(Photos | Courtesy of Tower Theatre)
Major Movies Shot Regionally Introduced by Local Historian & Reviewer
Ever found the locales in a movie more impressive than the plot or the settings more alluring than the actors? Well, that happens regularly in films shot in picturesque Central Oregon! The Tower Theatre Foundation joins the Deschutes Historical Museum to present a different kind of film festival this July. Titled Made in Central Oregon, the Tower screens three examples of our region’s claim to cinematic fame Wednesdays, July 13, 20 and 27 at 7:30pm.
“There have been nearly 40 films since 1919 shot in and around our forests, mountains and rivers,” explains Kelly Cannon-Miller, executive director of the Museum. “The area became a popular Hollywood destination starting in the 1950’s because of its eye-catching surroundings and naturally stunning vistas. Sometimes, our landscape turns out to be the best part of the movie!”
Cannon-Miller will share local anecdotes and historical accounts of when each movie was on-location in the region. Co-host Source Weekly movie reviewer Jared Rasic will set the films in their point in time and proper artistic context. Together, Kelly and Jared will guide viewers through the photographic countryside of Central Oregon and, hopefully, have you appreciating the background scenery just as much as the foreground action.
All three movies are free, but with an uncommon twist: moviegoers determine the value of the evening’s entertainment and can pay what they decide after the film.
The Made in Central Oregon movies are:
Rooster Cogburn (…and the Lady)
1975; rated PG; 108 minutes
July 13 | 7:30pm
Two of the most popular stars in movie history are together for the first time. John Wayne reprises his Oscar-winning True Grit role as a rascally, eye-patched, whiskey-guzzling U.S. Marshal. Katherine Hepburn, playing a prim reverend’s daughter, joins the grizzled gunfighter to avenge the murder of her father by a band of drunken thugs. What develops is a tenderhearted relationship as unpredictable as the Wild West itself.
Up The Creek
1984; rated R; 96 minutes
July 20 | 7:30pm
Bob McGraw (Tim Matheson) is in his 12th year of college, goofing his way through life. That is, until he and three loser friends are bribed to represent the university in an intercollegiate raft race. Their amateur and adolescent antics impress a few co-eds but make enemies of a team of Marines and preppy Ivy-leaguers who stop at nothing to win the waterlogged competition.
The Postman
1997; rated R; 117 minutes
July 27 | 7:30pm
In a post-apocalyptic 2013 America, a mysterious drifter (Kevin Costner) happens upon a postman’s uniform and an undelivered bag of mail. He poses as a mail carrier and representative of a restored U.S. government, handing out the old letters to nearby townsfolk and tricking them into feeding him. He soon becomes a symbol of hope to survivors who remember the world that was and decides he must give his followers the courage to revolt.