UA Commack Drive-In
44 Veterans Memorial Highway,
Commack,
NY
11725
44 Veterans Memorial Highway,
Commack,
NY
11725
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There is a guy selling small bits of the original sign on eBay : Just search ‘Commack drive in theatre sign’ . He also has photo evidence with the broken bits!
Opened on 2/7/1952 with 5 colour cartoons(not named), “Honey Chile” and “Lady possessed”. The site is now a shopping centre(Greatland) anchored by Target.
I believe I only went to this Drive-In one time, to see Back to the Future.
Last movie shown “Creepers” 1986. My friends were at the last show ! The guy at the ticket window told them “this is the last night tonight” . I wish I was there.
What a shame this drive in closed….
Looking at back issues of the Smithtown Messenger there were a lot of hearings on the building of a drive-in at the intersection of Jericho Turnpike and Indian Head Road during 1950. Obviously that never occurred since this one was built a bit further down the road.
I remember Angelo. Our DI (BSDI) beat their DI in a softball game back around ‘83-'84. If I remember correctly, Angelo’s Mom was the manager of the Coram Drive-In, also. Coram was a crappy Drive-In because the field always had flooding issues. The abandoned building now at that location should be sinking into the earth, at this point. A Drive In that I really liked was the Jonny All-Weather in Copaigue. What a huge theater, and Victor was a great manager.
It was some party back then between the Commack DI and the Smithtown DI
hey does anyone remember angelo and jean from back in ‘76 and 77?
The Commack Drive In was never twinned.
Sorry guys, I just went back to the historical site again and enlarged the picture. It just says Commack Drive In. Well, it is a vandalized pylon.
I was just looking at a site for the Kings Park Historical Society and on their first photo page is a color photo of the RKO Twin hardtop and a photo of a vandalized Drive In pylon which distinctly says Commack DI Twin. So, presumably it was twinned at some point toward the end.
Here’s another site’s info on the Commack Drive in.
Location: 44 Veterans Memorial Hwy., Rte 454, Commack, NY 11725
Screens: 1
Capacity: Unknown
Original owner: Unknown
Opening date: 1952
Final season: 1986
All the Commack Drive In ads and the outgoing answering machine messages (I actually have a few) say the address is Veterans Hwy next door to the Long Island Arena. No address number is giving. Its definitely NOT Jericho Tpk.
not THAT much information !
Hey BLOOP…thanks for the BUDDY’S ad you sent me. I lost your email. Contact me at and give your address.
thanks!
I remember stopping off at the Candlelight Diner to get a breakfast special one morning prior to work. As i got back into my car (a 1971 Dodge Challenger), I noticed that the picket fence between the drive in and the diner was on fire. I used up the extinguisher in my car putting out the fire and it made me late for work. I think that the drive in was already closed by a year or so.
I also remember when they built the Commack RKO Twin theatre. And before the Candlelight, there was the Commack Diner that was located on Jericho Turnpike just to the east of the Commack Motor Inn. The diner had a large billboard on the roof showing a skating duck in a hockey uniform. This referred to the Long Island Ducks hockey team that called the Long island Arena home. The Ducks were a minor league team that broke up in 1973.
Full 1980’s shot of the Commack Drive In Sign, with the RKO Twin Behind it!
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Hmmm… I’m gonna go with the last bit of information. Wouldn’t it be a hoot if the Commack Drive-In explained it on their marque in plastic letters! “Please excuse the distributor’s title change on Revenge of the Living Dead…It’s former title was Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things…we just thought you’d like to know that before paying so there was no mistake or deception. Enjoy the show!”
P.S. BobT’s “Revenge of the Living Dead” comment : That series in the “Orgy” ad, was from the Spanish “…Living Dead” series (“Tomb of the Blind Dead”, etc) …just assumed they were obscure retitles from God-knows-where. If indeed one of those titles was actually “Children Shouldn’t…” we will never know for sure!? Also, this “Orgy…” was mentioned in Michael Weldon’s Psychotronic Film Guide with no mentions of “Children…” and he’s pretty dead-on about those things…but who knows, it was the willy nilly 1970’s when ANYTHING could happen!
I meant that “Day of the Locust” was not exactly a great movie choice for the typical Long Island Drive-In Family (and I do remember it being a BOMB….box office-wise). Although I would like to see it as I have a serious Karen Black fixation. Isn’t it funny how she was on the Hollywood “A List” till “Burnt Offerings” happened!? In a fairly recent interview (maybe 10 years ago), she was telling of her role as a mother of at least one teen-aged daughter. Ms. Black was telling some story about picking her daughter up from school, and the daughter was embarassed by the choice of vehicle her Mom was driving (an out-dated looking SUV?).Anyway, I just imagined being in the high school parking lot——and seeing Karen Black pulling up! LOL. That would be an image that would stay with me FOREVER!
…and a zowie ad from 1971…
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and a clunker for Commack in the late 1960’s:
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A good 1975 booking for the Commack Drive In …and a bad booking for the 110 Drive In on the same week:
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Can we get the Modell’s Childrens Theater listed as a page on here!? LOL.