History center shows Iowa in classic films

NORTH ENGLISH — Scott Romine will never forget his first date with his wife Bonnie at the Orpheum Theater in North English in the fall of 1965.

Bonnie won’t forget either. It was the most romantic movie she’d ever seen, she said sarcastically — “The Great Sioux Massacre.”

The couple found better movies with which to entertain their audience at English Valleys History Center March 24. Using information from “The Book of Iowa Films” by John Lawrence and Marty Knepper, and film clips provided by the authors, Scott and Bonnie told the story of several films with Iowa connections.

A film clip from “State Fair” began the program. Released in 1933, the film was based on a 1932 novel by Phil Strong.

The film starred Will Rogers as Able Frake, an Iowa farmer who’s sure his hog will win top prize at the fair, and used footage from the 1932 Iowa State Fair.

“The Sullivans,” a 1944 film starring Anne Baxter and Thomas Mitchell, tells the story of five brothers from Waterloo who died together in the Pacific theater during World War II. “Much of the film focuses on their family life,” said Bonnie.

The film shows wartime sacrifice and the sense of duty felt by people of that era, Bonnie said. After the family is informed of the death of all of their sons, the father goes to work, as he always has. He’s been with the Illinois Central Railroad for 33 years and hasn’t missed a day of work.

Another war movie, “They Were Expendable,” stars two actors who were born in Iowa — John Wayne, who was born in Winterset, and Donna Reed, who grew up near Denison.

The black-and-white film from 1945 was dated not only by its production quality but by the use of slang of that era. “’Swell’ became very popular during this time period,” said Bonnie after the audience watched the clip with its abundant use of the word.

“The Music Man” was a smash hit on Broadway and became an award-winning film in 1962 starring Robert Preston, Shirley Jones and a young Ron Howard, said Scott. It enjoyed a revival in 2021 with Hugh Jackman in the lead role.

Written by composer Meredith Willson of Mason City, the musical tells the tale of a con man who attempts to bilk residents of a small Iowa town in the early years of the 20th century.

Willson saw Iowans as stiff-necked but kind, said Bonnie, as shown in the song “Iowa Stubborn.”

“We could stand touchin’ noses for a week at a time and never see eye-to-eye,” the Iowans tell Harold Hill in the film clip.

Willson also wrote the Iowa Fight Song and “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” Bonnie said.

A clip from “The Buddy Holly Story,” captures the essence of Buddy Holly’s final performance, said Bonnie. The young rock star’s career ended at The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake.

Gary Busey, who played Holly, did his own singing in the film, said Scott.

Holly, along with The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens died in a plane crash that night as they left Iowa for Fargo, North Dakota.

Clear Lake became famous again with the 1971 release of Don McLean’s song “American Pie” which remembered “the day the music died.”

The film “Field of Dreams,” based on the book “Shoeless Joe” by Canadian author W.P. Kinsella, was released in 1989. “Many have made fun of this movie’s magical qualities,” said Scott.

The story is set in Iowa and was filmed in Dyersville.

The foggy atmosphere in the film clip was not created by filmmakers, said Bonnie. It just happened to appear during filming, “setting the mood for the iconic question.”

“Is this heaven?”

“No. It’s Iowa.”

The town of Dyersville was asked to turn off all it lights for the filming of the movie’s final scene — the line of headlights from cars coming to see the game at the farm baseball field.

Kinsella had originally titled his book “The Dream Field,” said Bonnie. The publisher changed it to “Shoeless Joe.”

The film studio didn’t want its movie named after a disgraced athlete, so it changed the film’s title from “Shoeless Joe” to “Field of Dreams.”

The first English Valleys’s History Center program for 2024 also featured film clips from “Sleeping with the Enemy,” partly set in Cedar Falls, and Bridges of Madison County,” set in Winterset.

“This was the first movie I ever heard called a chick flick,” Scott said of the 1995 film starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep.

“The Final Season,” is even closer to home. It tells the story of the consolidation of the Norway school district with Benton Community Schools — called Madison in the film — which ends Norway’s high school baseball dynasty.

Norway played one final season and won its 20th state champion before the consolidation.