Butch and Sundance ride the big screen again

In 1970, my first year of being a civilian after a three-year Army tour, I spent a lot of time at the drive-in. Friday nights were my favorite because, living in San Diego at the time, I could go to any number of theaters — cheaply — from Carlsbad to San Ysidro.

And some of them would run triple-horror/sci-fi bills on Fridays. That’s how I got familiar with the works of Herschell Gordon Lewis and early Wes Craven .

But on other nights I would go to see mainstream movies. And one of the best double bills I ever watched was “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” which between them won five Academy Awards. Maggie Smith , star of the former, won for Best Actress. Besides Oscars for musical score and Best Song, “Butch Cassidy” won for Best Screenplay ( William Goldman ) and Best Cinematography (Conrad L. Hall).

“Butch Cassidy,” of course, is the fictionalized version of the real-life Western train robbers who — as legend has it — ended up being gunned down in Bolivia. Though maybe not . In any event, the movie version — starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Katherine Ross — was one of the best-received movies of 1969.

And thanks to a partnership between Turner Classic Movies and Regal Cinemas, you’ll get a chance to again see George Roy Hill’s film on the big screen. The movie will play at 2 and 7 p.m. Jan. 17 and 20 in Spokane at the NorthTown Mall Stadium 12 and in Coeur d’Alene at the Riverstone Stadium 14 .

The experience would no doubt be worth the price ($13-plus general admission), though I’d prefer if they tossed in the Maggie Smith movie as well. I’m nostalgic that way.