Call them nostalgic or cheap entertainment, but don't label drive-in theaters dead.

The offspring of America's love affair with film and automobiles are survivors among multi-screen movie palaces with digital sound and reclining chairs.

It's a magical kind of place, said Randy Loy, co-executive director of the United Drive-In Theatre CQ Owners Association. "It's freedom more than anything.''

The roller coaster ride of the '80s has eased into a comfortable cruise for drive-in theater owners.

"We're getting a lot of families back, people who can't afford to pay $9 each to see a movie and take their kids,'' said Larry Rodkey, CQ who owns Skyline Drive-in in Barstow.

He grew up in the business in its heyday in the 1950s, at Sunset Drive-In in San Luis Obispo. He now operates the drive-in his father once owned. "What I hear from people is that this is a piece of nostalgia we need.''

The first drive-in theater was opened by in 1938 by Richard M. Hollingshead in Camden, N.J. He put the concept to the test by hanging a bed sheet in his backyard and positioning a Kodak projector on the hood of his car. Wondering what affect rain would have on the picture, he turned on the lawn sprinkler.

For years, drive-in theaters were as much a part of summer life as Little League baseball and country fairs. First kisses were exchanged there, and babies accompanied their parents on Saturday night ``dates.''

By 1958, more than 4,000 drive-ins - 180 in California - were showing first-run flicks. As the size and the number of outdoor venues increased, many expanded beyond playgrounds, offering miniature trains, pony rides, miniature golf and animal shows.

The other Big Screen soon changed the way Americans watched their movies. By the time Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorese stormed into the film industry, drive-ins theaters - a cultural phenomenon only a decade before - were slipping into neutral.

The open air theaters with their gravel parking lots and post-mounted sound systems fell victim to commerce in the 1970s, when many were razed to make way for strip malls and others were reinvented or closed.

Now, in some cities, there are new kids on the block. In some parts of the country auto theaters have made a comeback, albeit slowly and without the verve of earlier years.

Since the mid 1990s, 43 drive-ins have reopened and 20 new ones have been built, according to the United Drive-in Theatre Owners Association, based in Germantown, Md. In August, new drive-ins opened in New York, Illinois, Texas and Tennessee.

"As drive-in theaters go, we're holding our own,'' said Randy Shull, manager of Skyline Drive-In in Barstow. "Nostalgia has something to do with it. Drive-ins came alive...and I don't see them going down the tubes anyway soon.''

Opened in 1966, Skyline played to enthusiastic crowds until the 1980s, when business began to fall. The theater closed in 1987 and for almost a decade it stood as a relic of the past.

Rodkey spotted it from the air, while flying over the High Desert. "I decided to go look at it. That one caught my eye.''

Not knowing what to expect, he reopened it the following year and added a second screen in 2000.

The investment was a gamble that paid off. Summer attendance sometimes swells to 1,000 people a night. Forty percent of those drive as far as 35 miles from the Victor Valley to enjoy movies by moonlight.

"It really took off in 1999. Business has grown three-fold,'' Shull said. "We get all different age groups. Drive-ins aren't just for kids anymore.''

Indeed, they're for everyone, even independent film makers like those involved in The California Tour coming to Barstow at 7 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults. Children under 12 are free.

Each stop on the tour, which began in July in Crescent City, features a collection of short films that examine California in all its glory, from Portugese bloodless bullfights to unknown cemeteries.

"It's a great show, with amazing films and amazing filmmakers,'' said Melinda Stone, who is producing the event. "It is quite a spectacle and really features these wonderful remaining drive-ins in California.''

Rodkey is among a handful of independent theater owners participating in the tour, which stopped at his Sunset Drive-in in San Luis Obispo on Sept. 14. After Barstow, it will travel to Yerba Buena Art Center in San Francisco.

He hates to think about the theaters' ultimate demise.

"It's a piece of history that will not repeat itself once it's gone. As soon as the digital technology takes hold, it will put drive-in theaters out of business, and I think that's pretty sad.''

-- Priscilla Nordyke Roden an be reached at (909) 386-3864

DRIVE RIGHT IN
Pacific Vineland Drive-In, 443 N. Vineland Ave., City of Industry; (626) 961-9262.

Mission Drive-In, 10798 Ramona Ave., Montclair; (909) 628-0511

Skyline Drive-In Theatre CQ, 31175 Old Highway 58, west of Interstate 15, Barstow; (760) 256-3333.

Smith's Ranch Drive-In, 4584 Adobe Road, Twentynine Palms; (760) 360-7713.

Rubidoux Tri-Plex Drive-In, 3770 Opal St., Riverside; (909) 683-4455.

Van Buren Drive-In, 3035 Van Buren Blvd., Riverside; (909) 688-2360.

The California Tour

A new kind of cinema experience, The California Tour will make its next stop at 7 p.m. Sunday at Skyline Drive-In Theatre, 31175 Old Highway 58, Barstow.

Short independent films will be featured, along with audience participation activities, including Bingo, a sing-along, movie screen tests, and prizes.

Tickets cost $5 for adults. Children under 12 are free.

For information, visit www.thecaliforniatour.com.