The Last Picture Show was the 1971 film adaptation of Larry McMurtry’s novel of the same name. McMurtry’s 1966 release was the first of five books McMurtry wrote about life in Texas. Other McMurtry books related to “The Last Picture Show” are “Texasville,” “Duane’s Depressed,” “When the Light Goes Out” and “Rhino Ranch.” “Texasville” was also adapted to a film.
In “The Last Picture Show,” McMurty wrote about teens and families who lived in a fictional town called Thalia, Texas. Set in 1951 and 1952, the novel is called a “coming of age” tale in a dying small town. McMurtry, as many know, was born in Archer City in North Texas. His father was born in nearby Windthorst. The book is considered to be semi-autobiographical, as McMurtry and his family lived for many years in Archer City. Larry graduated from high school there in 1954 and returned many times. The novel gets its name from the imminent closing of Thalia’s only movie theater. The novel’s teen characters are high school friends Sonny, Duane and Jacy who navigate relationships, adolescence, loneliness, morality and moral ambiguity, boredom, impetuosity, passage to adulthood and life in a small town. The film is rated “R.” There are strong and sometimes explicit adult themes and situations that could be offensive. Potential viewers should view comments online for more information.
McMurtry is thought to have written the screenplay, though Peter Bogdanovich is listed with writing credits as well. Bogdanovich is credited for spearheading the project and directing the film. He assembled a large cast of now well known actors including Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd (in her debut on screen performance), Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman, Ellen Burstyn, Eileen Brennan, Randy Quaid and many others.
Bogdanovich changed the name of the town from Thalia to Anarene. There were other theories about where the name came from, but Anarene is actually the name of a ghost town in Archer County about six miles north of Archer City. The former town of Anarene, once on a stagecoach line, was named for the wife of a local pioneer rancher. The name of main character Duane Moore in the book is Duane Jackson in the film.
Other differences between the book and the film had to do with deleting characters and scenes that appeared in the book, for the sake of running time. The logic of how they approached this is likely typical of such an adaptation. The approach is interesting, such as eliminating all but essential scenes in the book that involve the main characters and which took place at locations that were close to Thalia. McMurtry once remarked that a “rule of thumb” was that one page of typewritten script usually translates to one minute of dialogue, but that he needed to cut about one third of his early script to pare it down to the two hour running time desired for the film.
Larry McMurtry referenced the making of this film in his third book of memoirs called “Hollywood” and said that he wrote the novel in about one month. The book went to press in 1965 and was released the next year. The film rights were first optioned to another interested party who did not act on it. The author said that Bogdanovich called him around 1970 to express interest in bringing the novel to the screen. Bogdanovich had been given a copy of the novel by actor Sal Mineo. McMurtry met with Bogdanovich a number of times before the project got approved and began in earnest.
Bogdanovich and his wife flew in to Texas and McMurtry took them to eat at a favorite restaurant of his in Ponder, Texas called Ranchman’s Cafe. The venue closed in 2023 but was said to also be the place where McMurtry got the name Lonesome Dove after reading it on the side of a church bus. It was quite a popular restaurant and remained in business under only about two owners for 75 years. It was decorated with photos of numerous actors and actresses on the walls. There has been some recent speculation that the restaurant might reopen under new management, but as of this writing it is said to be “permanently closed.”
After their meal, McMurtry drove them to Archer City, just over 100 miles to the west. One of their first sights was to see the old Royal Theater which had suffered a fire in 1965. The old theater dates back to 1929 and is located directly across the street from the Archer County Court House. At the time, the Royal Theater was only a shell. Some of the exterior walls had fallen in. In his memoirs, McMurtry mentions that the opening shot in the movie takes place right where the three of them were standing when they visited that day. He added that they did some driving, scouting locations, including an effort to find a nearby town with a movie theater that was still in operation.
Filming took place in Archer City, Olney, Wichita Falls and Holliday, Texas and some scenes shot on a set. McMurtry noted that the other three Texas locations were all within thirty miles of Archer City. The Archer City locations included the high school and numerous passing scenes. Olney locations included the medical center and the interior of the movie theater. Wichita Falls locations included the swimming pool scenes and others. Holliday locations included a residence. The movie was shot in black and white.
The film was released in October of 1971 after a debut performance in the northeast one month earlier. The release was in time for the following year’s Academy Award nominations. The film received nominations for Best Picture, four nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Director, Best Writing – Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium and Best Cinematography. Cloris Leachman won for her role as the coach’s wife, Ben Johnson won for his role as the local businessman who operated the town’s theater and McMurtry and Bogdanovich won for best writing. It is very rare for the female and male best supporting actor winners to have appeared in the same film. Its competition included “The French Connection,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “A Clockwork Orange” and others.
The film was a great financial success, grossing many times its production cost. It inspired a strong movement to restore the old Royal Theater in Archer City. That effort was finally begun in the 1990s. The theater reopened in August of 2000, in commemoration of the 35th anniversary of the fire. The marquee exterior was finished out as it appeared in the film. It is still an open air venue but has regular events. It no longer screens films but hosts other types of performances.
Archer City is still a town with one traffic light, a flashing stoplight, but the town has survived over fifty years since the book and film were released. The town’s population has recently been around 1,800. Larry McMurtry once had a used bookstore there called “Booked Up.” After he died, it remained in operation for a few years. The location now hosts the Larry McMurtry Literary Center.
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