Celebrate National Train Day and Maine’s railroad heritage with “Full Speed Ahead,” a statewide festival of train movies and events taking place May 6-11. A collaboration of 18 non-profit Maine cinemas, museums, and schools, the “Full Speed Ahead” festival will present 24 movies and live activities in 16 locations, from Portland to Waterville, and Bethel to Bucksport. Damariscotta’s historic Lincoln Theater will present two classics as part of the statewide celebration: “North by Northwest,” and “The Harvey Girls.”

Coinciding with National Train Day, on Saturday, May 10 film historian and Lewiston native Mark Griffin will introduce the Oscar-winning 1946 musical “The Harvey Girls,” starring Hollywood favorites Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, and Angela Lansbury, at the Lincoln Theater in Damariscotta at 2 p.m.

“In addition to being a thoroughly enjoyable MGM musical, ‘The Harvey Girls’ also features one of the most memorable train sequences in cinema history,” said Griffin. “When we were deciding which movies to include in our ‘Full Speed Ahead’ festival, ‘The Harvey Girls’ went right to the top of the list as train travel is such an integral part of the story.”

Inspired by the real-life waitresses who staffed entrepreneur Fred Harvey’s chain of railway restaurants in the 1800’s, “The Harvey Girls” salutes the pioneering young women who brought a civilizing influence to the Old West. “Initially, MGM envisioned ‘The Harvey Girls’ as a straight dramatic picture,” said Griffin. “Eventually, however, Metro executives decided that the film would have more potent box office impact as a musical, designing it to showcase the talents of the studio’s brightest star, Judy Garland.”

The movie’s most memorable production number features the Oscar- winning song, “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe,” which ‘The New Yorker’ film critic Pauline Kael hailed as “one of the triumphant sequences in screen musical history.”

“I’m looking forward to paying tribute to National Train Day by introducing this delightful four-star classic," says Griffin, whose most recent book, “All That Heaven Allows: A Biography of Rock Hudson,” inspired a 2023 HBO Max documentary. “As the beautiful Lincoln Theater dates back to the same era as the film’s story, it’s really the perfect venue to house this celebration.” 

Lincoln Theater will also be showcasing the Alfred Hitchcock classic, “North by Northwest,” starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, playing Thursday, May 8 at 7 p.m. with special guest, New York Times-bestselling and award-winning novelist and screenwriter ("Those Who Wish Me Dead"), Michael Koryta. Koryta’s work has been translated into more than 20 languages and has won or been nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Edgar Award, Shamus Award, Barry Award, Quill Award, International Thriller Writers Award, and the Golden Dagger, as well as being selected as “best books of the year” by numerous publications.

Lincoln Theater is located at 2 Theater Street in the heart of Damariscotta. Film tickets: $10 adults and $7 for LT members and youth ages 18 and under, are available in advance through the Lincoln Theater’s online box office at LincolnTheater.org and at the door 30 minutes before showtime.

For more information contact the office at (207)-563-3424 or info@LincolnTheater.org. For additional information on the ‘Full Speed Ahead’ festival, please visit MaineTrainFest.com.