Skeeters, heat, speakers made old drive-ins unique. Are drive-in movies making a comeback?

For many in north Louisiana, experiencing the vagaries of a drive-in movie on a Saturday night in the South is something only legends are made of. 

Sitting in your pajamas, fighting mosquitoes, listening to a scratchy speaker and walking outside to a concession stand with questionable cleanliness were all part of the fun for Baby Boomers seeking a family outing on the cheap. 

Parents could take their kids, avoiding the cost of a baby sitter, and see a double-feature for just a couple of bucks while succumbing to the dampness of the night air. 

Drive-in theaters hit their peak in the 1960s when there were more than 4,100 in the United States, but that number fell to roughly 200 by the end of the 1980s. Color television, VCRs and movie rentals impacted the industry as did Daylight Saving Time, which forced them to open an hour later.

Due to Gov. John Bel Edwards shutting down conventional theaters in the fight against the coronavirus, drive-ins are making at least a temporary comeback locally. The Social Circle Drive-In Movies will be held this weekend at the State Fair of Louisiana. Six movies are being shown on a 60-foot screen at the fairgrounds Friday through Sunday. Tickets are $25 per car. For more information visit Drive-In Night at the Movies event page https://www.facebook.com/events/265666414485096.

Next weekend, another slate of movies will be shown in downtown Shreveport behind First United Methodist Church. The New Normal Drive-In will show six different movies from Friday through Sunday. Tickets are $25 per car per movie and can be purchased through The New Normal Drive-In Facebook Event Page. Event updates can be found at https://downtownshreveport.com/new-normal-drive-in-may-29-31/.

More:Drive-in movies to be offered at two Shreveport locations

Here’s what some Shreveport-Bossier residents had to say on Facebook about drive-in theaters:

Lawrence Calhoun: I loved going out on Monkhouse Dr. I’ve forgotten the name of the drive-in. Sitting in the back of a truck with friends and a six-pack. For some reason, Godzilla versus Mothra always comes to mind. Of course, sneaking people through the gates while in the trunk was always classic. Still remember seeing the show at the Don Drive-In, while driving down I-20. It was where the Bossier Mall is today.

Rosemary Faccadio Kenyon: Loved the drive-in. As a kid it was the best because you went in your pj’s and got to play at the playground before the movie started. Then got to get popcorn. I still can remember the smell of the popcorn popping. Of course as a teen and young adult it was the place to go with your sweetheart. Would love going again.

Pamela Powell Schmidt: I agree so much with you, Rosemary. Then we’d put down the seats in the station wagon, make a pallet in the back and fall asleep watching John Wayne or Clint Eastwood. My dad insisted on cowboys and “hosses.”

Jennifer Browning: I'm not from Louisiana, but the only time I recall going to a drive-in theater (in Florida during college) -- the annoying parts were the heat and the bugs.

Sharon Lee Litton: There is a drive-in called Star Dust in Watertown, Tennessee. We go there whenever we’re home. The box office opens at 5. You get in line around 3:30-4 p.m. The movies start at 7 p.m. It usually sells out. At 5 p.m. you get your spot and go get food. Their food is awesome!!!! Popcorn smell fills the air. (Bathrooms are clean). Barry the owner is always there walking around saying hi. There are two screens and they show a current movie double feature every night. They are building a three-screen. You talk to strangers and throw a frisbee with strangers, pet dogs and watch the sun go down. The atmosphere is family and happy. Relaxing and enjoyable. I am currently looking for land just out of town to bring a drive in to Shreveport. I want to share in the excitement of it.

Julie Nix: Sunset drive in with my parents. Great memories. We saw every James Bond movie. My dad’s favorite!

Denise Wood: I can remember going as a family -- seeing “True Grit” -- brought our own popcorn ... static speakers .... wasn’t the theatre experience we know and enjoy (we hope to soon) today!!!!

Carolyn Roberts: Mosquitoes in the summer, windows fogging up in the winter. But we loved them!

Josie Anderton: We all loved the drive-in as kids! I don’t know how many people we snuck in with booze in the trunk! It was Strawberry Hill or beer. I guess that’s where I got my love of beer! So many fun memories. I don’t know if that can be recreated but I’d love it!

Kim M Boldenow: Abilene, Texas still has one! We went a couple times a year as a family and our kids would go with friends. So fun!!

Terri Neel Little: Yes! I have one memory and it was of the one on 70th Street by Hearne Avenue when I was about 5. I would love to go to one again!

Debbie Servis Gibson: We took the kids to see Jurassic Park and The Flintstones at the drive-in in Nashville, Arkansas, when they were middle school age. We were staying at Lake Greeson and it was a great and unusual thing to do. And the perfect movies for watching outdoors. Kent and I saw Star Wars for the first time at the drive-in in Lafayette. There is one called The Kenda, still operating in Marshall, Arkansas, which is an hour from our home. They have just reopened, I believe after being shut down for the pandemic. Guess they don’t realize sitting in your car is social distancing. Haha. Actually, I think the problem was actually getting movies because traditional theaters were closed. Plus, remember when The Joy was where Pierre Bossier Mall is?

Tara Amos Roberts: Yassss. Growing up in Georgia my parents would take my sister and I when we were little. It was a big deal because we didn’t have ANY money. I would love to have a drive-in movie. I was too young to know anything was annoying. But I would like to see old school throw-back movies when I went.

Wendy Benscoter: When we moved to Shreveport we had a 2- and 3-year-old -- no family, no babysitters. We couldn’t believe there were no (remaining) drive-ins here. It was such an easy way to go out. Houston still had some decent drive-ins when we left. We had a drive-in movie experience in Shreveport Common about five years ago and it was fun! 

Jeff Shideler: Going to see Easy Rider

Lawrence Calhoun: Hanging speakers in your car window. Our children today could not comprehend. And we just laugh. Our generation of children have no idea of how fun our '60s and '70s of life was all about.

Janice Martin: My mom used to pack our station wagon with all the kids she could fit in the car and go to the drive-in on Greenwood Road -- sweet memories.

Mae Mary Helen Williams-Hall: I grew up attending drive-in movies. When I was little, I loved the playground that many drive-ins had. I always loved the concessions! Mosquitoes drove me nuts!

Patrick Locke Sr.: "Glass Bottom Boat" with Doris Day... last one I remember. There were five kids and mom and dad. Steve Locke might remember better. Or was it "Man's Favorite Sport" with Rock Hudson?

Rick Stovall: I saw The Alamo. It was released in 1960. It must have been a couple of years old when it came to the Twin Terrace in Odessa, Texas. I know I was in school by then.

Jackie Carter Pugh: Lake Charles had a drive-in when I was in college which was the New Moon Drive-in. One of our sorority’s fundraiser was to wash windshields of each car. One of our sorority’s fundraiser was to wash windshields of each car. It sounded like a great idea, but I don’t remember it being very successful! Lol! Kelsey - our daughter and her family - went to a drive-in outside of Lawton, Oklahoma, where they live recently. The cars were spaced out and it’s always a sellout.

Funny thing is they were showing The Wizard of Oz for the kiddos and then Twister for the adults! Those Okies love tornado movies!

Mario Rio Villafuerte: Went to see the movie Omen at a drive-in. But did not watch the movie. College date.

Sharon Green Taylor: I remember watching Fantastic Voyage at the Sunset drive-in. The movie depicted people traveling inside the human body.

Skip Russell: I have great memories of the old drive-in outside of Ruston. Somehow, I don't remember any of the movies.

Michelle Clark Watson: Mom took us to STAR WARS! I’ll never forget that experience!

Deborah Griffith: Going back home in DeSoto Parish we loved looking out the backseat window to see what was playing at the Sunset Drive-In. Seems as if backseats and the windows were larger then!

Virginia Donald: Oh yes. For sure. My fondest memories are of the drive-in in Ruston. One of our roommates had a very old Lemans convertible. We would all pile in and go get 50 cents in gas (1970). Then two or three of us would get in the trunk so we could get in the drive-in free. Usually Martha Hannigan and I and one other girl. When we got through the gate we would crawl into the car through the removable back seat. I bet we saved $1.50 every time we went. 

Kristy Nix: Watching “ET” with my grandmother and mother in the front seat of a yellow 1976 cougar with a dark green vinyl top. My grandmother was born in January of 1900 and she was not impressed with ET at all lol.