"That’s the Last Straw" Film Screening

From the late 1930s into the mid-1970s, Melton Barker ventured to different towns around the country making iterations of the same film titled The Kidnappers Foil. Melton Barker Productions would contact a local movie theater and a local newspaper to sponsor the production of the film.

A casting call for local children would go out and parents would be encouraged to fill out applications that were printed in the newspaper or picked up in the theater. After brief rehearsals, filming would begin. There was also a variation of this project titled That’s the Last Straw, with the only known version in existence being shot in Duluth, Minnesota in 1938 with a cast of kids from Minnesota’s Greatest Generation.

Join us for a screening of That’s the Last Straw followed by a conversation with digital media archivist Joseph Larsen. Larsen will provide historical context around the production of the film in Duluth, Minnesota, insight into Melton Barker’s creative process, and information about the Minnesota Historical Society’s partnership with the Library of Congress to scan the original nitrate film for digital preservation.

Free Minnesota History Center admission and parking is available every Thursday from 4 pm-8 pm. Screening starts at 7:00 in the 3M Auditorium.

Host or Publisher Minnesota Historical Society