The 80 Year Anniversary of the Outdoor Movie Screen
From the Open Air Cinema archive. Originally published in 2013. Preserved as a historical record; the hero image (hotlinked to the dead pre-Shopify Magento catalog path) removed along with its empty <h2> wrapper. The opening boilerplate CTA sentence removed.
The Outdoor Movie Screen, 80 Years In The Making
To set the stage for this historic day for outdoor cinema, we need travel back in time 80 years ago to June 6th 1933. The film is Wifes Beware staring Adolphe Menjou, an obscure film that flopped at theaters and then was rereleased for the very first drive-in theater, so that it wouldn't continue to interfere with major releases. Despite the less then blockbuster initial release of Wifes Beware, outdoor cinema was here to stay. This first outdoor movie screen event was absolutely groundbreaking. Imagine the paradigm shift that it must have been to sit in the great outdoors and experience the silver screen in this new and exciting environment!
Initial Development of the Outdoor Movie Screen
This outdoor movie screen served as a drive-in theater, and was built by Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr. in Camden New Jersey. However it took years of fine tuning until Hollingshead perfected his setup and then opened. Experiments included him nailing an outdoor movie screen to trees, placing a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of his car, and throwing a radio behind the outdoor movie screen. Hollingshead then sat in his car to test different sound levels from his car. It was in his own backyard where the drive-in and the outdoor movie screen was born. The outdoor movie theater has had quite a life from it's inception until now, and we are just as excited about the future of the outdoor movie screen as we are about its legacy.
The Future of the Outdoor Movie Screen
The future of the outdoor movie screen is truly exciting. Improving technologies will continue to expand the possibilities that Open Air Cinema will have to help you reach audiences like never before. Wireless availability and quality seem to be reaching a critical point where very soon we will be seeing them as common place. Developments in materials and products continue to push the imagination of what is possible for an outdoor movie screen. We at Open Air Cinema are committed to continually being on the cutting edge of the outdoor movie industry and to always bringing you the best available outdoor movie screen and accessories available.