive of an ozoner, you owe it to yourself to pack up the kids and take in a movie under the stars tonight. Not sure if there’s a drive-in near you? Drive-ins.com is the place to find out.

And just to whet your appetite, we’ll share these drive-in intermission clips with you.