I’ve rented apartments. I’ve rented equipment (once, I even rented a portable slushie machine for a party). In college, I rented my entire apartment’s furniture (including the coffee maker) on a Rent-to-Own option from a local store.

Until this summer, I had never rented a 1200 car Drive-In Movie Theater.

The first time I saw a movie was at a drive-in. It was a double bill of Harold and Maude and The Gambler. I was six. Consider that when you wonder how movie choices can warp your children’s minds.

On Sunday, November 7, starting 4:30PM, you will hop into your ride and head out to West Chicago to the Cascade Drive-in Cinema and get to see two incredible noir films courtesy of your favorite public radio station because WE RENTED A 1200 CAR DRIVE-IN!

OK. Breathing again…

Matty and Adam over at Filmspotting are our curators and decided to pair The Big Sleep and The Big Lebowski. Unfortunately it turned out that, after two months of searching and asking and calling, there is only one print of The Big Sleep in the entire country that works on the specific projectors at Cascade. After a bit of quick thinking, Filmspotting found one of their other favorite Raymond Chandler tales as directed by none other than Robert Altman and “The Detective and The Dude” Double Feature was secure.

The Long Goodbye, directed by Robert Altman, is a 1973 American contemporary film noir adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s 1953 novel of the same name. The screenplay is by Leigh Brackett, who was one of the writers on the screenplay of The Big Sleep in 1946. The Long Goodbye features Elliott Gould as Philip Marlowe.

The Big Lebowski is a 1998 comedy written with elements of noir written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Jeff Bridges stars as Jeff Lebowski, an unemployed Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler, who is referred to (and also refers to himself) as “The Dude.”

The Cascade also has a fully stocked concession stand (and it includes a vintage baby bottle warmer in case you have babies…) so I recommend a Cherry Slushie, a dancing hot dog and big bucket of popcorn. Sit in your car, listen on your radio and enjoy watching two incredible movies on a giant outdoor screen. Too much fun!

Now.

The Cascade is in West Chicago, which means you may have a bit of a drive. So we have provided you a very special AUTO BINGO card to download, print out and play on your trek to the cinema. Turn it into our box office when you arrive and you will get a special WBEZ-rific prize for the effort.

You can download your AUTO BINGO card HERE.

Drive-In Double Feature! The Detective and The Dude
Sunday, November 7, 2010 @ 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Cascade Drive-In
1100 E. North Avenue West Chicago, IL 60185
Here’s a MAP