page_title: 1950s American automobile culture
section_title: Drive-in movies
hierarchical_section_title: 1950s American automobile culture / New business models / Drive-in movies
caption_attribution_description: Waiting for the start of the double-feature at the Fork Union drive-in. Show starts at sundown. Drive-ins rock, and we have one of the last ones in America.
context_page_description: 1950s American automobile culture has had an enduring influence on the culture of the United States, as reflected in popular music, major trends from the 1950s and mainstream acceptance of the "hot rod" culture. The American manufacturing economy switched from producing war-related items to consumer goods at the end of World War II, and by the end of the 1950s, one in six working Americans were employed either directly or indirectly in the automotive industry. The United States became the world's largest manufacturer of automobiles, and Henry Ford's goal of 30 years earlier—that any man with a good job should be able to afford an automobile—was achieved. A new generation of service businesses focusing on customers with their automobiles sprang up during the decade, including drive-through or drive-in restaurants and more drive-in theaters.
  The decade began with 25 million registered automobiles on the road, most of which predated World War II and were in poor condition; no automobiles or parts were produced during the war owing to rationing and restrictions.
context_section_description: The drive-in theater is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand and a large parking area for automobiles, where patrons view the movie from the comfort of their cars and listen via an electric speaker placed at each parking spot.
  Although drive-in movies first appeared in 1933, it was not until well after the post-war era that they became popular, enjoying their greatest success in the 1950s, reaching a peak of more than 4,000 theaters in the United States alone. Drive-in theaters have been romanticized in popular culture with the movie American Graffiti and Grease and the television series Happy Days. They developed a reputation for showing B movies, typically monster or horror films, and as "passion pits", a place for teenagers to make out. While drive-in theaters are rarer today with only 366 remaining and no longer unique to America, they are still associated as part of the 1950s' American car culture. Drive-in movies have seen somewhat of a resurgence in popularity in the 21st century, due in part to baby boomer nostalgia.
  Robert Schuller started the nation's first drive-in church in 1955 in Garden Grove, California. After his regular 9:30 am service in the chapel four miles (6 km) away, he would travel to the drive-in for a second Sunday service.  Worshipers listened to his sermon from the comfort of their cars, using the movie theater's speaker boxes.
caption: Drive-in theater just before the movie starts
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