Wild River
The Movie
A 1960 American Drama Film
Directed by Elia Kazan, Wild River was filmed in the Tennessee Valley, Charleston being one of the sites. Stars Montgomery Clift, Lee Remick, Joe Van Fleet, Albert Salmi, and Jay C. Flippen were casted the roles for the film. Wild River was the first major motion picture filmed entirely in Tennessee and featured more than 40 local residents chosen for speaking roles in the movie, and more than 100 serving as extras. Several of these locals are still alive and living in Charleston.
The film dealt with battle of the wills between the Tennessee Valley Authority and generations-old land owners. In the film, Ella Garth, Matriarch of a large family that has lived on an island for decades, refuses to sell her land to the government, as completion of a TVA dam has finished and soon flood waters will cover the island.During filming, the old part of Charleston was transformed into a movie set using many of the business store fronts as props. Several of the buildings used in the film are still present today.
The library of congress selected Wild River for preservation
in the U.S. National Film Registry in 2002 as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Many of the Ferry Island crossing scenes were filmed just up river from Charleston at Coon Dent Island, which can still be visited today as Wild River Retreat Center.
