Motion Picture Herald (Sep-Oct 1941)

October 4, 1941 MOTION PICTURE HERALD 43 DRIVE-INS BECOMING MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR BRANCH OF U.S. EXHIBITION Distributors More Willing to Sell Product as Circuits and Leading Exhibitors Experiment; Fifty New Units Now Building Drive-in theatres, which eight summers ago started to combine the American pastime of a ride in the family automobile and an evening at the motion pictures, but only in a handful of places, are fast becoming established as a permanent branch of the entertainment business. A steady increase in the number of the outdoor parking space-theatres and business in them during the season now ending, by far the most prosperous to date, seem to indicate that the drive-in theatre has passed the novelty stage. Distributors and circuit and independent operators who classed the drive-ins as "freaks," or unfair competition, almost from their inception, are now giving them considerable attention. Opposition to them seems to be weakening today. Product is more readily available from the major distributors and some even admit, though cautiously, that there is a profitable market for their pictures among the drive-ins. Many established exhibitors, particularly in the South and California where year-long operation is possible, are themselves opening parking theatres. Several of the larger circuits are experimenting with the project, and sizeable independent drive-in circuits have been organized in Massachusetts, California and Florida. There are promises of others. 50 In Construction Sixty-five additional drive-ins were in operation during the summer season just past. Another 50 are either under construction or have reached mature planning stages. Between $2,000,000_ and $3,000,000 has been invested in land, equipment, and improvements for driveins over the last eight years. Variation in the value of land used for the projects makes an exact estimate of the total investment difficult. Control of technical features through a patent covering the arrangement of automobiles on curved ramps for unobstructed sight lines, is held by Park-In Theatres, Inc., of Camden, N. J. Richard Milton Hollingshead, Jr., paint and polish manufacturer who invented the drive-in arrangement during mid-depression, and his cousin, Warren W. Smith, own 85 per cent of the Park-In stock. Mr. Smith is in active charge of the corporation, while Mr. Hollingshead continues at the head of the R. M. Hollingshead Company, manufacturer of automobile polishes. Drive-in operators are licensed by the ParkIn corporation and for a royalty of five per cent of the weekly gross are permitted to use the Park-In patent. It permits the arrangement of cars in semi-circular tiers, the front ends tilted by a slight ramp, facing a screen from 30 by 40 to 50 by 60 feet. Individual speaker systems bring the sound to the parked automobiles. Projection is usually from a booth sunk in the ground 125 to 250 feet from the screen. Licensees now total 104. The first drive-in theatre was constructed by Mr. Hollingshead as an experiment, near Camden. Initially it used large speakers on top of the screen for sound. Protest from neighboring residents and business firms, however, led to SIDELINE SERVICES IN THE DRIVE-INS Sideline services, offering drive-in theatre patrons food, drink and complete service for their automobiles, are an important part of the outdoor theatre operations. At the Barger Drive -In theatre in Chicago salesgirls in white satin hop from car to car with soft drinks, hot dogs, and what have you. Gas and oil is available at an entrance service station. Night clubs are also part of the drive-in sideline. The Fabian circuit at Albany will erect an "after-the-show hot spot," with dance floor and cafe for patrons of its new drive-in. The night club can be operated all winter long. In Stewartsville, N. J., Harry Bannister, ex-Broadway producer and Ann Harding's ex-husband, has added an open air cafe to his drive-in near Easton, Pa. Customers may leave their cars and watch the films from tables laden with food and potables, Mr. Bannister reports. There is no cover charge. Milton Harris, managing the Harlem Road drive-in at Buffalo, has installed a 10-acre picnic ground behind his theatre. He invites clubs, kiddies and family parties to use the rustic tables and shaded groves during the afternoons or before the evening film. At Cleveland the West Side drive-in, adjacent to the airport, supplies cars for patrons. So plane passengers may see the show while waiting for connections, ushers park their cars in the first rows. If he is in a rush they even drive the customer across the road to his plane. the development of individual speakers that are either placed inside the parked car or are buried in manholes in the adjacent ground. The system is reported to give better sound fidelity than the large horns. Cost of erecting a drive-in theatre, exclusive of the purchase or rental of the six to 15 acres of land required, runs from $20,000 to $165,000, it is reported. The figure varies according to size, equipment, and local labor and building material expenses. Largest of the drive-ins is the 1,160-car theatre near Evanston, 111., opened this spring by Nate Barger, former Chicago burlesque operator and independent exhibitor. The theatre occupies a 20-acre tract at Waukegan and Golf Rds. near the rich north Chicago suburbs. It is reported to have operated at close to capacity since opening. At the Chicago house two shows are given nightly. Prices are scaled at 40 cents for adults, 10 cents for children. The scale is well above the 25 to 30 cent admission prevalent in most drive-ins. During the best weeks Mr. Barger is reported to have grossed close to $15,000 a week. The estimate figures three persons per car. Hot-dog, soda, and oil and gasoline service are operated as a sideline. The average drive-in theatre, however, typical of new construction in Florida and the Southwest, accommodates about 400 cars in 11 parking tiers. The smallest construction has an area for 145 vehicles. About a mile of gravel blacktop or bituminous pavement is used in each average theatre. Projection equipment, using special wide angle lenses and the largest projectors is estimated to cost a minimum of $15,000 for each installation. Four or five automobile parking theatres have been opened in various sections of the country without applying to the ParkIn corporation for a patent license. The company is currently engaged in litigation charging infringement and the most recent constructions have adopted the Hollingshead patents and equipment, manufactured by RCA. At Los Angeles in July M. A. Rogers, operator of the drive-in theatre at Colton, Calif., won a victory in U. S. District court when he secured a dismissal on technical grounds of an infringement suit by the Park-in interests. Appeal is pending however. Summer Shows Only The drive-in theatres, with the exception of installations in Southern California and the deep south operate only during the warm summer months. Although operation is possible during rainy periods, weather is an important factor in the success or failure of a drive-in season. In Massachusetts this year an unusually cool June almost crippled the outdoor theatre season at the start. About 47 theatres operate all year. The theatres are reminiscent of the "airdromes" popular during the early 20' s when silent pictures were exhibited in roof gardens or in other outdoor locations. Most of these, however, were in conjunction with a regular year-round theatre, or were operated seasonly in resort sections not served by other film theatres, Mr. Hollingshad reports, however, that the idea was not inspired by this precedent. Reflecting during the depression of the early '30s upon what luxuries people would forego most reluctantly he decided that the family automobile and motion pictures were the last sources of relaxation to be cut from family budgets. Their combination in the drive-in plan followed. The Camden theatre, erected by Mr. Hol'ingshead was successful almost from the start, and was in continuous operation at the same location until moved this spring to a new situation several miles away at Union, N. J., on Route 29, main artery to the Jersey beaches. Product Is Problem Chief difficulty in the operation of the drive-in theatres has been obtaining first grade current product. Many have been forced to operate with pictures from one to two years old. Others have relied on the output of the smaller producers, plus reissues and foreign product. Until recently many distributors have refused to classify drive-ins in the same category as established theatres operating throughout the year. They have insisted in protecting all subsequent run accounts from the drive-ins and in most instances set clearances ranging from 30 to 180 days after the last subsequent run. With most drive-ins located in metropolitan areas where they can draw on heavy auto traffic this lias placed their product up to a year behind release date. There are signs, however, of a relaxing of (Continued on following pape)