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Topic: It was a foggy night at the Drive-In...

John Wilson
Film God

Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 11-01-1999 12:45 AM

Anyone else got some fog stories?

As I've mentioned before here, we had two drive - ins in the town where I lived...

One night we had a midnight screening of Suspiria (I think that's what it was) and another movie.

At around 1215, in rolled the fog. It was not a 'pea-souper' but it was damn close. We had around 300 cars in that night for this screening and we didn't want to disappoint so...

we called up the other drive in and they said there was no fog there at all. We told them we were coming over with two horror films...and about 300 cars with 700 patrons in them and to start making the hot dogs.

And that's exactly what we did. I think it was the only time there was ever a traffic jam across town (about 8 miles) at 1230 in the morning.

Another time we were running Star Wars (the real one, 1977) and we got fogged. I remember walking down to the screen and looking back during a laser battle scene. VERY impressive to see the beam dancing about like that.

------------------
John

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John Walsh
Film God

Posts: 2490
From: Connecticut, USA, Earth, Milky Way
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 11-01-1999 03:26 PM

Always wanted to work in a drive-in, but it is the one kind of theater I never did. The property values around here are too high to support a drive-in.

And I never even thought about what you do when it is foggy out. Make changovers using the audio? Or is just to foggy for even customers to watch?

Would a rear-screen make more sense for a drive-in? I guess you'd need one very short focal length lens....

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Hunter Mann
Film Handler

Posts: 5
From: Bellingham, Washington
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 11-02-1999 12:17 AM

I've heard that some drive-ins used giant fans to blow the fog off the lot. Some used
this same blower to spray bug spray on summer nights when the mosquitoes were heavy. Can you imagine the law suits nowadays if they tried that?!
I remember many a night at the Moonlight Drive-in(Bellingham, Washington 1950's to early 70's) when it would rain. They ran around and issued these rain visors you'd clip to the windshield of your car.
My parents had 7 of us kids and the family car was always a 1950's Cadillac limousine. My father was a life insurance salesman, so he was able to buy the limo's cheap from the local funeral homes.
One night we were at the drive-in in a 1956 limo. The movie was The Incredible Mr. Limpett(Don Knotts). During the movie people started to honk their horns(a great tradition that probably drove the management crazy).My father layed on the horn and...it stuck! He opened the hood, couldn't figure out how to disconnect the horn, so he disconnected the car battery. At the end of the show, around 1:30am, he reconnected the battery and we drove home, 5 miles, with the horn blasting!
Ah, what a great movie this would make!

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John Wilson
Film God

Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 11-02-1999 09:03 PM

At times, they used to have everyone start their engines to heat up the night and thus send the fog away. Not exactly HEALTHY, but hey, you got to watch the movie.

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Rick Long
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 759
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 11-02-1999 10:57 PM

Think fog is bad? Try snow. Ocassionally a freak snow storm would blow in late in the fall, but hey, this is Canada - go figure eh? Not a lot you can do about it.

The lonliest shift is 12:30 A.M. on a Wenesday morning, after the concession staff has gone home. There are only two cars left in the lot, neither of which can see the picture, and neither one cares.

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Greg Mueller
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1687
From: Port Gamble, WA
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-03-1999 10:18 AM

"Don't Sizzle in a Drizzle" was the tag line at the local drive ins (Western Washington St) they sold little tarpish hoods for you car at the concession stand called "Drizzle Guards". They had little suction cups that stuck to your car, and they were reusable. Some drive ins had guys that came around and washed your windows! I remember my mom and I were watching "The 10 Commandments" at the Thunderbird Dive in when the fog rolled in. It was right in the part where the commandments are getting blasted out of the rock tablets. Maybe it was "the devils work", eh?

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Rick Long
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 759
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 11-03-1999 05:03 PM

I'm convinced God doesn't like Cheech and Chong movies. On a five-feature dusk-dawn, I had just started our third feature, "Up In Smoke".
During the opening sequence, an otherwise clear night suddenly enveloped us in thick fog during the opening sequence. Just as suddenly, the fog evaporated during the closing credits.
Lot of "What the hell's the matter with your lens?" complaints.

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John Wilson
Film God

Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 11-03-1999 06:43 PM

It was probably just choked up with Mowie-Wowie smoke. What a shame, so they didn't get to see Chong waking up after a big night and peeing, then looking across to his right to see the toilet, thus realizing he was peeing into the clothes hamper.

Ahhhhh.....they just don't make 'em like that anymore.

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Tim Reed
Better Projection Pays

Posts: 5246
From: Northampton, PA
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 11-10-1999 01:59 PM

What got me was that people started honking their horns when fog came in. I don't know what they though they were doing, or if they wanted me to cut the show or what.

But one night, I got so tired of hearing them, that I got on the mic and said very angrily, "Folks, if I thought honking my horn would help make it go away, I'd be out there honking with ya!"

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