Take a walk on the Wilder side
By Eliot Sekuler
For the TODAY
Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart, Shirley MacLaine and Gloria Swanson: a glittering pantheon of Golden Age movie stars are coming to Lincoln City’s Bijou Theatre for a special matinée series beginning this Saturday, Oct. 30.
The series offers an opportunity to see truly classic American films by one of the all-time great directors, support important local relief efforts and pay homage to a lover of cinema who lost his life to the COVID-19 virus.
Admission to the four-week Saturday morning film series, Pieter Vijfvinkel’s Billy Wilder Film Festival, is by donation and will raise funds for two local organizations: the Echo Mountain Fire Fund, assisting victims of last year’s Otis fire, and Angels Anonymous, providing one-time financial assistance to North Lincoln County residents in need.
The four films will be shown on successive Saturday mornings and reflect the broad range of Billy Wilder’s remarkable body of work and the versatility of his talent as a writer and director.
They include the comedy “Some Like it Hot,” starring Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, on Oct. 30; followed by five-time Oscar winner “The Apartment,” starring Jack Lemmon, Fred MacMurray and a debut performance by Shirley MacLaine on Nov. 6. The classic film noir “Sunset Boulevard,” with William Holden, Gloria Swanson and Erich Von Stroheim will fill the screen on Nov. 13; and the series will draw to a close with “Sabrina,” starring Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn, on Nov. 20.
Just prior to the first Saturday screening, the Bijou will unveil a memorial plaque in the theater’s lobby, dedicated to a man who loved movies, small independent theaters and the communal experience of watching a film in a room with other people.
Though he would have loved the Bijou, Pieter Vijfvinkel never watched a film there and never sampled their renowned popcorn, because, despite long-standing plans, he never quite made it to the Oregon Coast. Before he could make that visit, Vijfinkel contracted the COVID-19 virus and died in late 2020. October 30 would have been his 65th birthday.
Pieter Vijfvinkel (left) with Jain and Eliot Sekuler
A tall, lanky Dutchman, Vijfvinkel made his home in London for several decades but would travel whenever he could get away from his successful business as a much in-demand builder and painting contractor.
He had many enthusiasms, including long daily walks along the wooded paths and rose gardens of London’s Downhill Park. He was a world traveler, an avid reader of contemporary fiction, a lover of jazz and art and an unwavering supporter of London’s Arsenal football team. He was a frequent movie patron and student of the cinema, especially older cinema. He cultivated an encyclopedic knowledge of classic films, especially American films from the studio era — the films of Billy Wilder in particular.
Vijfvinkel’s cousin, Pieter Bogaards, recalled his late relative’s “exuberant, genuine and infectious love of cinema.”
“There was nothing affected or pretentious about him, or his unimpeachable and encyclopedic knowledge of cinema,” Bogaard said. “He wanted to share the beauty and joy of film, and the cinemas where they are showcased, and have his friends enjoy them as he did. In his home town of den Haag, when we first met in 1975, he took me to a classic theater to see ‘East of Eden’ and later ‘Quo Vadis.’ Before and after seeing the films, and never during, Pieter provided insights and background, enriching my experience immeasurably.”
Bogaard agreed that it is a fitting homage to Vijfvinkel’s zeal that there be a film festival in his name.
“In my mind there will be the voice of Pieter informing and delighting us all with the history of each film,” Bogaard said. “‘Did you know that Marilyn Monroe won a Golden Globe, but not the Oscar, for Best Actress?’ No, I did not. `Are you aware that Billy Wilder also directed ‘Double Indemnity,’ another beloved film which Pieter could recite verbatim?’ That was also news to me.”
When two of Vijfvinkel’s long-time friends moved to Oregon, they told him about the beaches and the rugged coastline near their home in the Siletz Keys and about the many nearby hiking trails through lush green forests. And they told him about the little movie theater in Lincoln City, a classic theater from the 1930s that specializes in showing independent films.
“I’ll come to visit next year,” he said. “As soon as I can get away.”
But in late 2020, the spread of the virus in London turned deadly.
Vijfvinkel’s friends have teamed with the Bijou’s Betsy and Keith Altomare to make some theater improvements in his honor, dedicate the plaque and underwrite the series of Billy Wilder classics.
Widely recognized as one of the all-time-great film writers and directors, the Austrian-born Wilder received 21 Academy Award nominations, winning six. In addition to the films in the Bijou series, Wilder’s classics include the great courtroom drama "Witness for the Prosecution," the great romantic farce, “The Seven Year Itch” and the war drama, “Stalag 17.” He was recognized with the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award in 1986 and, in 1993, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. Ten of his films, including “Some Like it Hot,” The Apartment” and “Sunset Boulevard,” are preserved in the United States National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."
Each film will begin at 11 am at the Bijou Theatre, located at 1624 NE Hwy. 101 in Lincoln City. Assigned seats will be given, to choose a seat prior to each showing, email bijoutheatre541@gmail.com. For more information, go to cinemalovers.com or call 541-992-5399.