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Bengies Drive-In Provides A Stellar Movie Experience

Bengies Drive-In Theatre has been in operation since 1956. They provide first run movies at extremely modest prices, in an environment that brings you back in time. With drive-in's being few and far between, you won't be disappointed.

In all my years I had never been to a drive-in movie theatre. Let me tell you, I was missing out. If you've never been, you're missing out too. To think that the drive-in's used to be everywhere is disappointing, since they are a lot of fun, and because now they're few and far between.

We had just heard about Bengies from the aunt of a friends, so a handful of us decided to venture out; none of us had every been to a drive-in before. Here's what we found.

ATMOSPHERE

Bengies possesses a laid-back carnival-like atmosphere. Everyone seems to be there because they want to, and a lot of people are prepared to settle in for several hours. Because of this, no one seems rushed. Just moviegoers: no maillrats, no shoppers, no other engagements to distract from the screen.

Returning to a much earlier time, a Looney Tunes cartoon is played between the first two films; a Three Stooges short between the last two. From dusk until the three films are over, there's always something on the screen. Applause is by flashing of the headlights and the occassional toot on the horn.

Make sure you bring some warm clothes; even in summer there's a chill after dusk. Combine that with the dew that forms and the fact that you're not moving around a lot, you might be a bit cold. Prepare accordiningly and it won't be a problem.

SCREEN

Bengies claim to fame is their screen, which they claim (and I'd believe) is the biggest screen on the east coast. Measuring in at 52 feet tall by 120 feet long, the projectors sit 460 feet to the screen. This allows both flat and widescreen films to be shown with little cropping. Did I mention that this thing is reaaly big?

SOUND

Alas, there are no more speakers at the drive-in. The days of taking the speaker off the post and sticking in in your window are over. All historical complaints aside, their replacement provides much better quality anyways. You can just tune your stereo to 106.9 FM or 830 AM. For those of you about to complain about the lack of surround sound, it really isn't needed. You'd be suprised how good a movie can sound when you sit directly between a pair of stereo speakers (like inside your car), even without the high end surround sound car stereos that are out there. Even a modest car stereo sounds pretty good with the doors closed and the engine off.

You don't even need to sit it your car at all. A few of us sat on chairs and blankets and listened from outside our car. Everyone else had their car stereo cranked up that the sound suprisingly deep and filling. Extra thanks to those folks with subwoofers.

PRICING

The drive-in has a lot of different things going on with the pricing. While not meant to be complicated, the pricing is a deal any way you look at it. We paid the following fees:

• $8/person for admission
• $7/car for a food permit

The admission fee pays for a triple-feature (in our case; Rebound, Fantastic Four, and Batman Begins). If you decide to come just for the late show the cost is $4/person. In any event children under 11 and in cars are free, even more incentive to bring the whole family and not worry about dropping hundreds of dollars. Bengies also has discounted rates for drivers of historic vehicles and Pack-A-Car Bargain Nights. More information on those can be located on their web site.

The food permit allows you to bring out own food and beverages in to eat. At first we were skeptical of this fee, but figure you'd paid $7 for a soda and popcorn at a modern indoor theatre. For $7 you can bring all the food you want in a cooler and feed everyone, since the permit fee is per card (not per person). If you don't want to bring food, the snack bar is open. Prices are reasonable, and available on the Bengies web site.

$8 for one movie is a good price these days, a bargain for two, and an absolute steal for three. Here ends the raving about the prices -- they certainly won't stop anyone from experiencing the drive-in. To be honest, we were cursing ourselves for not finding out about Bengies a LONG time ago.

GETTING THERE

Bengies is located at 3417 Eastern Blvd, Baltimore, Maryland, 21220; just minutes off 895, it's pretty convenient to a lot of areas, and while not as close as other theaters, it's well worth it.

Call (410) 687-5627 for showtimes. Call (410) 686-4698 for directions, outside food & beverage policy, and the house rules.

More information is available at http://www.bengies.com/.

SUMMARY

Summary? The summary is simple: you should go. If you've never been to a drive-in, you should definitely go. Four young adults went and had a blast, and have every intention of going back and bringing friends.

Posted by alexm at July 9, 2005 11:13 AM.
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