WCC Film Series: Thunderbolt and Lightfoot - August 6, 2025

This summer, the Wachholz College Center is excited to launch the WCC FILM SERIES, an ongoing series featuring a variety of films and film themes throughout each season. Each film will feature a short talk-back to begin the evening, providing the audience with important information and interesting facts about the film(s) they are about to view.

The theme for the summer of 2025 is MADE IN MONTANA - featuring a selection of cinema highlighting several lesser-known movies that were shot under the Big Sky! While production crews often utilize Montana's stunning backgrounds to set the scene before retreating to the comfort of a studio lot, the seven feature films of this summer were created almost entirely in the Treasure State. Therefore, each one taps into the same culture and landscapes we all share and relates it back to us in new and surprising ways. We hope that by curating a lineup of Montana-centric cinema specifically for the community, audiences might find something new and surprising about our home state in each one of these films.

FEATURED FILM:
Title: Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
Year: 1974
Director: Michael Camino
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy
Rated: R (Nudity, Sexuality, Violence, Language)
Run Time: 1 hr 55 min

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, directed by Michael Cimino in his acclaimed debut and starring Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges, is a gripping blend of crime drama, buddy comedy, and a western with modern flair. The film follows “Thunderbolt” (Eastwood), a retired bank robber posing as a preacher, and “Lightfoot” (Bridges), a young drifter who unexpectedly becomes his partner-in-crime. Their chemistry drives the story, moving from high-stakes pursuits to emotional interplay, with Lightning Bolt’s witty banter contrasting Thunderbolt’s stoic world-weariness . Featuring a standout supporting cast—George Kennedy, Geoffrey Lewis, Catherine Bach—and punctuated by car chases and heartfelt moments, the film box-officed impressively, grossing about $25?million on a modest $2–4?million budget, earning Bridges an Oscar nod along the way.

Montana isn't just the backdrop—it’s the very soul of the movie. Filmed entirely on location across Big Sky Country—including Great Falls, Hobson, Ulm, Fort Benton, Augusta, Choteau, and the Gates of the Mountains—the landscapes breathe authenticity into the plot. Iconic scenes unfold by St. John’s Lutheran Church in Hobson, along I-15 near Dearborn (standing in for the fictional Warsaw), and on rivers like the Missouri (misstated as the Snake River in the script) and in national forests where Eastwood’s character tends to his wounds. The film’s visual language—bombastic chases, serene river moments, quaint town streets—reflects Montana’s dual identity as a land of freedom and harshness. Cimino and Eastwood scouted thousands of miles to capture this feel, and the genuine locations—including drive-ins, churches, bars, and authentic roadside landscapes—anchor the characters in a real, tangible frontier.