Drive-In movies in Edmonton in the 1970s

We saw it first in the “funny papers” as we called the comics then - an outdoor drive-in movie with a huge 70' weatherproof screen which we watched from our cars. The comic strip was Dick Tracy, the detective with the Fedorah hat and yellow trench coat.


Shortly thereafter several Drive-In Theatres sprang up on the outskirts of Edmonton. Because of its proximity to our home, the one we attended most often with our children was the Starlite Drive-In at 156 Street and 88 Avenue where the Meadowlark Shopping Centre and numerous highrises now stand.





You drove your car to the gate, paid your admission then drove to where the attendant indicated. When darkness set in, the attendants used a red-tipped flashlight to direct the way.


On reaching your appointed spot, you removed a speaker from the post and attached it to your window inside your car so you could hear the music, sound effects and dialogue of the movie on the screen.


Young parents loved the Drive-In because you could take your children (many of them pyjama-clad)
with you and you didn’t have to pay a sitter to look after them.


Children loved the excitement of the Drive-In because they felt very grown up going out with their parents to a movie, not to mention that they could have treats (most often brought from home but sometimes purchased at the “Concession Stand”) right inside the car. When they were tired, they fell asleep only to be driven home and, magically wake up in their own beds in the morning.


Young lovers loved the Drive-In, too _____ a place they could “spark” or “neck” while watching, or maybe not, the movie.


After the film ended, speakers were placed on the posts, the car engines started, (creating a huge roar), and a great exodus took place as the cars left the area and people returned home.


Television arrived in Edmonton, bringing instant visual entertainment into the home and later, with the introduction of video cassette recorders (VCRs) and video shops offering movies for rent, Drive-In Theatres couldn’t compete and closed one by one. However, television and movies at home can never duplicate the atmosphere of movies at the Drive-In.