Page 18 - CR31R.pdf

A

VISIT

TO THE

DRIVE-IN

By Noel Kerr

Today, Drive-In Theatres are a making patrons walk to the shop
rare breed… their valuable real themselves - and they did.
estate now turned into housing, Hi-Fi and Surround Sound were
shopping centres and carparks. To never a reason for going to a Drive-In
me it only seems like yesterday that Theatre. The speakers supplied often
they were in full swing and a regular had very poor sound response with
part of my social calendar. hardly any bass. I suppose this was to
At the outset of these theatres (or be expected as they were dropped to
should one call them screenings?), the ground, abused and had to stand
patrons received great service from the poor weather conditions. Rugged
management. Windscreens were design didn’t allow a vented enclosure
cleaned on entry, and car-to-café to improve the sound from the small
service was provided along with speaker. Often, as speakers aged, the
mobile sweet and drink trolleys. To position of the volume control had to
order food from the shop, one only be tapped or moved around to make
had to push a switch on the speaker, contact with the sound circuit. At times
lighting a lamp on the outside speaker we would have to move to find a
stand. This in turn would summon an speaker that actually worked. I dare say
attendant to take your food and drink if the speaker unit was made to a high
order. (l don’t think there was an standard it would have been stolen.
additional charge for this!) On very In spite of all this, we drive-in fans
busy nights it was much quicker to go knew how to get “stereo” sound from
to the shop and buy it yourself. As our theatre speakers by placing a
time passed, management must have second unit in the back seat and
found they could cut some of their changing the sound level for effect.
costs by removing this service- (Well it fooled some of the girls). Often
this all came to a dramatic ending
when a car pulled in beside us and we
had to hand back the second speaker.
Winter often created problems for
us fans who went to “see” the films.
On cold evenings the windscreens had
to be constantly wiped to clear the
fogging up of the windows. It was
quite handy to either have some anti-
fog solution or a cake of soap to rub on
the windows with a damp tissue or rag.
On foggy nights some theatres had
heat briars placed around the area to
help lift the fog. This had mixed
results. Rain was the big problem, at
least for some of us, particularly if you
didn’t have a wide sun visor. Wipers
Oakleigh Skyline
couldn’t be left on for fear of a flat
18 2002 CINEMARECORD