Shining Stars - Canada's Drive-In Movie Theatres

Journal - Manitoba & Saskatchewan

Our journey continued on the Labour Day long weekend to discover why drive-ins endure the test of time and competing technology.


Killarney, Manitoba

Mrs. Gibson at her Shamrock Drive-In has been a mainstay since the 1950s. We can't recall the exact year, but Mrs Gibson has been running it for over forty years. This is the only property we discovered that had a sound system consisting solely of the proverbial speakers on poles. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," was Mrs. Gibson's refrain. We had to agree, the sound seemed fine to us.

As well, Morley the projectionist operated two vintage projectors with carbon arch rods. These rods create a concentrated flame or spark which provides the light for the screen. This is not a job that you can walk away from; every twenty minutes or so Morley has to stop one projector and start the next one to continue the film. In the meantime he has to tread the stopped projector with the next reel. "You don't have to have perfect timing," offers Morley, "but it helps."


Carlyle, Saskatchewan

The Boutin family started running The Prairie Dog Drive-In about seven years ago. Ray got tired of the rat race of working in sales in Winnipeg. So, the Boutins moved to Carlyle to run a drive-in. They now have two daughters and the family lives in a house at the back of the lot. "It's a short walk to work, and I don't have to worry about pushing to make sales,"

says Ray. "This is a job where customers come to me." Ray was a good sport and did a little skit for the beginning of the documentary. We recorded him opening up his property and carrying the large film print cases into his projection room.

He showed us the steps involved of taking the eight smaller reels that films travel in and made them into one large reel that is run through the projectors. (This system is different than the Shamrock Drive-In.)


Regina, Saskatchewan

Sherry Legare greeted us at the Regina 6 Drive-In. It's not actually six screens as we first thought. The drive-in is named the "Regina 6" because it's on Highway 6, just a little south of Regina. This drive-in is unique because it is one of the few twins left in Canada. On the night we arrived, they were showing three films on each screen. From what we know about film preparation, this is a busy night for the projectionist. Sherry explained that this was the last night of the season. Any regrets that it's over? "Frankly, I'm happy that the season is finally over.

This is a lot of work." Sherry has a day job, and she helps operate the drive-in at night because of her love of the business. She started in theatre business as a teenager, and it's pretty much her passion.


Watrous, Saskatchewan

Burt Crawford built the Jubilee Drive-In in 1951 and started operating it himself later in the decade. Mr. Crawford explained the many challenges of dealing with the elements, although with his many years of experience in the business, you would think that he should be able to control the weather by now.

"One summer the screen blew down," he explains. "Then one time after topping up the ramps in the car park, the water after a heavy rain flowed from the park and flooded the snack bar. And of course there's the time that we had snow on our last night of the season on Thanksgiving weekend and a car got stuck in the snow." Mr. Crawford loves movies and loves people and will keep showing movies no matter what Mother Nature throws his way.


The Film Makers

Traveling for work is not as fun as some people think it is. It's the waiting in airports, the long drives and road side meals that begin to wear you down. Camera operator Mike Strange his assistant Dave Ferris and myself were fortified by meeting some wonderful people and seeing many parts of our great nation.











Our journey is nothing without our host, Rob Salem.