"Lights, Camera, Carolina: Making Movies in the Palmetto State"

Columbia, SC - September 1, 2007
Our friend, Frank Thompson, is serving as curator of a museum exhibit called "Lights, Camera, Carolina: Making Movies in the Palmetto State" scheduled to open at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia in January, 2008. Last year, Frank worked with the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum to mount an exhibit called “Texas Movies.” It was a great success..

That success made him start thinking about doing a similar exhibit in South Carolina. Since most of his family lives in South Carolina (the state where he was born and reared), he thought that would be the perfect location — especially since no one has ever done such an exhibit acknowledging the long, rich history of filmmaking in SC.

Luckily, the folks at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia agreed and so they’ve all set to work finding props, costumes and other memorabilia connected with films produced in SC. They already have some wonderful items and there’s plenty more to come. If you have items that may be appropriate for the exhibit, please get in touch with Frank. Click Here to email him.

South Windemere Closes

Charleston, SC - September 12, 2007
The South Windemere Cinema on Folly Road in Charleston closed on Wednesday, September 12, 2007. This independent neighborhood theater had a loyal following who gathered to say "goodbye." See photos, click here.

Parkway Theatre

Mount Pleasant, SC - September 14, 2007
We recently spoke with Jimmy Lowe at Belva's Flower Shop in Mount Pleasant, SC. He remembers the Parkway Theater on Coleman Boulevard. "We enjoyed The Durango Kid, Flash Gordon, and Hoot Gibson," he recalled.

He also remembered the time Lash LaRue appeared in person at the American Theatre in downtown Charleston. "You got in free with the box-top from a package of Hadacol. My mother went to the Parkway Pharmacy, next to the Parkway Theater, and bought a bottle of Hadacol. She said she hoped Lash LaRue never came back to Charleston because she wasn't going to buy another bottle of that awful tasting Hadacol."

Hadacol was a tonic advertised as a vitamin suppliment. It contained 12% alcohol "as a preservative."