There are a lot of movies that are easy to find. They’re available for streaming through Netflix, or in high rotation on cable TV channels, or in the markdown bin where you buy DVDs. Then there are special, cult movies that are unavailable to rent and cost serious cash to buy. One of those movies, one you might care about, is the 1976 classic Drive-In, which is coming to Antenna TV at 3 in the early morning (Eastern time) this Tuesday, July 23, otherwise known as the late, late night of Monday, July 22. (It repeats at 7 am EDT this Thursday, and again at 5 am EDT on July 27.)
Antenna TV is one of those digital sub-channels that are available for free from over-the-air broadcasters. Some cable systems it, but you might have to resort to hooking up your digital TV to a real antenna. You can find a full list of Antenna TV stations in this PDF.
Here’s Amazon’s description of Drive-In: This slice-of-life comedy both documents and satirizes small town life in a rural Texas town where the only entertainment in the day is the roller rink and at night the local drive-in. Hosting a cross-section of the town’s population, the drive-in comes to life at night – parents show up with their kids in tow, teenage paramours arrive with their dates, and the local gangs fuel their rivalry – under the gigantic screen and at the snack bar. The film playing is a ’70s staple: the disaster movie. (A satire named Disaster ’76.) Tension builds on the screen and also among the patrons. Director Rod Amateau, producer/director of legendary television series “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show” and “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” is no stranger to comedy, and this off-beat, little-known film (with a lesser-known cast) is a hilarious flashback to the seventies.
There’s a pretty good 70s country music soundtrack. but the movie’s main appeal is that it gives us a pretty good idea of what it was like to go to a drive-in movie back then. Reviewers from Amazon and IMDB recommend it, and I do too. Especially this week when you can see it for free.