Father’s Day specials at Harbor Theater
Whether you are a first-generation dad with kids still at home, or a second or third generation dad with offspring living in other parts of the world, we have a special day planned for you at Harbor Theater on Sunday, June 21.
Our regular 2 p.m. matinee that day is Disney/Pixar’s "Toy Story 5." There will be free popcorn for all dads, so load up the kids and enjoy watching Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), and all the toys surmount the challenge of encroaching tech in their child’s life.
Then, at 6 p.m., we are treating our guys to a free soft pretzel and glass of beer while they watch a classic “guy movie” – "The Great Escape" (1963, NR, 2 hours, 49 minutes), based on a true story from World War II.
The film, directed by John Sturgis and starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson, and Donald Pleasance, follows a group of allied escape artist-type POWs who are put in an "escape proof" camp. Their leader decides to try to stage an escape of several hundred men all at once. The first half of the movie is played for comedy, as the prisoners mostly outwit their jailers to dig the escape tunnel. The second half is high adventure as they use planes, trains, and boats to get out of occupied Europe.
Paul Brickhill, who wrote the book on which this movie was based, piloted a Spitfire aircraft that was shot down over Tunisia in March 1943. He was taken to Stalag Luft III in Poland, where he assisted in real-life escape preparations. The real camp which was recreated in the film can be visited today in Sagan, Poland, a ruin now that's mostly used for archaeological purposes.
Several cast members were actual POWs during World War II. Donald Pleasence was an aircrewman in the Royal Air Force, whose plane was shot down; he became a prisoner of war and was tortured by the Germans. When he offered advice to director John Sturges, he was politely asked to keep his "opinions" to himself. Later, when another actor on set informed Sturges that Pleasence was imprisoned in a WW II German POW camp, Sturges requested his technical advice and input on historical accuracy from that point forward.
Steve McQueen showed off his motorcycle skills in the film, but there was one stunt he did not perform: the hair-raising five-foot jump over a fence. That was done by McQueen's friend Bud Ekins, who was managing a Los Angeles-area motorcycle shop when recruited for the stunt. It was the beginning of a new career for Ekins, as he later doubled for McQueen in Bullitt (1968). James Garner developed his "Scrounger" character from his own personal experiences in the military as a self-described scrounger for his company in the Korean War, and Charles Bronson, who portrays the chief tunneler, brought his own expertise and experiences to the set. Bronson had been a coal miner before turning to acting and gave director John Sturges advice on how to move the dirt. As a result of his work in the coal mines, Bronson suffered from claustrophobia, just as his character had.
Join us for this special event on Sunday, June 21. Doors open at 5 p.m., film at 6. Regular ticket prices apply ($8 members; $12 non-members).
