SCENE CHANGE : It’s been curtains for many drive-ins, but the survivors are drawing crowds back with first-run flicks and multiple screens.

The twilight sky was rapidly turning black when Kirk Hansen glanced at his watch. It was nearly 8:30 p.m.--show time at the Winnetka Drive-In.

Within a few minutes, the six screens around the perimeter of the 2,200-car complex in Chatsworth flickered with images like giant television sets. Young couples cuddled in pickup trucks, parents dressed their toddlers in pajamas and pet owners walked their dogs as the shows began.

“Some of them will mention that they haven’t been to a drive-in since they were really young,” said Hansen, the manager of the Winnetka, who recalls frequent childhood trips to the outdoor movie theaters in his native Iowa. “They thought the drive-ins were gone.”

Not so, Hansen and other industry executives say. While their numbers have shrunk dramatically in recent years, many of the nation’s 1,500 drive-ins, particularly in California and the rest of the Sunbelt, still manage to draw large crowds of bargain-minded and nostalgic patrons. Some drive-in owners say the industry’s long decline may have ended.

Gentle Climates

Those drive-ins that have successfully bucked the trend have mimicked walk-in theaters by replacing single screens with four, six and even eight screens. Low-budget, second-run action films have been replaced by first-run features that often appeal to young families.

Most of the profitable theaters are in gentle climates where they can operate year-round. The harsh winters and rainy springs of the Midwest and East limit the number of months that drive-ins can stay open there.

“The drive-ins are holding their own,” said Mary Ann Grasso, executive director of the National Assn. of Theater Owners. “We are finding that in (Sunbelt) states, the drive-in is doing well.”

It also helps that drive-ins are bargains--usually $4.50 or less for an adult and free admission to children under 12--in a world of $7 movie tickets. The freedom to smoke, talk and let the kids be kids is also appealing.

“You have young families, teen-agers and a core audience of older people who like the idea of seeing a movie in the privacy of their own cars,” said Milton I. Moritz, vice president of advertising and public relations for Pacific Theaters, which operates the Winnetka and 58 other drive-in screens in California.

Pacific also owns a large walk-in theater chain, but Moritz said attendance at its outdoor locations has increased during the past two years after a long decline. “They are lucrative enough to keep operating,” said Moritz, who would not disclose profit or revenue figures.

The worst may be over, but experts do not expect drive-ins to recapture the power and popularity that they commanded more than 30 years ago.

Record Number in 1955

High costs prohibit the construction of new drive-ins. “It does not pencil anymore because property values are expensive anywhere you go and construction costs have gone up,” said Paul Hamilton, general manager of the Mission drive-in of Montclair and the Van Buren in Riverside.

In 1955, a record 4,600 screens were operating. Drive-ins claimed half of the movie theater industry’s summer receipts during the early 1950s.

But the sprawling complexes fell victim to changing tastes and rising land values. Housing tracts, shopping malls and self-storage facilities now sit on the lots where science-fiction flicks and other films played before budding baby boomers.

During the 1960s and 1970s, as attendance fell, drive-in fare began to change. Family-oriented films were replaced by adult and action films, many times second-run features. Crowds were younger and often rowdier. Many theaters got into hot water when they began showing X-rated pictures.

In recent years, however, the tide has turned and general audiences and families are once again being courted. First-run movies such as “Batman,” “Do the Right Thing” and “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” have found their way to the big outdoor screens this summer.

“The drive-ins are doing better with a broad line of films,” Moritz said.

Family Fare Favored

Many drive-ins like the Winnetka employ security guards to cut down on rowdiness and make the drive-in comfortable for young families. Guards at the Winnetka check trunks and the shells of pickup trucks for beer and other alcoholic beverages, which are banned.

The move to create a “family atmosphere” in the drive-in is apparently working at Winnetka. On one recent night , the longest line of autos formed behind the entrance to “Peter Pan.”

“It’s turned into a real family affair,” said Hansen, the Winnetka manager. “I think the ‘passion pit’ image is over.” Some drive-in owners also enlarged their snack stands and installed sound systems that allow patrons to listen to the movie through their car stereo. Some owners have even looked at installing moving sidewalks to transport customers to centrally located snack stands.

Most important, say industry officials, was the move toward “multiplex” drive-ins with several screens. The greater number of films allowed the theaters to attract more customers, say owners.

The multiscreen complexes have also made the drive-in more popular with film distributors, Hamilton said. “The more screens you have available, the more interested the distributor will be in playing products in your theater,” he said.

Many drive-ins have also put their properties to work during the day by holding flea markets or swap meets.

“The swap meets are profitable and a definite big plus,” Hamilton said. “It’s a natural pairing. You have a lot of paved, vacant land during the day, and a swap meet fits in very well.”

Tad Danz, who owns the single-screen Santa Fe Springs Drive-In said, “if I didn’t have the swap meet, I would have sold the theater. It does not make any money.”

Danz said he did not convert his drive-in into a multiplex because it would have interfered with the swap meet.

In contrast, the owners of the Winnetka say the complex is profitable even without a swap meet.

The 25-acre Winnetka represents what many believe is the most successful format for drive-ins. Cars and trucks are already lined up when Winnetka’s six ticket booths, arranged like those at toll bridges, open up one hour before show time.

Till the Early A.M.

During busy summer weekends, Hansen directs a crew of 42, including ushers who make their way on bicycles and roving security guards who travel in an aging golf cart.

The start of the working day, or rather night, shifts during the year. The longer summer nights mean that films begin later in the evening. So, Hansen shows up around 6:30 p.m. and closes at 3 a.m.

Hansen spends most of his time walking from lot to lot or at the two-story building that holds the projection room and a large snack stand, which sells pizzas, hamburgers and burritos--fare that’s rarely seen in walk-in theaters.

From here, Hansen, who has managed various Pacific drive-ins for seven years, can track audience reaction to the films. “Sometimes they honk their horns,” he said. “It’s the equivalent of applause.”

Out in the darkened sprawl of the Winnetka, movie goers reacted favorably for the most part to their night at the drive-in.

“It’s more relaxed and you control the volume,” said Chris Barragan, 18, who sat alongside girlfriend Gina Natali watching “When Harry met Sally.” “I can dress any way I want and kick-back,” said Barragan, his bare feet dangling from the side of his white jeep.

“It’s nice that you have open space,” said Jeff Turnbull, who with his wife, Kitty, had brought their two children to watch “Peter Pan.” “But it’s more like watching TV. You get more crowd reaction” in a walk-in theater.

Don Briere of Canoga Park, who had returned to the drive-in for the first time in many years, was unimpressed with the sound system. “I heard the sound was just as good inside as a theater, but it’s not so good.”

Still, Briere said, “$4.50 is better than $7, that’s for sure. We’ll probably be back.”