Show " Arts movies & music Best bets nr cues took Co- other great from i aioet an problem 4D road low a ruthlessly takes Rutntcsr People' from trc audience 6D jlj Don Porter nas a solution t' home video vs W lOgden V X-- J ifca x to get- j ' " June 27 1936 " Standard-Examine- r ''' I L I'A "r A Cars line up ' s Pit v early for prime spots at the Davis f : I Mt-- : - - Drive-I- in n The Layton Sim £M W U l If If r' Si' FTTT u outdoor theater survives in the face of " ' j fading glory for the form of Zimner or ugaen reacnes speaker before the show starts Keith xor a r " " Photos by Blair Kooistra 1 hL IIIIIIJI1IJM1LI Theater's Ilirr species is fading By DONALD PORTER tjkVA staff he doomsayers have long theorized on the "twilight but you of the drive-in- " can't convince the people assembled at the Davis Drive-Iin Layton of such a notion Station wagons filled with kids pickups with lawn chairs and coolers and numerous other cars carpeted the gravel lot in front of the towering white screen drive-iis a place of freedom It's a passion pit for some for others it's a place to talk out loud or yell at the kids without bothering others You can carry in your own popcorn and drinks and make a night of it We can stretch out if we want to and bring our own food" said Susan Harrison from the bed of a pickup waiting for the movie to begin "Yeah" her husband Dean added "My wife and I we like to have a cigarette and we can do that here without our neighbor saying something about it" conve"So are so if drive-in- s e nient — the best thing since dialing — why are they vanishing? This in the Ogden vear alone two drive-in- s area lost battles with bulldozers they to make room for were apartment complexes and other enterprises Nationwide according to American Film magazine about 3000 drive-in- s are operating That's down from 4700 passion pits in 1958 Despite such disheartening news Charlie McElvea manager of the Davis refuses to buy into the disasDrie-Itrous predictions "I think they're going to be in the business for a while yet" he said As he in the understands it all the drive-in- s healthy Ogden area are financially McEhea has been working at the drive-ifor almost 23 years — managing it the past 15 — so he knows the business inside and out He believes as long as people want to talk raise big families and bring their own food into will survive theaters the drie-i"I think it's good family entertainment" McElvea said "Kids under 12 can get in free and for large families that's a good deal And people can have Last week we had fun at drive-in- s about 10 to 12 carloads of teenagers come in to celebrate a birthday You can t do that in an indoor theater" Tom and Geri Jackson sitting on a blanket with their children agreed that drive-in- s appeal to large families "Wf took the kids out to dinner beforehand" Tom said "We only do this about three times a year so it's sort of a special event for them" Tor school teacher Lorna Prusse the is a quick lesson in sociology with la n She came chains blankets a cooler and kids in h the bed cf a pukup "I lke to too uhen go to dmc-in- s They're a great place for that" drive-i- mmmmmmn — im JfeXt'rlf11lliTililiifi-Undaunted by a spring thunderstorm a full lot of movie goers fills the Davis " li"- Drive-i- of for a showing n ' By Tom and Jeri Jackson of Layton bring their children to the Wholesome family films are popular fare The rest of the naUtah drive-ihowever seem to go a tion's drive-in- s bit more for action v iolence and sex Joe Bob Briggs a syndicated drive-imovie critic based in Dallas Tex makes a living trashing "serious" films in favor of moxies containing his motion "essential" dme-isex picture elements: nudity murders and monsters If a movie doesn't possess these qualuies it doesn't deserve a drive-iscreening Joe Bob also maintains it's easy to judge a town's political persuasion by on the whether or not there's a dnve-itown's edge of town "Take awav a drive-iand it can go Communist Ruv via on you and start voting for Gary Hart's haircut in a New Yoik minute" he once wrote " - s— l - ' vX ? i w - A where the couple dated as teenagers drive-i- rii ' v ' ' iiiiiitiiiii " r " - - - t!P is t DONALD PORTER know have VjV S - h K4ll'ViWl Etiquette counts for something t' ' A 'Short Circuit' I Wx - " a rinr tk q routs to the snack bar couple pajse to tght a curette oine to a drive-imov ie doesn't require the same preparation that say an evening at the opera does But vou should a few things in order to drive-ipicture show a real experience You dont have to know how to hold a cup of tea or which fork to use for your salad but you've got to know your way around so you're nut left out Remember this list before during and after a visit to the A passion pit etiquette drive-iyou might say Movie selection: The first feature should aUays be a family film if you're taking kids the second might as well be "Deep the "young imThroat"because pressionable" will be asleep by then Automobile selection: Pickups are the vehicle of choice Bring ptcmy of folding thaas and blankets tor comfort If a pukup with a tamper on it somehow makes it prist the gate and parks anywhere but on the baA row other pau trons are allowed — indeed raged — by t 'tah law to shoot on vehicle said of the ovtupants See RULES on 7D - |