BY BILL DUELLY
(Photos copyright Bill Duelly. All rights reserved.)
Phil
Lapp remembers being 6 years old and coping with a tinge of disappointment. You see, to be an extra in the movie filming
in his hometown of Strasburg, PA, he had to be 7. So he was relegated to ‘keeping Lukas
occupied’. The movie was Witness. Lukas was Lukas Haas, who was the young boy
that witnessed a murder. It was a big
event for this small Lancaster County community. Han Solo/Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) was in
it, so he would be around as well. Phil’s
dad was an extra, most notably he’s the one in silhouette, after the funeral
scene, driving the cart that Kelly and Lukas are lifting bales of hay
onto. His does cherish those memories of
playing a lot of card games with Lukas while Kelly McGillis looked on and would
occasionally join in.
34
years later, many locals fondly recall the time Hollywood came to Lancaster
County and how many were involved in some peripheral way. The phenomenon has certainly died down, but
for many years, was credited with an unprecedented increase in tourism in the area. Some locations, such as Zimmermans General
Store in Intercourse (yes the actual name of the town) and the surrounding
streets saw frequent tourists, but the farm’s location was usually a closely
guarded secret amongst the natives as deference to the owners who were
initially Mennonite and later Amish (Mennonite allow photos, Amish do not). In fact the Amish community was rather upset
at the time that Hollywood, the well of corrupting influences, would come to
their community to make a movie. They urged
their members not to cooperate with the film in anyway. In fact any Amish in the film are portrayed most
likely by Mennonites (close to Amish but not quite).
Phil
was one such local who is now running a specialized tour service called Lokal Experience. The focus is on small groups and unique
specialized experiences in Lancaster County. On June 15, 2019, Phil and his group hosted a WITNESS Experience, which
was a chance to spend the day, first viewing the movie and then heading off to
the farm for tours and a meal.
The
day started early in the morning at the Zoetropolis Cinema (https://zoetropolis.com/)
located in downtown Lancaster, with a screening of the movie. This writer supplied some artifacts from his
WITNESS collection to be displayed at the theater. Items included: video store display; one
sheet; British and German lobby cards; copy of Co-Producers David Bombyck’s
script; paperback tie-in novel and Academy Award promotional materials such as
screening invites and free soundtracks. The 100 or so participants were treated to the behind the scenes
documentary prior to the screening.
Then
it was off to the farm for filming location tours and lunch. The farm to many
is sacred ground and I could tell that many were in awe at just being
there. The farm is not viewable from the
street, and can only be seen by cresting a long driveway. At end of production Paramount repaved the
road, but the past 34 years have taken their toll on it with various rough
patches but it is still a sight to behold as one crested the hill. Paradoxically, it was the same, but different
as well. The house itself is distinctly different, as it has a stone façade now
and not the white shingles. The birdhouse that Harrison Ford’s car crashes
into, is a replacement, as the screen-used one was stolen from the farm during
the year of the film’s first release.
The
summer kitchen, the white building adjacent to the house, hasn’t been used for
many years. For the production, there
was a walkway built between that building and the house, which had been kept in
place for many years but had been removed for at least 20 years now. The exterior is need of paint and the bushes
around it are rather overgrown, but the bell still works and the inside is
still in remarkably good condition, with many immediately recognizable cabinetry,
sink, etc. The view out the window to
the grape trellis still looks the same, though.
Moving
over to the barn area, that area looks somewhat different now as an extra
section was built on 25 years ago to allow for a larger area for more cow
stalls. The stalls are empty now as local
dairy farmers are experiencing shrinking prices and therefore many have sold
off their herds. It is here though, that the silo still stands. It hasn’t been used for some time; the door
is in 2 pieces inside it, and there are some bird nests on the narrow ladder
leading to the top (word was that some of the silo footage was shot separately
under a controlled setup at an abandoned factory in Lancaster city, which is
also where the bathroom murder scene was filmed.)
The
big surprise was to be found in the upper level of the barn. Heading around the corner to the upper level
doors, was the original, light blue Volkswagen Sedan! IT was literally located just a few days
before the event and it is for sale as well! Arrangements were made to get it brought down for the event. The inspection tag still reads 1984; the
birdhouse dent and cracked windshield still in evidence and overall, in very
good condition. Hardly looking like 35
years had passed since its last scenes were filmed, the car was prominently
featured in local TV news reports.
The
event then wrapped with a trivia contest as well a delicious Amish meal
patterned after the one at the film’s barn raising scene… lemonade, fried chicken, fresh vegetables and for desert whoopi pies
and shoofly pies
This
event was well-received by all who attended and they look forward to other
local customized events.
If
you are planning on visiting Lancaster County, by all means look into
customized tours through Lokal Experiences. Their website with info is: lokalexperiences.com
If
you have any interest in the Volkswagen Sedan, which is for sale, contact Eric
at 215-853-7346. The website on the car is: https://barnfinds.com/movie-car-vw-squareback-from-witness/