Nonprofit Profile | Stars Under the Stars, for Three-Quarters of a Century
Seventy-five years ago today, the world’s first drive-in theater opened, in Pennsauken, New Jersey, not far from where I write this. The first film screened was Fred Niblo’s Wives Beware, later known as Two White Arms, selected, according to IMDB, "because it had played for only one week in theaters a few weeks earlier and they wanted a film that would not conflict with major releases."
Serving drive-in owners is the nonprofit United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association, headquartered in Middle River, Maryland, whose mission is
[t]o be the premier organization serving drive-in theatre owners. To promote commercial motion picture exhibition at drive-in theatres world-wide. To ensure that drive-in theatres remain a viable and competitive part of the motion picture industry.
The drive-in industry is nowhere near what it was, of course, so UDITOA, which is just nine years old, has its work cut out for it. First of all, it’s completely seasonal, and with vast technological advances in screening movies, drive-ins cannot offer any of the viewing amenities that today we take for granted. In an age of Dolby digital surround sound, stadium seating, and lattes at the cinema, the notion of watching a movie while cooped up in your car, a single tinny speaker barely tossing scratchy sound in through the window, seems quaint and decidedly down-scale.
But that’s the charm, though, right? A summer breeze easing through your hair, bad popcorn tumbling onto the dashboard, teenagers doing what teenagers do a few cars over, all while Indiana Jones limps around on the big screen outside your windshield. That’s pure Americana, friends, and that’s why drive-ins continue to hang around, three-quarters of a century later. | 501(c)
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POSTED IN: Pop culture, Worth a look
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