KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The East Tennessee Historical Society revealed a new exhibit available to anyone curious about Knoxville's contributions to history.
It's called "Lights! Camera! Action!" and the exhibit explores East Tennessee's relationship to cinema. It investigates how that relationship began, and how technological and cultural events shaped moviemaking in the area.
The exhibit showcases how Knoxville promoted Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope in 1895 to the development of productions in the city itself. Most importantly, the exhibit investigates how 35 mm film impacted the region's relationship with film.
The exhibit includes several screens featuring highlights from filmmakers, documentarians, industrial filmmakers and news reporters. It also includes exhibits about Clarence Brown, a Knoxville High School graduate who became one of MGM's most prominent directors.
It also showcases actors from East Tennessee who performed in Hollywood and starred in films like "A Walk in the Spring Rain" and "That Evening Sun." Both movies premiered in Knoxville.
The exhibit is open daily at the Rogers-Claussen Feature Gallery, inside the museum of the East Tennessee History Center.