The premiere of the movie “Drums Along the Mohawk” was a major event in the Mohawk Valley in 1939.

Tonight at 8:00 p.m. (Aug. 16, 2008), Old Fort Johnson historic site will sponsor a free open-air showing of the film. Bring a blanket or lawn chair. The Old Fort is at the corner of Routes 5 and 67.

Directed by iconic Western director John Ford, “Drums Along the Mohawk” starred Henry Fonda as American Revolutionary War era settler Gil Martin. Claudette Colbert portrayed Martin’s wife.

Fonda, born in Nebraska, is descended from people named Fonda who settled the Montgomery County village after first leaving their native Italy for the Netherlands in the 1600s, according to his online biography.

In the movie, Martin (Fonda) and his bride settle in the Mohawk Valley and for the next six years, Martin fights in the Revolutionary War as he and his wife try to establish their homestead.

The plot is based on an historical novel written by Walter D. Edmonds. A native of Boonville, Edmonds’s book “Drums Along the Mohawk” was on the bestseller list for two years in the 1930s.

In 1939, the Rialto in Amsterdam was chosen as one of 27 theaters in the United States for the premiere of “Drums Along the Mohawk.” The film also debuted in Gloversville, Schenectady, Utica and Albany.

Amsterdam transplant Fred Wojcicki from California recalled the Mohawk Mills Band played for the Rialto premiere. The band was organized by several people, most notably Edward, Harry and Frank Musolff of Amsterdam. Band members came from all walks of life but the core was from the carpet mill where the Musolff brothers were employed.

Wojcicki recalled that Henry Fonda appeared at the Amsterdam premiere, although that recollection cannot be verified.

According to a Recorder clipping, stars of the film such as Lynn Bari, Arleen Whelan and Joan Davis came to Amsterdam for a parade and a welcome from Mayor Arthur Carter. The movie also featured a young Ward Bond, who went on to star on television in “Wagon Train.”

The Market Street crowd at the premiere apparently got out of control but no injuries were reported.

Historian Hugh Donlon wrote that Amsterdam boxer “Sailor” Barron directed the Rialto usher corps, “Barron’s ring expertise enabled him to administer fistic anesthesia to potential troublemakers so quietly that there was no awareness of the operation by most patrons.” Bothersome customers were removed to an alleyway north of the theater.

Entrepreneur Edward C. Klapp built the 1,400-seat Rialto in 1917. In 1933, the Rialto became part of Gloversville’s Schine theater chain and was known for stage performances by the likes of Jack Benny and Burns and Allen.

The last traditional movie theater built in Amsterdam was Brant Corporation’s Tryon on East Main Street. The Tryon opened in 1949 on the site of the McGibbon block, which had been leveled by a spectacular fire in 1943.

“Champion,” Amsterdam native Kirk Douglas’s breakthrough boxing movie, was the grand opening attraction. The line to see “Champion” extended onto Church Street, according to local history fan Sam Vomero.

Also in 1949, Schine’s new Mohawk Theater opened on East Main Street, a remodeling of a theater known first as the Lyceum and then the Strand.

Mayor Burtiss E. Deal cut the ribbon for the Mohawk’s opening attraction, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” starring Frank Sinatra. The Fort Johnson Drum Corps played. Tony the performing horse was on hand and there was a motorcade featuring the Amsterdam Rugmakers.

The Rialto, Tryon and Mohawk are long gone, having succumbed to multiplex theater competition.