To commemorate the 175th anniversary of the openingof the Illinois & Michigan Canal and the enormius impact it had on the region, state and nation, Governor JB Pritzker declared April 2023 the official month of the I&M Canal.
The next several posts will be about it and things you can do along it today.
--CootCanal
It would be possible to build a whole vacation around a visit to The Spud Drive-In Theatre in Idaho's Teton Country, located about an hour's drive from Grant Teton National Park.
Operating since 1953, it beckons to guests with a giant potato (what, a giant potato in Idaho, who'd have figured) sitting in "Old Murphy," a 1946 Chevrolet flatbed truck, parked along the driveway.
The drive-in sign is modeled after an Idaho license plate, featuring the motto "Famous Potatoes."
A couple years ago, owner Lenny Zaban added two rustic cabins at the back of the lot, where overnight guests can watch movies from the porch or the nearby hot tub and enjoy specialties from the snack bar, including "Spud Buds" (potato tots) and caramel corn made fresh nightly.
Spend a Night at the Theater. --Cooter
And what would drive-in theater's be without at least one on the famed Mother Road, Route 66? There are several, including one that just reopened on Sapulpa, Oklahoma, and, of course, Litchfield, Illinois, but probably the most famous one even carries the name, 66 Drive-In Theatre neat Carthage, Missouri.
Its original neon sign continues to attract road-trippers. (Route 66 is part of the National Trust's National Treasures Program.)
Tickets are often sold out of the original ticket booth, a glowing little building with walls made entirely of glass blocks.
For a complete Route 66 experience ,owner Nathan McDonald recommends staying at the recently restored Boots Court motel (1939) in the nearby town of Carthage, which advertises "A Radio In Every Room)"
Whether You Want One Or Not. --CootBoots
Also in Michigan is the Capri Drive-In Theater at Coldwater, which replaced its original 1964 marque with a faithful replica after it was destroyed in a 2001 auto crash. It opened in 1964 and had a contest to pick a name. The name was submitted by Mary Magocs and she got a sewing machine for her name.
Admission in 1964 was $1 and a cheeseburger would set you back 45 cents.
The original double lane snack bar is still in place and does a brisk business in footlongs and garlic pickles.
Last Halloween, the drive-in offered socially distanced "trunk-or-tricking" and spotlighted best costumes on the screen during intermission -- a tradition that Susan Magocs says will continue forward.
--CootTrunk
The FORD-WYOMING DRIVE-IN--in Dearborn, Michigan -- where the headquarters of the Ford Motor Company are also located -- is one of the country's largest, with a roughly 1,700 car capacity.
Named for its location at the intersection of Ford Road and Wyoming Avenue, this drive-in is open year round. "The only time we've ever been closed is when there is a snowstorm just before the theater opening, or in extreme cold," says co-owner Bill Clark.
Taking a cue from the movie palaces of old, the back of the movie screen -- whuch faces the road -- is designed to look like an Art Deco building, with jaunty red accents.
The theater has upgraded two of its five screens with laser projectors and will be doing the same on the remaining screens soon. It offers streaming audio over Wi-Fi and broadcast audio over FM radio.
--Cooter
** THE MAHONING DRIVE-IN THEATER in Horsham, Pennsylvania decided not to go with digital and stay retro with 35 millimeter films. Today, fans travel from all over the country for its multi-day movie marathons of genre and cult classics. ("Zombiefest" regularly sells out.)
On site camping is available and the door to the projection room is always open so guests can see the original 1940s-era film projectors in action.
** SHANKWEILER'S DRIVE-IN THEATER is Orefield, Pennsylvania, close to The Mahoning. It opened in 1934, a year after Hollingsfead's now-lost, groundbreaking venue. It is now the oldest drive-in in thye country.
** THE BENGIES DRIVE-IN THEATRE in Middle River, Maryland (1956). Drive-in design has its own refinements and architectural engineer Jack Vogel was an expert at it. For one of his family's own venues (this one) he designed a special curved screen that focuses light for a better image, with the right proportions to display the then-new Cinemascope widescreen format without cropping.
The 120-by 52 foot screen is now the largest drive-in screen in the United States.
The venue is now run by Jack's son, D. Vogel, who has continued the tradition of audience participation, asking people to flash their headlights to vote for upcoming movies if they like the trailer.
Love Them Old Drive-Ins. --Cooter
These days, movie venues must contend with the rise of Netflix and other streaming sites. And, of course, those who people who say they'll wait until the film comes out and they can watch it on their 75-inch HDTV. (But I say there is absolutely no comparison between a 75-inch screen and the BIG SCREEN in the theater.)
But, nearly a decade ago, they also had to deal with anothern technological upheaval -- the switch from film to digital distribution. To show new releases, owners had to switch to digital projection systems. And, that was a pricer upgrade.
*********************************
The article listed several well-known drive-ins across the country:
WELLFLEET DRIVE-IN on Massachusetts' Cape Cod. Carries on the early tradition of being a comperehensive entertainment center. In addition to its outdoor screen, the 1957 venue has an 18-hole miniature golf course that dates from 1961, an ice cream bar and even a four-screen indoor movie theater.
It is one of the few drive-ins that still offer sound through traditional stereo speakers that attach to the inside of the car window. (They do, however, also sound via the FM radio.)
--CootGital
Drive-In popularity peaked in 1958, when there were more than 4,000 in operation in the United States. According to the United Drive-in Theatre Owners Association, 305 remained as of October 2019.
These drive-ins usually show new releases with audio comng through the car radio instead of theater-supplied speakers that attached to your car windows (and had that wonderful tinny sound, just remember to remove the speaker from your window before you go home).
Snack bars are likely to have vegetarian options.
Most still offer a double feature for the price of one ticket. (Although this leads to a late movie start in the summer and even earlier morning end to the second movie which pretty much rules out the second feature for me.)
--Coot-In
From the Summer 2021 Preservation Magazine "Movie Magic" by Lydia Lee.
One thing that improved during the pandemic was the fate of the drive-in theater business which had been in decline for a long time. But because of the way they are set up, conditions were excellent for them.
After World War II, drive-ins flourished as part of a new life-style including an automobile and a house in the suburbs. According to Mary Morley Cohen: "Drive-ins allowed audiences to experience the new pasttimes in a familiar, cheaper, and more public context.
From their start, the drive-ins were more welcoming than the fancy movie palaces of previous decades (especially those built around 1928).
Riverton, New Jersey, native Richard Hollingshead, Jr., opened the first drive-in theater in nearby Camden in 1933, promoting it as a venue where "the whole family is welcome, regardless of how noisy the children are apt to be."
To entice families, drive-ins offered playgrounds, snack bars that served full meals, and, in some cases, even bottle warmers for babies. "The highly sociable atmosphere was quite a bit different from sitting quietly in a darkened, indoorn theater," wrote Cohen.
--Cooter
Of course, he was famous for "Casablanca" but here are some others he starred in:
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
To Have and Have Not (1944)
The Big Sleep (1946)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
In A Lonely Place (1950)
The African Queen (1951)
Sabrina (1954)
The Caine Mutiny (1954)
We're No Angels (1955)
--CootGart
SAM
Played by Dooley Wilson
Unquestionably one of the most famous supporting characters any actor has played on the big screen: That's one way to describe the role of Sam "the Rabbit," ably filled by Wilson, who was in fact, not a pianist, but a drummer.
He couldn't play the piano at all, but achieved immortality with his rendition of "As Time Goes By."
Already in his fifties when he starred in "Casablanca," Wilson was about to quit acting when he got the role.
*************************
ANNINA BRANDEL
Played by Joy Page
Perhaps the only actor younger than Labeau to appear in the film, Page was just 17 when she found her fame in the movie.
And this came about at least partially because she was the stepdaughter of studio chief Jack Warner.
Still, her exotic beauty was perfect for her part of the young Bulgarian refugee whose virtue is saved after Rick intervenes when Captain Renault suggests he will arrange safe passage of Brandel and her husband if she will sleep with him.
Well, Rick couldn't have this so fixed it where her husband won enough money gambling where she wouldn't have to.
Sorry Renault. --Cooter
SACHA THE BARTENDER
Played by Leonid Kinskey. Anither refugee in the cast. Was a Russian Jew who escaped to America. Got the role because he was a regular drinking biddy of Bogart's.
SIGNOR UGARTE
Played by Peter Lorre. One of the best-known actors of his era whose name is linked to creepy characters. Of course, that famous voice of his.
CARL THE WAITER
Played by S.Z. Sakall. Possibly the most amiable character in the movie. Born in Hungary and was another Jewish cast member who had fled the Nazis.
--Cooter
** VICTOR LASLO
Played by Paul Henreid.
He didn't want to do "Casablanca" saying the script was "terrible, really rotten." Born in Austria-Hungary and emigrated from there in 1935.
** CAPTAIN LOUIS RENAULT
Played by Claude Rains.
He was the first choice to play the Vichy French policeman. Fought in World War I. Was a force on Broadway and in movies. Didn't like Paul Henreid and called him "Paul Hemorrhoid."
*********************************
** SIGNOR FERRARI
Played by Sydney Greenstreet.
The conniving owner of Rick's competition, the Blue Parrot. Was a latecomer to movies, starting at age 62. Was in "The Maltese Falcon" with Bogart.
--Cooter
Producer Hal Wallis gave him the go ahead, and Max Steiner got to work on a new one, but there was a problem. The scenes featuring "As Time Goes By" would need to be reshot and Ingrid Bergman had already moved on to her next movie, an adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls," and had cut her hair short for the role.
That meant that Steiner was stuck with "As Time Goes By, a song which he described to his wife, Louise, as "the lousiest tune."
But Steiner wasn't considered one of the best composers in the film business for nothing, and he worked with what he had. He incorporated the song into his score, along with bits of the two songs played in the epic musical showdown between the German soldiers and the club patrons: "Die Wacht am Rhein" and "La Marseillaise."
By using inpirtation for all three, Steiner earned his 11th Oscar nomination of the astonishing 24 he would get over the course of his long career.
(It would be hard to think of "Casablanca" without "As Time Goes By.")
--CootSeillaise
From the American Battlefield Trust 2023 April calendar.
APRIL 12, 1776
** The Halifax Resolves, North Carolina. The first colony to authorize its delegates to vote for independence.
APRIL 18, 1775
** Revere and Dawes warning rides from Boston, Massachusetts.
APRIL 19, 1775
** Battles of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.
APRIL 25, 1781
** Battle of Hobkirk Hill, South Carolina
APRIL 27,1777
** Battle of Ridgefield,Conecticut.
--Cooter
We just watched the movie and throughout it, this song was played more than a bit often. And, that would be "As Time Goes By."
It is rare that a single song is so tied to a single movie, but this is certainly the case with "As Time Goes By" and "Casablanca." It is so closely identified that when you see any movie released by Warner Brothers (the company that made the movie) these days, several bars of the song play with the WB logo.
But it almost wasn't that way. The song was written by Herman Hupfield in 1931 for the Broadway musical "Everybody's Welcome." It had been included by playwrights Joan Alison and Murray Bennett in their original play, "Everybody Comes to Rick's."
Once the film production was underway, composer Max Steiner, who had already won two Oscars wanted to change the song and insert something original of his, giving him the potential to easrn rotyalties and possibly another Academy Award.
--Cooter
