Odd? Was this Drive-In theater open at the same time Starway Drive-In was open? Seems to me the competition would have hurt the two theaters. According to a neighbor who went to both each weekend I understand they did “very” well in the early sixties but suffered badly starting in the seventies. Still,they were almost across the street from each other. How could they survive on those Crown International “B” movies they showed? Doesn’t make sense building theaters so close to each other!
As of August 2017 the theater is closed, in ill repair, and looks like it’s in need of a new roof. The parking lot has pot holes and, stagnant rain water sit’s everywhere.
Many of the popular outdoor (and beat up old indoor) theaters got together in the late 50’s and formed their own distribution company called “Crown International” I watched as many of those trashy old films that I could. I loved those ‘B" movies and the cheaper the better! Such as; “The Baby Sitter”,“The Fantastic Plastic Machine”, “Chain Gang Women”, A bunch of “Motorcycle flicks”, and “The Sister-In-Law” comes to mind. That company (Crown Int) got big for awhile and had a long list of cool “budget” movies that were star-less but entertaining to watch and then easily forgotten. The film content rating system was still new in 1968-to'70 and “R” meant naked breast and bare butt scenes, and “X” meant full frontal nudity. “Triple XXX” was rare and not generally seen at drive ins, but yes! I did get to see a couple XXX fils like “Sweet Sweetback badassss song” I used to sneak in through one of the many fence holes in the rear of the Drive-In and sat on the ground with my back up against the fence. The fence was just 30 feet beyond the last row of cars,& in the dark. Most of the time we had a six-pack each of Rheingold beer, or a bottle of cheap wine like Boone’s Farm fruit flavors, or (ichhhhkkk) pints of Port wine. I ate hot dogs from the stand, drank beer, and partied 'til theater closing time (about 1:00am) on those hot summer nights along with all my Rosedale Queen’s friends.I look back and have fond memories thanks to the film company “Crown International!”
Odd? Was this Drive-In theater open at the same time Starway Drive-In was open? Seems to me the competition would have hurt the two theaters. According to a neighbor who went to both each weekend I understand they did “very” well in the early sixties but suffered badly starting in the seventies. Still,they were almost across the street from each other. How could they survive on those Crown International “B” movies they showed? Doesn’t make sense building theaters so close to each other!
As of August 2017 the theater is closed, in ill repair, and looks like it’s in need of a new roof. The parking lot has pot holes and, stagnant rain water sit’s everywhere.
Many of the popular outdoor (and beat up old indoor) theaters got together in the late 50’s and formed their own distribution company called “Crown International” I watched as many of those trashy old films that I could. I loved those ‘B" movies and the cheaper the better! Such as; “The Baby Sitter”,“The Fantastic Plastic Machine”, “Chain Gang Women”, A bunch of “Motorcycle flicks”, and “The Sister-In-Law” comes to mind. That company (Crown Int) got big for awhile and had a long list of cool “budget” movies that were star-less but entertaining to watch and then easily forgotten. The film content rating system was still new in 1968-to'70 and “R” meant naked breast and bare butt scenes, and “X” meant full frontal nudity. “Triple XXX” was rare and not generally seen at drive ins, but yes! I did get to see a couple XXX fils like “Sweet Sweetback badassss song” I used to sneak in through one of the many fence holes in the rear of the Drive-In and sat on the ground with my back up against the fence. The fence was just 30 feet beyond the last row of cars,& in the dark. Most of the time we had a six-pack each of Rheingold beer, or a bottle of cheap wine like Boone’s Farm fruit flavors, or (ichhhhkkk) pints of Port wine. I ate hot dogs from the stand, drank beer, and partied 'til theater closing time (about 1:00am) on those hot summer nights along with all my Rosedale Queen’s friends.I look back and have fond memories thanks to the film company “Crown International!”