SMU Libraries will be on the big screen this week at the second annual IT CAME FROM TEXAS Film Festival at Garland’s Plaza Theatre. The festival, which will take place from September 13-15, is sponsored by the City of Garland and Garland Cultural Arts and features films made in Texas. The festival will showcase three Oscar-winning films (as well as host an Oscar-nominated art director), alongside two films from Hamon Arts Library. These films – THE BLOOD OF JESUS (1941) and THE BIG SHOW (1936) – are housed within the library’s G. William Jones Film Collection.
THE BLOOD OF JESUS was the first Texas film honored with being on the coveted Library of Congress’s National Registry List in 1991. Filmed in Dallas, The Blood of Jesus was one of the most highly regarded films of filmmaker Spencer Williams’ career. The film is part of the Tyler Black Film Collection. SMU film professor and historian Dr. Rick Worland will be featured in a panel discussion on the film and film preservation generally with Elizabeth Hansen of the Texas Archives of the Moving Image. The showing will take place on Saturday, September 14 at 2 p.m. For more on this film, see this D Magazine article, which discusses the upcoming festival.
THE BIG SHOW, starring Gene Autry, will be shown on Sunday, September 15 at 3:30 p.m. It was filmed at Fair Park and took place at the Texas Centennial, the precursor to the State Fair of Texas. Dr. Sean Griffin, film history professor at SMU, will introduce the showing.
We’ll see y’all at the theater soon!
Buy tickets for the festival, or visit the event website to learn more.
To watch clips from the G. William Jones Film Collection, visit their YouTube channel for digitized footage.