The 1939 high school staple Lost on a Mountain in Maine is hitting the big screen nationwide.

PORTLAND, Maine — Most Maine schoolchildren know about the boy who disappeared for more than a week in 1939 after climbing the state’s highest mountain. Now the rest of the United States is being drawn into this story.

Discovery in 650 movie in theaters Friday, “Lost on a Mountain in Maine” tells the heartbreaking story of a 12-year-old boy. Donn Fendlerwho spent nine days on Mount Katahdin and the surrounding wilderness before being rescued. The riveting story of survival captured national attention in the days leading up to World War II, and the boy’s tenacity earned him a Presidential Award.

For decades, Fendler and Joseph B. Egan’s book, published the same year as the rescue, was required reading in many Maine classrooms, as was third-grade teacher Kimberly Nielsen’s book.

“I love that the theme is that Donn never gave up. He just never gives up. It goes away and goes away,” said Nielsen, a teacher at Crooked River Elementary School in Casco, who has also read the book several times with her children.

Separated from his hiking group in bad weather atop Mount Katahdin, Fendler used techniques he learned as a Boy Scout to survive. He made his way through the woods to the East Branch of the Penobscot River, where he was found more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) from where he started. Battered and cut, hungry, without pants or shoes, he lived for nine days eating berries and lost 15 pounds (7 kilograms).

The boy’s danger prompted a massive manhunt and made headlines in newspapers and late-night radio broadcasts. Hundreds of volunteers came to the region to help.

The film is based on the children’s book, Fendler told Egan, using additional interviews and archival footage to highlight the importance of family, faith and community during difficult times, according to director Andrew Budhu Kightlinger.

“These are strange times in the country. You know, there are political differences, society is a little on the edge, and all that. And I thought, here’s a movie that reminds people of the power of community, the power of caring for your neighbors. And the themes were so simple and simple. And for some reason, we are sometimes reminded of these things,” he said.

The film brings a vintage vibe to the big screen.

Filming took place in the woods of upstate New York, where the crew battled insects and waded through shoulder-deep water to film canoe scenes. Other scenes were filmed on Mount Katahdin and on a replica of the mountain’s peak built on a sound stage with lichen-covered granite rocks, blowing wind, rain and lightning.

The film features a distraught family, as well as a frightened boy played by Luke David Blumm. His father is played by Paul Sparks (House of Cards, Boardwalk Empire). Taking on the role of Mom Donna is Maine native Caitlin Fitzgerald (“Masters of Sex,” “Legacies”), who read the book and met Fendler as a girl.

Fitzgerald is not the only Miner involved in the film. Producer Ryan Cook, who also grew up in Maine, collaborated with fellow Mainer Dick Boyes. Both were familiar with the book, and Cook had become close to Fendler and had previously made a documentary about him.

Sylvester Stallone Balboa Productions took on the project because it loved the story of a plucky underdog.

Kightlinger, who invited Katahdin to audition to direct the film, said adventure stories are a dime a dozen. He feels that this case was made even stronger by the backstory of the difficulties Donne and his father faced.

“Ultimately it’s about a child who just wants to be hugged by his dad,” Kightlinger said. “It’s such a pure and simple message and I think more films should strive to just do that and remind people of the simple things because there’s a lot of noise in our world right now and the simple things sometimes get lost.”

Nielsen said the story is both gripping and practical. In her class, the book inspires discussions about geography, plants and wildlife; preparation and survival skills; and resilience in the face of adversity.

Her teenage son learned a valuable lesson from the book: stay together in the wilderness.

A few weeks ago, a 16-year-old teenager went hiking on Mount Katahdin with friends. Rising above the trees, they were crossing the rocks when a storm broke out. All three made the difficult decision as a group to turn back.

“My son wanted to keep moving forward, but he knew they needed to stay together. He learned this lesson from the book. I am 100% sure,” she said.