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Three-day festival of classic films coming to Wilton

By Staff | Oct 3, 2020

WILTON – Fly off to high-altitude adventure with a festival of classic aviation films at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton.

The three-day event, which runs from Thursday, Oct. 15 through Saturday, Oct. 17, gives local audiences a chance to see timeless aviation movies as they were intended-on the big screen and in a theater.

The festival will include four large-scale features from Hollywood’s Golden Age, ranging from the classic World War I aviation drama ‘Wings’ (1927) to the all-star wide-screen desert survival blockbuster ‘The Flight of the Phoenix’ (1965).

Other titles include ’12 O’Clock High’ (1949), an intense thriller about U.S. pilots in World War II, and ‘The High and the Mighty’ (1954), a ground-breaking airborne drama about a stricken commercial airliner starring John Wayne.

All films in the festival were nominated for multiple Academy Awards. Each captures the public’s fascination with flight in a different setting, as pilots and passengers alike face danger in the sky and also on the ground. Aviation buffs will enjoy the vintage aircraft featured in each production.

All screenings are free and open to the public. Donations will be accepted, with all proceeds used to support the education outreach program of the Aviation Museum of N.H.

The Town Hall Theatre is observing procedures to comply with all state and CDC public health guidelines, including reduced seating capacity. For complete information about the venue’s safety protocols, visit www.wiltontownhalltheatre.com.

• On Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m., the festival opens with the silent classic ‘Wings’ (1927), a drama about World War I aviation that won ‘Best Picture’ at the very first Academy Awards ceremony. The film stars Clara Bow, Charles ‘Buddy’ Rogers, and Richard Arlen. Live music for ‘Wings’ will be provided by Jeff Rapsis, a silent film accompanist and also executive director of the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire.

• On Friday, Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m. brings ’12 O’Clock High’ (1949), a classic bout aircrews in the United States Army’s Eighth Air Force, who flew daylight bombing missions against Nazi Germany and occupied France during the early days of American involvement in World War II. Starring Gregory Peck, ’12 O’Clock High’ received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for co-star Dean Jagger and Best Sound Recording.

• Saturday, Oct. 17 at 2 p.m., it’s ‘The High and the Mighty’ (1954), a drama about a troubled commercial flight starring John Wayne and Robert Stack. With its intertwined stories of passengers on a doomed commercial flight, ‘The High and the Mighty’ served as a template for the Hollywood ‘disaster’ genre. The film earned six Academy Award nominations, winning for composer Dmitri Tiomkin’s dramatic musical score.

• Saturday, Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m., the festival concludes with ‘The Flight of the Phoenix’ (1965), a drama about survivors of a plane crash in the Sahara Desert. Starring Jimmy Stewart, Peter Finch, and Ernest Borgnine, ‘The Flight of the Phoenix’ was nominated for two Academy Awards: Ian Bannen for Supporting Actor and Michael Luciano for Film Editing.

“These are all terrific pictures with great stories set in the earlier days of aviation, before air travel became commonplace for so many people,” said Jeff Rapsis, the Aviation Museum’s executive director.

“They’re a great way to recapture the romance and excitement of flight, and the Aviation Museum’s festival is a rare chance to see them as intended: on a big screen and in a movie theater,” Rapsis said.

The Aviation Museum of N.H., located at 27 Navigator Road, Londonderry, N.H., is a non-profit 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Housed in the vintage 1937 passenger terminal at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, the Aviation Museum is dedicated to preserving the Granite State’s rich aviation past, and also inspiring today’s students to become the aviation pioneers of tomorrow.

For more information about the Aviation Museum, visit www.aviationmuseumofnh.org or call 603-669-4820. Follow the Aviation Museum on social media at www.facebook.com/nhahs.

For more about the Town Hall Theatre, visit www.wiltontownhalltheatre.com or call 603-654-3456.

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