THOMSON FALLS - During Christmas in 1939, the Rex Theater opened in Thomspon Falls. Now, more than 90 years later, it’s still hosting Christmas on Main Street in the same, historical building.
The Rex has gone through many owners throughout the years, but when it was forced to go digital in 2014, it stopped showing movies. Debbie and Eric Wilson bought the theater in 2020 with the goal to change that.
The couple showed their first digital film this year and will now continue to show new releases.
The Wilsons moved to Thompson Falls in 2017 and knew immediately that they wanted to give back to the community.
“Both Deb and I, through our life, have always been volunteer-type people, we’re very community-oriented,” Eric says. “When we moved here, and they just enveloped us here–it’s just a beautiful community here. And it was like, we just have to help.”
Debbie decided renovating the theater would be the perfect way to contribute. While Eric had prior experience operating theaters in Libby, he needed lots of convincing to hop on board.
“I said it’s not a very lucrative business — you spend hundreds of hours a week, cleaning. But she kind of talked me into it,” he says.
Once Debbie set her sights on the theater, the only option she had was to succeed. Especially when she heard the alternative was bulldozing the building or turning it into something else entirely.
“I am a very very sore loser, so I wasn’t about to go down without a fight,” she says.
The Wilsons knew going into it that the theater wouldn’t make them rich and the renovations wouldn’t be easy. Still, while working full-time jobs on top of running a cinema, there were times the couple couldn’t see the path forward.
“We should not be standing sometimes because we are so exhausted,” Debbie says.
They didn’t find the path alone. A grant from the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation allowed the couple to buy a digital projector, though it still took quite a while to find one.
“That was our one promise. We will bring digital movies back to Thompson Falls,” Debbie says.
Charles Munday, a friend and electrician, has helped the couple with logistics along the way, including lighting up the marquee. He never hesitated when he was asked to help.
“It was just the right thing to do, and so we did this for the county,” he says.
Munday’s own childhood theater was closed for urban development, so he wanted to do anything he could to prevent the same in Thompson Falls.
“Everyone here is really heartfelt, happy, you get along with 95% of the people, so I just didn’t want to lose that again,” he says.
The local Elks Lodge, Limberlost Brewing Company, Premier Doors, Blackfoot Communications, True Value Hardware and other organizations have supported the renovation efforts.
A stranger donated an entire sound system, and a local elderly woman dedicated a five-year endowment to support the theater. Every savior has come at a time when the couple did not know if they would succeed.
“It has always been, from the time we formed this 501c, it’s been a god thing. And I don’t mean that lightly. When we felt ‘what do we do now, like where do we go?’ something has happened that has enabled,” Debbie says.
The Wilsons’ management plan was largely inspired by the Harlowton Theater Project, in Harlowton, Montana, which has high school students run the theater as hands-on business experience.
The Rex Theater has already used the students as builders for the concession stand, but Debbie and Eric plan to also encourage them to run most of the operations.
They also recruit kids from the Antlers Programto work nights at the theater.
“You want to provide something that’s wholesome, and a safe environment for the children,” Munday says.
The theater shows movies on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, but also has annual live events, including Christmas on Main Street, Music for Moms and Fly Fishing for Fathers.
The next showings include Barbie, Spiderman and the Sound of Freedom. More information on their upcoming showings and events can be found their website, or by calling 406-827-FILM.
They also have a volunteer form on the website for anyone who wants to help in their efforts.
