''Drive-In'' is a 1976 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Rod Amateau Rodney Amateau (December 20, 1923 – June 29, 2003) was an American film and television screenwriter, director, and producer. Career Among the programs that he directed were ''The Dennis Day Show'', ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', ...

and written by Bob Peete. The film stars Lisa Lemole, Gary Lee Cavagnaro,

Glenn Morshower Glenn Morshower is an American character actor. He is best known for playing United States Secret Service, Secret Service Agent Aaron Pierce (24 character), Aaron Pierce in ''24 (TV series), 24'' and Colonel (later General) Sharp Morshower in the ...

, Billy Milliken, Lee Newsom and Regan Kee. The film was released on May 26, 1976, by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

Plot

"Disaster '76", the latest

disaster film A disaster film or disaster movie is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject and primary plot device. Such disasters may include natural disasters, accidents, military/terrorist attacks or global catastrophes such as ...

, is playing at The Alamo, a

drive-in theater A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of movie theater, cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers ...

in a small Texas town. The night brings together a young couple, two rival youth gangs, a pair of thieves planning to rob the drive-in, a nervous doctor and a host of other characters.

Cast

*Lisa Lemole as Glowie Hudson *Gary Lee Cavagnaro as Little Bit *

as Orville Hennigson *Billy Milliken as Enoch *Lee Newsom as Widow Maker *Regan Kee as Spoon *Andy Parks as Widow Maker *

Trey Wilson Donald Yearnsley "Trey" Wilson III (January 21, 1948 – January 16, 1989) was an American character actor known for playing rural, authoritarian-type characters, most notably in comedies such as ''Raising Arizona'' and ''Bull Durham''. Career D ...

as Gifford *Gordon Hurst as Will Henry *Kent Perkins as Bill Hill * Ashley Cox as Mary Louise *Louis Zito as Manager *Linda Larimer as Cashier *Barry Gremillion as Diddle Brown *David Roberts as Gear Grinder *Phil Ferrell as Gear Grinder *Joe Flower as Gear Grinder *Carla Palmer as Glowie's Friend *Carrie Jessup as Glowie's Friend *Gloria Shaw as Mrs. Demars *

Bill McGhee William Mac McGhee (September 5, 1905 – March 10, 1984), nicknamed "Fibber", was an American Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder who played for the Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball ...

as Dr. Demars *Jessie Lee Fulton as Mom *Robert Valgova as Boss *Michelle Franks as Omalee Ledbetter *Jack Isbell as Divinity Student *Dejah Moore as Waitress *Curtis Posey as Deputy *Billy Vance White as Deputy *Hank Stohl as Sherman Vance

Reception

Lawrence Van Gelder Lawrence Ralph Van Gelder (February 17, 1933 – March 11, 2016) was an American journalist and instructor in journalism who worked at several different New York City-based newspapers in his long career. Until 2010, he was senior editor of the Ar ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote, "'Drive-In' possesses the virtue of fresh faces, the drawback of uneven acting, the irritation of occasional overwriting and the limited appeal of what is basically a juvenile story." Arthur D. Murphy of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called the film an "easy-going and likeable George Litto production. Rod Amateau's direction of Bob Peete's script turns the liabilities of low-budget production and largely unknown performers into creative assets by virtue of the simplicity and sincerity of the results."

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...

of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' gave the film two stars out of four, describing the humor as insult comedy typical of TV shows like ''

Hee Haw ''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired first-run on CBS from 1969 to 1971, in syndication from 1971 to 1993, and on TNN from 199 ...

'' and expressing his wish that "the script of 'Drive-In' had been trashed and 'Disaster '76' had been fully made instead." Kevin Thomas of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' called it "a shrewdly made exploitation picture, undoubtedly indebted to '

American Graffiti ''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard (billed as Ronn ...

' but played very, very broadly to reach the most unsophisticated of audiences. Yet as corny as it so often gets, it's consistently funny." Thomas, Kevin (August 11, 1976). "'Drive-In' Steers Belly-Laugh Path". ''

''. Part IV, p. 11.

References

External links

* 1976 films American comedy films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Rod Amateau Films set in a movie theatre Films set in Texas Films shot in Texas Country music films 1976 comedy films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films {{1970s-comedy-film-stub