Here’s a little something I love. Folks… it’s the Drive-In Intermission!
I can’t explain why I love it, since it’s quite awful… but I do. From the creepy happy “Yum yum” faces, to the attempts to make fast food sound nourishing, to the censorious “love bug” comment (you’d think this warning is really too late by intermission, no?), to the worst leprechaun ever, to outrageous claims about random things, to blatant religious coercion – but especially the animated circus snacks! Even those untalented soft drinks who think tapping their straws together is entertaining for some reason.
They played this reel at the Midland Drive-In at least through the ’90s, where we used to go for “staff night out” at Camp, which automatically imbues it with awesomeness… Then here in Guelph at the Mustang, they played it just the year before last – and I FLIPPED OUT! Just like that wiener!!!
Almost makes you believe everything will be okay, so long as you get yourself to the snack bar. We all know everything was simply peachy in the ’50s and ’60s! It was because of film reels like these!!
So bad… and yet, SO GREAT.
I just love your blog.
Well Amanda, I just love your FACE. 🙂
YUM YUM! He sounds sooo serious!
I don’t remember any of this from the Midland Drive-In – I think they had a different version when I was there – in particular, I remember a lot more of the circus stuff, at least definitely the hot dog did eventually jump into the bun! Maybe that part was censored by the same people who added in the GO TO CHURCH message. Which is kinda priceless. Imagine if you went to the drive-in now and got told to go to church – !!
Also I remember some floaty sunshiney montage with couples having a picnic in the woods or something. I think this version must have been updated for the 70s (and then never changed).
This one is pretty great, though, just for Total Blatant Sales Pitch value. PEPSI and Pit-Cooked Barbecue Sandwiches?? No way!! I have to get some in my 1 minute remaining to be served!
I didn’t get quite what the snake charmer and the other cartoons had to do with buying snacks, but maybe they were just humouring their cartoonist or something. Or maybe that was the part about how YOU GET MORE OUT OF LIFE WHEN YOU GO TO THE MOVIES.
But not more romance. The PDA warning was priceless. Sounds like someone’s grandmother. Except ours would’ve known better than to say “don’t let him EFFECT you!” I wonder if they had patrolmen wandering around shining flashlights in cars to make sure no one was getting fresh.
Yeah, you’re right! They had more of the circus stuff, including a ringleader with top hat and tails. And that romantic couple, I believe they were on a sailboat. And he proposed! 🙂 And I am just as mystified about those “the show starts in X minutes”… they are particularly impertinent. Plus… I think our grandmas would be like – “hey, it’s the drive-in! Time to snuggle with your sweetie!”
(btw, does anyone know – was the word “burger” copyrighted or something, or did they just not use it back then? or are these pit-cooked sandwiches somehow different?)
The hot dog flipping into the bun was acutely naughty, wasn’t it?
I want to know why the hotdog/wiener/whatever was the only food that didn’t get legs!? Arms, yes, but no legs. Completely unfair. 😀 And this reel didn’t have the “Let’s all go to the snack bar” song. I like that song. It’s very catchy.
Wow! You’re right, I never noticed about the poor legless hotdog. And I agree about that song – I’m not sure why it wasn’t included but we always enjoyed that. There are some videos made for regular theatres and they have “Let’s all go to the lobby”, with the refreshments all marching down the aisle…