Dundee Theater Marks Centennial with ‘Empire Strikes Back’ Screening

The historic Dundee Theater will screen “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” this weekend as part of its centennial celebration, while highlighting the contributions of a groundbreaking female screenwriter whose work helped shape the beloved sequel.

Film Streams, which operates the theater, is marking the venue’s 100th anniversary with the “Dundee Hundee” series, featuring films from different decades of cinema history. This weekend’s 1980s selection comes with a special tribute to Leigh Brackett, the largely unrecognized screenwriter who penned the first draft of “The Empire Strikes Back.”

The screenings will include a message about Film Streams’ See Change initiative, which spotlights women and nonbinary filmmakers behind popular movies. Brackett, known as the “Queen of Space Opera,” wrote the initial script for the 1980 blockbuster shortly before her death in 1978.

“Brackett’s story is a reminder that the galaxy of Star Wars, and Hollywood itself, was influenced by women whose contributions continue to be woefully underrecognized,” said Kitty Tyree, Communications Lead at Film Streams.

Long before George Lucas created the Star Wars universe, Brackett had established herself as a pioneer in science fiction and screenwriting. She wrote imaginative space opera stories in the 1940s and 1950s before transitioning to Hollywood, where director Howard Hawks hired her to adapt Raymond Chandler’s “The Big Sleep.” That 1946 film noir paired Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall and launched Brackett’s successful screenwriting career.

Brackett continued collaborating with Hawks on Western films and later worked with director Robert Altman on “The Long Goodbye,” the 1973 Chandler adaptation starring Elliott Gould. When Lucas sought help crafting the sequel to his 1977 hit “Star Wars,” he turned to the experienced screenwriter.

Though later revisions came from Lawrence Kasdan and Lucas himself, Brackett’s original draft contributed to what became one of cinema’s most acclaimed sequels. The film raised the emotional stakes of the Star Wars saga and remains a cultural touchstone more than four decades later.

“By spotlighting Brackett through our See Change initiative, we want audiences to see ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ not just as a cultural landmark, but as part of a larger story — one that includes women like Brackett, whose creativity continues to ripple through the movies we love,” Tyree said.

The Dundee Theater opened in 1925 and has served as a neighborhood institution through multiple ownership changes and renovations. Film Streams took over operations in recent years and has worked to preserve the theater’s historic character while updating its programming.

“The Empire Strikes Back” will screen Saturday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 21, at 1 p.m. The monthly series will continue featuring films from different decades throughout the theater’s centennial year.

The See Change initiative represents Film Streams’ broader effort to recognize overlooked contributors to cinema history, particularly women and underrepresented filmmakers whose work shaped the movies that continue to influence popular culture.

For more information about the Dundee Hundee series and upcoming screenings, visit the Film Streams website.