Drive-in movie theaters may be one of today’s least-recognized cost savings for family entertainment. And they’ve made significant improvements from our grandparents’ day.

Most noticeably: sound. You don’t roll down your window and hang a crackly speaker on your car door anymore.

“Everything’s FM stereo, over the car radio,” said Joe McDade, owner of The Pike Drive-in Theatre on Route 15 near Montgomery. “Most car stereos are pretty decent today. Plus, you can control the sound to your liking; turn it down during loud action scenes. A lot of people like that.”

Drive-ins used to be something of a re-run channel for the movie world, running shows that were two or three years old. But not anymore.

“Nowadays, we show first-run movies,” McDade said. Some recent films from the Pike include “Transformers 2,” “Up,” “The Hangover,” and “The Taking of Pelham 123.”

The Point Drive-In Theatre on Route 11 between Northumberland and Danville recently ran shows that included “Night at the Museum 2,” “Jack Black, Year One,” “Land of the Lost” and “Up.”

And while early drive-ins usually had only one screen, modern establishments must compete with movie complexes.

“We’re multi-screen. We have three screens,” McDade said of the Pike. Both the Pike and the Point run three movies at a time, starting at dusk.

The price-per-car days may be history — drive-ins now charge per person — but each screen offers a double feature and, as the Point’s recorded telephone message says, “admission price is for both movies, so it’s two for the price of one.”

McDade said the Pike brings in at least one new film, and sometimes more, each week. Acknowledging the tough economy, he hasn’t raised prices in his concession stand, and has even lowered some. He offers everything from the traditional hot dogs, hamburgers, and pizza to pierogies, cheese fries, and funnel cakes.

“All kinds of food you won’t get at the mall (movies),” he said. “How many places do you get funnel cakes?” And though his drive-in was built in 1954, they now advertise online, blending the old with the new. The pet-friendly establishment has had customers from as far away as Texas, Maine, and even England, Customers may no longer win prizes for having the most people stuffed into a car on dollar night, but the Pike does sometimes have drawings on movie posters, gas cards, or movie passes. And the one thing that hasn’t changed over the years is parents bundling their kids into pajamas for a late-night, low-cost movie.

“The family audience is still our biggest draw,” McDade said. “The family can go out together and not break the bank.”

-- Cindy O. Herman lives in Snyder County. Send e-mail comments to her at Cindyherman1@yahoo.com.