By Bill Reynolds
La Conner Community News
Movie fans have long known that anything is possible in Hollywood.
Ten years ago, the same was true of La Conner, which then served as the setting for a hilariously off-beat indie comedy film featuring legendary Las Vegas performer Pete “Big Elvis” Vallee and a supporting cast brimming with local talent.
The enduring popularity of “La Conner P.D.: The Big Elvis File” is reflected in the large turnout for its special 10th anniversary re-release at the Lincoln Theatre in June and more than 400 views — and counting — of the truly one-of-a-kind project on YouTube.
“They told us that it was one of their best attended events,” La Conner Waterfront Cafe co-owner Guy Vallee, Big Elvis’s brother and the film’s scriptwriter, said of the downtown Mount Vernon showing.
Vallee wrote the script in about six months, placing the story in late 1970s La Conner, which then had a police force — the only one in the country, in fact, whose fleet was composed of compact Renault patrol cars.
The film was produced as a tribute to Pete Vallee upon his being honored with a star on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars for acclaimed Elvis Presley impersonations at the Harrah’s Casino Piano Bar. The plot developed by Guy Vallee centers on two Vegas cops (one of which is portrayed by Vallee himself) who seek refuge in La Conner where they cross paths with Big Elvis.
“In the movie,” Vallee said, “he (Big Elvis) has a knack for showing up at the right time and fixing things.”
Throughout the film, Big Elvis saves the day with his music by breaking into favorite tunes by the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Vallee built the cast for “La Conner P.D.” from among friends and community members. Most had no acting experience. Many were nervous. But not Mayor Ramon Hayes, whose role allowed him to act naturally. Hayes portrayed La Conner’s ‘70s era mayor.
“Ramon knocked it out of the park,” Vallee recalls. “He had us laughing. Everybody settled down after Ramon came on board.”
Hayes, like his fellow castmates, has countless fond memories of acting in the movie. He was then midway through four terms at Town Hall.
“It was a magical time in the community,” Hayes remembers. “It was the pre-COVID era. I wish we could go back to it.”
Vallee said Hayes, dressed in a period cream leisure suit accented with a gold chain, perfected the kind of voice one would expect of a big city mayor.
Hayes, though, is somewhat critical of his performance.
“Let’s just say,” he chuckled, “that I wish I’d rehearsed more.”
Initially, Wayne Jones was a reluctant cast member.
“I’m actually a shy person,” he explained.
Vallee wouldn’t take no for an answer. He assigned Jones the role of Capt. Wayne, modeled after ‘70s game show host Chuck Barris, for a scene depicting a “La Gong Show” episode.
The “La Gong Show” announcer was played by Ashlyn Reinstra, the La Conner High and Skagit Valley College soccer standout then in the midst of a successful leukemia battle.
“I didn’t know Ashlyn at the time,” said Jones, relating that Reinstra was so weakened at that point in her treatment that she needed him to help keep her from falling on stage.
“I respect her so much,” Jones said of Reinstra, “for her to come out and do what she did.”
Vallee wanted Reinstra to be in the movie and noted that her grandmother, longtime Pioneer Market employee Mary Stroebel, assured him that “Ashlyn was really looking forward to doing the part.”
“The neat thing about all that is that today Ashlyn works in health care,” Vallee said.
Vallee scored a major coup by securing a LeCar for him and co-star Greg Korsgreen to use in patrol scenes.
“Everybody, all the locals, had a story about when La Conner Police used the LeCars here,” Vallee said.
The film includes two other classic vehicles — an Adam 12-style patrol car and a restored 1962 Ford Falcon.
Vallee’s wife, Marla, served as a producer of the film and appeared in a scene as a receptionist at the La Conner Country Inn. That locale held great significance for the Vallees as they had honeymooned there.
Together, the couple made sure the La Conner frontprint for the movie was enhanced by both the main cast and a host of local extras. The finished product was a triumph for La Conner fashioned by its residents.
“That was the beauty of it,” Vallee said. “The people who wanted to get involved in the project got to do so.”
Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
