For all the times I’ve written about Jay Emanuel Publications, I’d never seen a photo of the man till I found this one. His wife Bella’s got a great smile, don’t you think? (Courtesy of PhotoboothJournal.com. Used by permission.)

I’ve been reading through a few old issues of Motion Picture Exhibitor. That’s a weekly magazine put out by Jay Emanuel Publications, which also published the annual Theatre Catalog. The Jan. 18, 1967 issue includes an article about an interesting new product. Allow me to transcribe:

ST. PAUL, MINN. – Drive-in movie theatres are being invited to “net increased profits” by reserving premium-priced seats with a new control console that also plays a role in concession sales.

Hollywood Loge, Inc., distributor of the “Reserva-Seat” console, which replaces a conventional speaker stand, says the console justifies higher admission charges – a 25 cent premium is suggested – and should boost concession sales during the movie. The console includes back-to-back hi-fi speakers, an integral two-way intercom to the concession stand for carhop service, and a softly lit menu display board.

Reserva-Seat consoles are limited to the best 10 per cent locations in a drive-in, generally those near the concession stand. The locations should be chosen to give patrons privacy and prestige, the company said.

“The key to increased profits,” the company explained, “is a special Reserva-Seat key that is rented to the patron at the boxoffice and entitles him to a reserved drive-in parking space. Each key is coded to a specific console. At the console the patron uses the key to turn on the hi-fi speaker. Once the key is turned it cannot be removed except by a master key; this prevents pilferage, duplication or unauthorized use.”

Touching a special Honeywell pushbutton signals the concession stand; then the order is phoned in over the speaker. Other Honeywell switches tie in the movie sound track when the key is turned, as well as turning on an “in use” light. The console also has a non-reset counter showing how many times the reserved seat has been rented. (End of article)

I’m sad to say that the article had no illustrations, but that console sounds a lot like what you’d find at a Sonic drive-in restaurant, plus keys. According to NATO (the Theatre Owners, not the Treaty Organization), the average movie ticket in 1967 was $1.22, which would make that recommended surcharge about 20 percent. Would you pay an extra $2 today for a primo reserved parking slot with carhop service? I might have tried it, but I never got the chance.

Suffice it to say, you don’t see Reserva-Seat keys anywhere, and I doubt that the idea caught on. A quick search of the trademark office turned up nothing on Reserva-Seat, alive or dead. The Minnesota Secretary of State says that Hollywood Loge, incorporated six months before this article, dissolved in 1991. Rest in peace.

Some people enjoy writing scathing reviews, but not me. If I find something nifty, I want to share it, but if I find something yucky, I don’t want to give it free publicity. Yet here I am to warn you about an ebook I picked up yesterday: How to Build a Drive-In Theater Business by T K Johnson.

This book reads like Volume 82 of the Build a Business Collection, the name of the entity which holds the copyright. That’s understandable, since Johnson has dozens of pages of “How to Build a (something) Business” listings on Amazon. There are a few generally helpful notes and ideas, but this book contains effectively no specifics for folks who want to start a drive-in as opposed to a convenience store or a butcher shop.

(By the way, pieces of this review appeared in my Amazon review of the book, but this version is much better.)

The drive-in passages are painful to read. Here are the first two sentences under the heading “Negatives”, verbatim: “Drive-in theaters are considered to be one of the best places to hang out with friends back in the 60s until late 80s and early 90s. However as times changed, so did the films and the famous drive-in theaters slowly faded in the background as people embraced the new technology.” You know, before word processors, it was difficult to write sentences that are this mangled, with unmatched tenses and orphaned references.

After the few sections that mention drive-ins, the rest of the book ignores them. In the section “Where to set up your business?” the author recommends running the new business online, but if you must have a brick and mortar location, you’ll need to register your business in that state. All the drive-in theaters I know are definitely brick and mortar.

The most disappointing aspect of this is that there are definitely enough real drive-in startup necessities to fill a book. Chapter topics would include finding a site, rezoning, working with neighbors, utilities, screen construction, parking lot grading, ADA-compliant restrooms, digital projection, movie distributors, and many more. Instead, Johnson’s book is about a business’s legal structure, how to hire good people, and other general topics.

There are a zillion books about how to start a business (many written by T K Johnson), and this is one of them. There are still plenty of good books about drive-ins, but this isn’t one of them. You’ll have a better time if you read one of these instead.

In honor of the 80th anniversary of the drive-in theater, I present the Google doodle from last year (why didn’t they wait for a round number?) and the following excerpt from Drive-in Theaters: A History from Their Inception in 1933 by Kerry Segrave. This little bit is about the invention of the drive-in by Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr. You can find the full review of this book elsewhere on Carload.

In the driveway of his Riverton NJ home at 212 Thomas Avenue, Hollingshead experimented. Setting a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of the family car, he projected the film onto a screen he had nailed to a tree. He tested foul-weather potential by turning on the lawn sprinkler to simulate a rainstorm. …

Sitting in his vehicle, Hollingshead realized that a car parked in front of his would obscure the view. For many weeks, he continued his experiments, placing one car behind another, 40 feet apart. Blocks were put under the front wheels of both cars until he got the proper angle to allow the driver in the second vehicle to see over the car ahead. …

(The problem of sound) was turned over to the RCA Victor Company, next-door neighbors in Camden to the Hollingshead company plant. … RCA came up with what they called controlled directional sound. It meant, they claimed, that everyone in the theater received the same volume of sound – delivered, in this case, by three central speakers. …

Construction of the project did not begin until May 16, when the patent was officially granted. … (Despite serious) labor problems, construction was completed in less than three weeks.

The world’s first drive-in opened on Tuesday, June 6, 1933. Most sources give the location as Admiral Wilson Boulevard, Camden NJ. Actually, the theater was just over the Camden town line, from which point outward the street was called Crescent Boulevard. The location was Pennsauken Township. The theater was called the Automobile Movie Theatre; the marquee simply read “Drive-In Theatre.”

That’s just one small, snipped sample of the best drive-in history book I’ve read so far, and I encourage you to find a copy to read the rest of the account.

The drive-in theater started with baby steps, sprouted in its teenage years (1946-1952), then became a national success as a young adult. It slowed down as a relatively young middle-aged adult, but it’s staying in shape and modern technology could keep it alive for 100 years or more. Make it a Happy Drive-In weekend by visiting a theater near you!