The Museum Center is pleased to host a viewing of the movie, Wild River (1960) and documentary on its filming
May 31 and June 2
The museum will be offering a viewing of the popular movie Wild River on Tuesday, May 31. Then Thursday, June 2, we will debut the newly released Wild River Documentary sponsored by the Cleveland-Bradley County Chamber of Commerce. This documentary, produced by a team from Life Care Centers of America, looks at the making of Wild River and its impact on Cleveland and Bradley County. Both events are free to the public and will be held at 7:00 p.m. We will be open at 6:15 for seating on a first-come, first- served basis and we will sell popcorn and soft drinks!
The year 1959 ushered in a time of great excitement for local residents as movie director, Elia Kazan, brought a piece of Hollywood to Cleveland, Charleston, and Bradley County. A man of innovation, Kazan made a daring move when he sought out ways to bring local realism to the makings of the major motion picture, Wild River. Our local areas became Hollywood East” as the director began setup, cast scores of untried locals in speaking parts, and used countless others as extras in his quest to capture the authenticity of the rural South prior to WWII.
David Swafford, guest curator for last year’s Wild River exhibit, estimates that nearly 200 locals contributed to the film– possibly more locals in its cast than any other film to date!
As a result of the number of locals involved, the movie ingrained itself into the hearts of the people of Bradley County.
Whether they had a part in the movie, or owned the bakery that delivered bread each day for the cast’s lunch or provided the cars and other props for “authenticity,” each and every person involved in the movie feels it is “their movie.”
Wild River was released to the public in 1960 and starred Montgomery Clift, Lee Remick, and Jo Van Fleet.
For more information about the events contact Tracy at the museum at (423) 339-5745.
Dan Lutts
Lisa
Jennifer
rebeccarmiller
