Monroe in the movies

Monroe — The Monroe Historical Society will sponsor a viewing of some of its movies held in its archives on Monday, May 14, at 7 p.m. The films will be shown at the Monroe Senior Center, Mine Road, Monroe. These movies were part of the “This is America” series filmed in the early 1940s and early 1950s. The reason Monroe was chosen was because Larry O’Reilly was a director/cameraman with RKO-Pathe. O’Reilly’s home was in Monroe, and he felt Monroe would be a perfect backdrop for a number of the films in this series. One of the most famous films in this series is “Letter to a Hero.” This film short was nominated for an Academy Award but lost to a color documentary. The film was part of the war effort and told of a teacher in the Monroe High School (now North Main Street Elementary School). In the movie, the teacher writes to a former student who is now in the service overseas and tells what is happening in Monroe circa 1937. The films were shown in theaters all over the United States, and to troops overseas. The following movies will be shown: 1937 - “The Monroe Mastodon”; 1937 newsreel “Letter to a Hero” - released in 1943; “Letter to a Rebel” - released in 1948; and “Women in the Community” released in 1950. For more information, call Jim Nelson at 783-3406. Running time for each of the last three movies is 16 minutes.