Donna Reiner has written many articles over the years for the Arizona Republic and others about Phoenix history and memorials. She is a regular contributor to our newsletter. This month, Donna shares about the history of drive-ins in the Valley
In the 1950s and 60s, parents bundled up their children, put them in the back of the family station wagon or family sedan and headed to the movies. No, not the walk-in type of movie theatre, the drive-in type. This arrangement was ideal for families with small children or babies and when you might not be able to afford a baby-sitter for a night out.
When we became teens, many of us double-dated at the drive-in. This was especially important to many parents as they thought their sweet young daughters would have less of a chance of “getting into trouble.” However, as it often happened, once the lights went down and the movie began, that might have been the last thing you remembered other than what you told your parents you were going to see.
Fast forward to college days. Then you might try to sneak as many of your friends into the car and only pay for one or two people. When trying this method, you needed to be careful when getting out of the car so no employee “caught” you and made all of you leave.
Adventures could abound at the drive-in. I had the dubious experience when out with my older sister of trying to watch Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” while it rained. When we seemed to be concentrating on the water bubbles, it was time to turn on the car and start up the wipers; repeated as necessary. I finally watched “The Birds” sans rain last year.
The marquees of drive-ins were spectacular and because of being perpendicular to the road, it was impossible to miss them. One time my precocious 4-year old asked what the letters “X” and “R” after the movies meant. So, I told her they had to do with the amount of sex and violence in the movie. She thought about that for a moment and replied, “I know all about sex, but what is violence?” Ah yes, those drive-in theatre memories. By the way, we did not see those two movies.
If you grew up near a drive-in theatre, you probably tried to watch the movie from a distance and without the sound. That could be a futile effort or at least one where you would have to guess what was coming. Still, it was a creative method.
Today, drive-ins are a thing of the past. The way of the 8-track tapes, beta videos, and home milk delivery. For those of us who were able to enjoy them, wasn’t it great to sit in your car under the stars and watch a movie?
