The Heart of Rushville, along with Radio Shack, is bringing another classic to the big screen Friday, July 31: “The Day the Earth Stood Still.”

“Sixty-nine years ago, this movie premiered on The Princess screen,” Joseph Rathz said. “So, it's cool to bring it back”

The sci-fi classic was originally released on Sept. 18, 1951, by 20th Century Fox in black and white. The screenplay was written by Edmund H. North, based on the 1940 science fiction short story "Farewell to the Master," by Harry Bates. According to Wikipedia, the film's storyline involves a “humanoid alien visitor named Klaatu that comes to Earth, accompanied by a powerful eight-foot tall robot, Gort, to deliver an important message that will affect the entire human race.”

Forty-four years later in 1995, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

The film brought $1.85 million in US theatrical rentals when originally released. Today, watching the classic helps to provide funding for Christmas on Main, thanks to Mark Osborne and Radio Shack, who are sponsoring the movie this week. So far, the Heart of Rushville has been able to raise around $1,100 from sponsorships to put towards the Christmas event, but lost several months with the theaters being shut down.

“We have four more movies over the next two weeks,” Rathz said. “Including a ‘Wine and Women’ movie.”

The movie starts at 7 p.m. and all seats are $5.