Missouri Historical Society hosted a St. Louis film retrospective

What is St. Louis' place in the film industry? What unique qualities does the city offer Hollywood filmmakers? How has the image of St. Louis been affected by the movies, and how has this image changed through the years?

These questions were the focus of "St. Louis in the Movies," a "Where We Live" presentation hosted by the Missouri Historical Society, located at 225 South Skinker Blvd. The two-hour presentation, featuring movie clips from several movies made in or about the city, was held Thursday night at 7 p.m. Carrie Houk, casting director and former consultant to the St. Louis Film Office, moderated the event. A wide variety of films were showcased, including "Meet Me in St. Louis," "Escape from New York," and "Larger Than Life." Over 200 people attended the standing room-only event, many of them actors, writers, producers and extras in the movies presented.

Carrie Houk said that one of the great attributes of St. Louis in filmmaking is that it can double for several other cities. She also mentioned that the city works quite well for period pieces, because of its architecture and many historical landmarks. But very few movies have been filmed entirely in St. Louis, so life in St. Louis is seldom depicted on the big screen. Monuments like the Arch, the Eads Bridge and Union Station make for pretty pictures in traveling scenes, but they can't be used for an entire movie.

One movie that made great use of St. Louis' crumbling inner city and neglected landmarks was John Carpenter's 1980 thriller "Escape From New York." The Chain of Rocks Bridge, Union Station, and Fox Theater all combined to give Carpenter that burnt-out, apocalyptic look.

"St. Louis has came a long way since the making of "Escape From New York,'" Houk said. "We ought to be proud of ourselves."

Although Houk was not involved in "Escape From New York," she was a casting director for several other movies made in St. Louis. Among the films she is most proud of are "King of the Hill" and "Larger than Life." The former is based on A.E. Hochner's childhood memoirs. Most of the film was shot in St. Charles, but parts were shot in the steep, hilly streets of Alton, Ill.

"It's a beautiful movie,Ó Houk said. ÒNot many people have seen it, but it ended up on many criticsÕ top-10 lists.Ó

The other film, "Larger Than Life," made in 1996 and starring Bill Murray, gives Houk a sense of pride in knowing that she played a part in bringing it to St. Louis.

The community really banded together to get this movie made in St. Louis," she said. "It will never win any awards, but we had fun."

Houk said that one of the reasons so few major motion pictures have been filmed in St. Louis is because the St. Louis Film Office got off to a slow start, due to a lack of funds from the community itself. The St. Louis Film office is an economic development office whose purpose it is to bring feature films and television and commercial productions into the area. The film office is a non-profit corporation funded by St. Louis city, county and the Convention and Visitors Commission and Civic Progress. In its 10 year existence, less than 10 major motion pictures have been filmed in the St. Louis area.

Jim Leonis, the office's executive director, said he doesn't know why the beautiful gateway city hasn't made more appearances on the big screen.

"It seems to me that St. Louis, being the great city that it is, would attract a greater number of filmmakers," Leonis said. "Hopefully, with our office out there actively working to bring those movies in, we'll see more movies. We have a lot of great locations here. It's a beautiful old city and the surrounding countryside and small towns are diverse."

Currently, there are no major motion pictures slated for production in St. Louis. But given the interest and enthusiasm shown at last week's presentation at the Missouri Historical Society, the film scene in St. Louis could change very soon.

The Missouri Historical Society hosts several arts-related programs for people of all ages. During the 1997-'98 program season the Saint Louis Urban Forum and "Where We Live" will present two program packages each month on topics such as art, literature, music and sports. February is theater month, featuring "St. Louis on Stage" and Theater History Bus Tour. "St. Louis on Stage" will be presented Feb. 26 from 7-9 p.m. The event is free. the Theater History Bus Tour will meet at the History Museum at 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 21. Cost is $20 for the general public and $15 for Missouri Historical Society members.

For more information, call the Missouri Historical Society at (314)361-9265.