Murphy’s Town Hall Athenry 81 to explore the theme of a sheriff defending his town against belligerent outlaw elements, following after Rio Bravo (1959) and El Dorado (1966), all 3 starred John Wayne. Rio Lobo was the last film made by Hawks. 148 25th March 1973 – They Call Me Mister Tibbs!, a 1970 crime drama film starring Sidney Poitier, Martin Landau, Barbara McNair and Edward Asner was screened in the Hall (source: a Hall Notepad, also a General Films Distributors letter dated 17th January 1973). This film was a sequel to In the Heat of the Night (1967), a line from which this film’s title was taken. 1st April 1973 – Barquero, a 1970 Western starring Lee Van Cleef, Warren Oates and Forrest Tucker was screened in the Hall (source: a Hall Notepad, also a General Films Distributors letter dated 17th January 1973). 8th April 1973 – Planet of the Apes, a 1968 Sci-Fi movie starring Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter and Linda Harrison was screened in the Hall (source: a Hall Notepad, also a General Films Distributors letter dated 17th January 1973). The film was based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des Singes by Pierre Boulle. 15th April 1973 – 633 Squadron, a 1964 WWII movie starring Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris, and Maria Perschy was screened in the Hall (source: a Hall Notepad, also a General Films Distributors letter dated 17th January 1973). 22nd April 1973 – Adventures of Robin Hood, was again screened in the Hall, this time along with Batman (aka Batman: The Movie), a 1966 movie spinoff from the TV series, starring Adam West, Burt Ward and Lee Meriwether (source: a Hall Notepad, also a General Films Distributors letter dated 17th January 1973). 149 29th April 1973 – Lawman, a 1971 Western starring Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Lee J. Cobb and Robert Duvall was screened in the Hall (source: a Hall Notepad, also a General Films Distributors letter dated 17th January 1973). 6th May 1973 – Hello Dolly! a 1969 Musical Comedy starring Barbra Streisand, Walter Matthau, Michael Crawford, Danny Lockin, Tommy Tune, Fritz Feld, Marianne McAndrew, E. J. Peaker and Louis Armstrong was screened in the Hall (source: a Hall Notepad, also a General Films Distributors letter dated 17th January 1973). The film, based on the 1964 Broadway Musical of the same name, was directed by Gene Kelly. 13th May 1973 – Big Jake, a 1971 Western starring John Wayne, Richard Boone, Maureen O'Hara, Patrick Wayne, Christopher Mitchum, Glenn Corbett, Jim Davis, John Agar, Harry Carey Jr and Hank Worden was screened in the Hall (source: a Hall Notepad, also a General Films Distributors letter dated 17th January 1973). John Wayne plays Jacob McCandles: “They wanted gold, he gave them lead instead.” 20th May 1973 – Thunderball, a 1965 Bond movie, starring Sean Connery, was screened in the Hall (source: a Hall Notepad, also a General Films Distributors letter dated 17th January 1973). 27th May 1973 – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a 1969 Western starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Ted Cassidy and Cloris Leachman was screened in the Hall (source: a Hall Notepad, also a General Films Distributors letter dated 17th January 1973 & a GFD Invoice dated 23rd May 1973). 3rd June 1973 – The Girl on the Boat, a 1962 Comedy, based on the 1922 PG Wodehouse novel of the same name, starring Norman Wisdom, Millicent Martin and Richard Briers was screened in the Hall (source: a Hall Notepad). 20th July 1973 – Unfortunately due to a gap in the available records, we have no info on activities in the Hall in July 1973 but, in other Athenry news of the time, page 7 of the Connacht Tribune of this date, reported as follows, under the heading Church To Be Museum: 148 This screening was on St Patrick’s Day. John Wayne’s real name was Marion Robert Morrison and his nickname was The Duke. 149 This movie was screened on Easter Sunday 1973. Adventures of Robin Hood had been previously screened in the Hall in June 1957 and April 1965.
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