The Incredible Journey premiere

The marquee on premiere night: "World Premiere Tonight — Walt Disney's Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford"

The premiere of The Incredible Journey was the gala home-town launch of the 1963 Walt Disney film, held on Monday 4 November 1963 in Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay). The film was adapted from the 1961 novel The Incredible Journey by Port Arthur author Sheila Burnford, who lived at 34 Winnipeg Avenue and wrote the book at her camp on West Loon Lake. Billed as a world premiere and the city's first, it filled both the Odeon Theatre and the Paramount Theatre and was marked by a parade, marching bands, pipers, and Hollywood-style searchlights that swept the night sky.

The premiere

Port Arthur News-Chronicle, 2 November 1963: "World Premiere Here on Monday"

According to the Port Arthur News-Chronicle, the film was premiered "in Port Arthur theatres" on the Monday, with "movie and television personalities, marching bands and cheer leaders" lending "Hollywood glitter to the momentous event." The Canadian television personality Tommy Tweed acted as master of ceremonies for the stage presentations, and the film's director, Fletcher Markle, appeared on stage to speak about the filming and to present Mrs. Burnford. Pipers paraded celebrities down the theatre aisles before the stage presentation, while local bands not taking part in the parade were placed at the Odeon–Paramount intersection "to add color."

Sheila Burnford at the microphone on premiere night

Residents remember the evening as a major civic event, with limousines, formal evening gowns, and searchlights set up beside the theatre that criss-crossed the sky and could be seen for miles, including from Hillcrest Park. The Port Arthur Collegiate Institute (PACI) band was among those that played in the parade. Proceeds from ticket sales went to the Thunder Bay United Appeal.

A welcoming committee met special guests arriving from Toronto at the Lakehead airport on the morning of the premiere, and the out-of-town guests were feted at a reception in the Prince Arthur Hotel following the film showing. Coverage was provided by local news media, television crews from Duluth, and the CBC.

Venues

Crowds at the theatre entrance beneath a "Three Against the Wilderness!" banner and Union Jacks

The packed house and the party on stage, reported as the "City's First Premiere"

The screening itself took place at the Odeon Theatre and the Paramount Theatre; the 1963 newspaper coverage refers to "Port Arthur theatres" and to the "Odeon–Paramount intersection," and filmmaker Kelly Saxberg has said the premiere was large enough to run at both houses, which accounts for attendees variously remembering one theatre or the other. The Prince Arthur Hotel was the site of the reception for visiting dignitaries afterward, not of the screening.

The film

Premiere handbill: attendance "will help your United Appeal"

The Incredible Journey (1963) was produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista, adapted from Burnford's novel about two dogs and a Siamese cat that find their way home across the Canadian wilderness. The animal leads were Bodger the bull terrier, Luath the Labrador retriever, and Tao the Siamese cat; the human cast was led by Emile Genest, John Drainie, and Sandra Scott.

Legacy

In 2024 the Thunder Bay Memories Facebook group and filmmaker Kelly Saxberg marked the anniversary by screening the original Disney film at the Paramount Theatre, paired with a short version of Saxberg's documentary Long Walk Home: The Incredible Journey of Sheila Burnford. The same year, the Thunder Bay Museum mounted a major exhibit on Burnford and her work.

Gallery

• 
  The Odeon Theatre's newspaper advertisement — "the first motion picture to have its world premiere in the Lakehead".
• 
  Sheila Burnford arriving in evening dress on premiere night.
• 
  Burnford interviewed for radio station CKPR.
• 
  Burnford interviewed for radio station CJLX outside the theatre.