Yes, boils and ghouls, drive-ins still continue to perish faster than flies in Renfield’s padded cell, and there seems no end to the carnage. But just how bad is the situation?
Recently, our intrepid Drive-In Detective, Dan Sweet, took on the Case of The Dead-Drive-Ins. Pulling on his Burberry, popping on his snap-brim Fedora, and pocketing his trusty Kodak, Dan scoured his local area for the graveyards of deceased drive-In theaters. Unfortunately, as his photos reveal, there are a few in his vicinity…just as there are likely some rotting away in all our readers’ backyards. The Colonial, the Acme, and the Valley Drive-Ins, all within Dan’s hometown of Hamilton, Ohio, are dead. Who are the culprits? Of course, there are the usual suspects: popularity of home video, the explosion of massive movie multi-plexes, and the loss of the family trade which would rather pop a video cassette into the VCR rather than travel to the drive-in and see second-run movies under the stars. Alas, Dan also found a new suspect—folks like you and me who pay lip service to the drive-in experience, but rarely, if ever, give patronage to our own local struggling drive-in theaters.
However, even if these drive-ins are dead and buried, so to speak, the memories of golden evenings under the stars at these former autoramas live in. Dan’s own recollections are recounted below:
Sadly, there is no hope of reviving these drive-ins. Here's what they were like:
1) The Valley was located in New Miami, the town north of Hamilton. It is near & dear to my heart because this is where I first saw The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Like most drive-ins it showed whatever exploitation genre films were in vogue at the time. Saw lots of kung-fu & horror/sf there. The strangest experience I ever had there was seeing Godzilla Vs. Megalon (yes, I'm the person who paid to see it). The screen was being re-painted so half the screen was bright white & the other dull gray. Last movie I ever saw there was Big Trouble In Little China. All that's left now is a screen, the lot is used for storage. 2) The Colonial was in Hamilton & was originally a dollar a carload third run place called the Riverview. First triple feature I saw there was Dr. No, Donovan's Reef, & The Haunted Palace. Something for everybody. Was later named the Colonial & charged separate admissions. Saw cool movies there like The Night Evelyn Came Out Of The Grave. Strangest experience was going there in the winter, & the power going out after someone ran a car into the utility pole up the hill. The marquee was on the roadside, then you drove down a hill to pay your admission. All gone now. When I was last there several years ago the road downhill was blocked off by junk that was put there after some kids set fire to the old projection booth. The drive-in was built next to the river & the most horrible thing about going there was the man-eating mosquitoes. 3) The Acme. In Fairfield, South of Hamilton. My home away from home, the palace of exploitation movies, site of the dusk-to-dawn horrorfests. Towards the end they would have the dusk-to-dawners & be showing movies I had at home on tape. I still went! Last memory of the Acme was seeing a completely worn-out print of the original Night of the Living Dead as the final of four features shown. Everything is gone there. It's being turned into another 'commercial zone' that the world doesn't need. The Colonial had the WORST food of any drive-in I've ever attended anywhere! Cardboard tasting burgers & Cokes from Hell.
Recently, Paul Whittaker, owner of the Dromana Drive-In, one of the best outside movie theatres in Australia, sent Renfield a few shots of dead drive-ins now littering the landscape of the Land Down Under. As Paul put it: "Broken Hill, Alice Springs, Coober Pedy--all outback derelict drive-ins!" Paul added that there are a lot of deceased drive-ins scattered across Australia, just as in the US. He sent the following photos to illustrate his point:
Will our drive-in heritage slowly but surely fade into a series of empty fields and rock-shattered marquees? Hopefully, as Drive-In Critic Joe Bob Briggs insists, "The Drive-In will NEVER die!" If so, we can all do our part—and attend our local drive-ins. Perhaps we can even convince our local drive-in owners that an occasional "reprise" of classic and cult horror films on special nights would be a money-making proposition. We can but try. In the meantime (when the weather permits of course), support your local drive-in!
