This 100-year-old film poster was discovered in a shed. Now, a movie theatre in Forest is screening it

Film buffs in Lambton Shores are being treated to some classic cinema Thursday evening at the Kineto Theatre in Forest, Ont. 

But it’s not just any film they’ll get to see. Thundering Hoofs has a special connection to the small town. 

A group of volunteers first discovered the movie poster for the film behind the walls of an old shed seven years ago — and decided it was time to screen it this year, a century after its debut.

“We thought we might as well celebrate its 100th birthday,” Dave McLean, the president of the Forest-Lambton Museum.

This voluteer-run movie theatre is screening a silent film 100 years after its debut

3 days ago

Duration 2:46

Dave McLean, the president of the Forest-Lambton Museum, shares why Kineto Theatre in Forest, Ont., is screening Thundering Roofs.

McLean was among the group who found the poster in the shed behind the museum, along with several other vintage film posters.

“We reached up, pulled back a bit of the cardboard, and there was a splash of colour in behind,” McLean said. “It was a bit of a moment.”

Thundering Hoofs is a silent film that made its silver screen debut in 1924. The film is a throwback to the glamour of the silent movie era, featuring saloon music and cut-in captions. 

A window into the past

McLean said the film is a window into the past of the theatre and the town.

“It’s an opportunity to invite people in to see the theatre, just to engage more with the roots of the community.”

It’s an opportunity to invite people in to see the theatre, just to engage more with the roots of the community.– Dave McLean

The owners of the shed were the Rumford Family, whose sons opened and operated the theatre in 1917. McLean suspects that after a film had finished its screening run at the theatre, its poster would be stored at the shed. 

Some of the posters were hidden for more than 100 years, he said.

The group removed 10 of the posters with the help of a conservator, and three of them, including Thundering Hoofs, were mounted and put on display at the Forest-Lambton Museum.

“Sometimes we get caught up in the present and lose sight of the past,” McLean said. “But this poster is a good reminder of the heritage and the history of this community.”

Theatre preserving history

Original equipment the theatre used to project films is still on display upstairs in the movie theatre, including a Kinetoscope, which is where the theatre got its name. There are also instruments used by the theatre band to play music and sound effects to accompany the films.

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“You could make all sorts of neat noises,” said Ruth Illman, a member of the Kiwanis Club of Forest and the chair of the theatre’s fundraising committee. “You could make horses’ hoof sounds, for example.”

The Kiwanis Club of Forest took over the 220-seat theatre in 1977 and has been running it ever since with a group of volunteers. 

Illman said maintaining the legacy of the theatre is only possible because of the support it has received over the years from the community.   

“It’s something that the entire community is very proud of.”