The Saco Drive-In: Cinema Under the Maine Sky

Families, teenagers, friends and sweethearts piled in their cars and filled the lot of Maine’s first drive-in on opening night in 1939. A newsreel and cartoon rolled before the feature presentation, Forbidden Music, cast the first outdoor movie spell over the town of Saco. Families came for the fresh-air movie experience, while visitors in the 1950s and ‘60s enjoyed the dimly lit privacy. The community rallied to save the Saco Drive-In in 2013, voting to fund the transition to digital projection. Now, families and couples of the future can continue to enjoy cinema under the Maine sky. Join local author Camille Smalley as she recounts the history, films and memories of the Saco Drive-In.