Ilwaco Timberland Library
It’s been many a year since I’ve had a date with friends for a Saturday afternoon matinee. And never, I think, at a library. But, so it was yesterday when Nyel and I met friends Michael and Petra from Astoria at the Ilwaco Timberland Library to see “The Boys of ‘36” – a documentary based on The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown.
It was the perfect day for the movies! Cold, rainy, blustery – one of those ominous days you didn’t quite want to face up to. Summer, even Indian Summer, was definitely gone. It was a day to hunker close to the fire or…to have a movie/coffee date.
Lots of other people must have felt the same way. It was crowded in the viewing room. Librarian Susan Carney even had to pull out more chairs from the storage cupboard. It might have felt almost cozy except for the fact that the room was chilly. But as soon as the film started, we were all transported back to 1936 — the year I was born!
The Book
We watched footage from newsreels, still photos, interviews with the adult children of ‘the boys’ as well as with author Brown and several historians and journalists. Though I had read the book, I was anxious and teary by turns. In fact, though the documentary was only an hour long, I left feeling (almost) that the book could have been based on it, rather than the other way around. And, in a weird sort of way, it probably was.
It took Brown six years to write the book, beginning with many hours of conversation with Joe Rantz, one of the two remaining ‘boys.’ He also went to Berlin to have a first-hand look at the archives for the 1936 Olympics and looked up the contemporary news stories and film footage. Indeed, “Brown steps into the boat with the boys” was the title of an article posted on World Rowing, the official website of the International Rowing Federation.
The Boys in the Boat
The only part I wished had been illuminated a bit further was the role of George Yeomans Pocock, designer and builder of racing shells. He held a pivotal place in Brown’s book. I will be interested in seeing more of him in the full-length movie which, I understand, was cast last April. (Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame is to play coxswain Bob Moch.)
And… when the movie does come out, I hope we can double date with M&P again. Michael, himself a rower, had some fascinating bits of information about the almost unbelievable athletic feat that those boys managed back in 1936. It rounded out the experience. All in all, it was a rainy afternoon well spent!
Hi Sydney:
Thanks for this. I didn’t now about the documentary. I’ll see if it’s available anywhere close to here.
Loved the book and we’re looking forward to seeing the movie.