By Joel van der Veen
June 7, 2010

MANITOU BEACH - It's only 45 minutes before the Friday night show at the Jubilee Drive-In, but there's scarcely a car to be seen.

Thanks to the sun loitering in the sky on these long spring days, the movie can't start until 9:30 or 10 at night - so there's no sense in showing up early.

"Weather has a lot to do with it, too," says ticket booth operator Kerry Virtue, referring to the cloudy sky above.

The Jubilee began its season on May 20 with its traditional free show - this year, James Cameron's blockbuster, Avatar.

"It's the best advertising you can get," says owner Burt Crawford. But the free show also lets him test the projector after it's sat unused all winter.

"It's an old machine and it needs a lot of TLC," he says, adding that if it does break down, "people can't be too angry because they didn't pay." (Although, he says, he's never had that happen on opening night.)

Each year the theatre opens on the May long weekend, showing movies on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights until the end of June. In July and August, there's a show every night. In September the theatre returns to its weekends-only schedule, closing at Thanksgiving. There's also a flea market held on the lot every Sunday.

On a really busy night, Virtue says, the theatre might see 100 or 150 cars, forcing customers to line up all the way to the highway and wait for a half hour to get in.

Crawford, 75, was born on a farm in Goodeve. He helped his father Morley build the theatre on an abandoned gravel pit in 1955. He studied geological engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, graduating in 1958, but he and his wife Bev took over the theatre after Morley died in 1961.

As he threads that night's film - the animated hit How to Train Your Dragon - into the projector, Crawford explains why he's using a horizontal "double MUT" film system, instead of the vertical system used by most theatres.

At one time he also owned the Roxy Theatre in Watrous; this system made it easier to transport film reels from one theatre to another. They'd show a picture at the Roxy on Friday night, then bring it to the Jubilee for the Saturday show.

Crawford isn't thrilled about the new digital projectors. While he did see Avatar in 3-D while visiting in Yuma, Ariz., this winter, and admits he was "impressed", he figures many smaller theatres won't be able to afford them, forcing them out of business.

Not that he's opposed to technology. In 1977 the theatre began transmitting the sound over FM waves to car radios, replacing the old speakers that fitted onto customers' car windows. Back then, though, many cars lacked a built-in stereo, so Crawford had to improvise.

He purchased several portable radios, lending them to visitors and taking their driver's licenses to ensure the radios returned. This system was not perfect - the radios were easily damaged - and the modern-day ubiquity of the car stereo is a great relief to Crawford.

By 9:15 there's a few folks at the concession stand. The usual offerings are there - popcorn, drinks, chocolate bars. Mosquito coils are also listed on the menu for 75 cents, just below the jumbo Freezies.

Brittany Ellacott and her friends are visiting from Saskatoon. They came here for training at Camp Easter Seals and were looking for something different to do.

Ellacott, 23, says she's been to a drive-in before, but "it's been a long time."

"They're rare now," says Kelli Epp, 22, while Janelle Zacharias, 25, adds, "You can talk during the movie." It's also cheaper than drinking, they point out.

The show starts just before 10, with about 30 cars in the lot and, thankfully, almost no rain. There are a handful of trailers, but no obnoxious reminders - you can keep your cell phone on, you can even put your feet on the seats. The screen's a little dim for those accustomed to bright computer monitors or TV sets, but the audio comes in crystal clear.

After roughly half an hour, the film suddenly grinds to a halt, and the screen goes dark. The soundtrack vanishes, quickly replaced by the voice of one of the employees, announcing an intermission and inviting people to stop by the concession stand.

Crawford acknowledges that business is not as good as in previous years. The halcyon days of drive-ins are long past, with only five of them remaining in the province.

"It wouldn't be profitable to build one now," he says. Crawford also figures the theatre's location has helped, since he's never had to bring in gravel to even out the lot.

But there are other challenges. The theatre lost its original wooden screen to a windstorm in 1976. But a new partnership allowed him to purchase a steel screen, and he was back in business three weeks later.

Crawford also recalls how he almost quit the business after a rough start to the season in 1993. But the theatre wound up in the black after strong business in August and the fall, and they've continued ever since.

"Family pictures, of course, do the best," he says. "Westerns used to be a big thing."

His wife Bev worked the ticket booth until a few years ago. Crawford himself is usually there, in the projection booth or behind the snack counter. He also has four or five other employees, including teenagers for whom this is their first job.

Crawford says he'll still occasionally catch people trying to sneak in, usually by hiding in someone else's trunk. He tries to handle these situations diplomatically, he says.

He remembers one time when his wife received a call warning them that a Ford Pinto was coming with an extra guest tucked away. When the car arrived, he approached it and began talking to the couple inside, carrying on a lengthy conversation.

Eventually, the hidden visitor couldn't stand being trapped in the Pinto's cramped trunk any longer, and began yelling for his friends to let him out.

The intermission continues for about five minutes before the film resumes. Classic songs by Van Morrison and Marvin Gaye play through the minivan's stereo speakers, indicating Crawford is aware of the theatre's enormous nostalgia factor.

But there are other things to consider. The novelty of seeing a drive-in movie, and the scarcity of theatres like his, also helps keep him in business. He also has the support of the community. Watrous Beach considers it a tourist attraction, listing it in their entry in the CAA Travel Guide.

"It means quite a bit to a lot of people," he says. "They don't want it to close down."

The leaderonline is a division of The Davidson Leader, Davidson, Saskatchewan, Canada.