MADE IN WV PRODUCTION CREDITS
West Virginia's footprints in the film industry include major motion pictures, independent films, television programs, commercials, music videos, and more. Below are just a few of the productions that have filmed in the Mountain State. For a more extensive list, visit www.wvfilm.com. Please note, where some films identify local contacts, you may be able to obtain assistance to tour some of the identified locations.
America’s Heart and Soul
2000 Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Louis Schwartzberg
WV Filming Locations: Weirton
Bubble
2006 Magnolia Pictures
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Debbie Doebereiner, Dustin Ashley, Misty Wilkins
WV Filming Locations: Parkersburg (Corner Café, Skeete Shaw Jewelry & Loan, Valley Beauty School, Sharp & Sassy Glamour Gallery Day Spa, Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital, Wood County Holding Center (jail), two private residences). The film’s official premiere took place at the historic Smoot Theatre in Parkersburg.
Synopsis: A fictional drama set in a small town, murder becomes the focal point of three doll factory workers involved in an unlikely love triangle.
Local Contact: Steven Nicely, Parkersburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, 304-428-1130
Burning Annie
2004 Lightyear Entertainment, Warner Home Video
Director: Van Flesher (Huntington native)
Cast: Gary Lundy, Sara Downing, Brian Klugman, Kim Murphy, Jay Paulson, Rini Bell
WV Filming Locations: Barboursville, Huntington
Chillers
1987 Troma Films
Director: Daniel Boyd (Martinsburg native)
Cast: Jesse Emery, Marjorie Fitzsimmons, Jonathan Wolf, Laurie Pennington
WV Filming Locations: Tornado, Dunbar, Institute, South Charleston
Correct Change
2001 Terra Entertainment
Director: Mike Lilly (Charleston native)
Cast: Russ McCubbin, Mollie Brown, Michael Martin, Jonah Lilly
WV Filming Locations: Moundsville, Charleston
The Deer Hunter
1978 Universal Pictures
Director: Michael Cimino
Cast: Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken
WV Filming Locations: Weirton (County Road, Avenue B, private residence that has since been razed); Follansbee (townscape from across Ohio River)
Synopsis: This Vietnam War drama portrays the effects of the war on a small Pennsylvania industrial town. Recipient of Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Director, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound, the film also received nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Cinematography, and Best Writing-Screenplay Directly for the Screen.
Local Contact: Top of WV Convention & Visitors Bureau, 304-797-7001
Fools' Parade
1971 Columbia Pictures
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Writers: James Lee Barrett (screenplay), Davis Grubb (novel)
Cast: James Stewart, George Kennedy, Anne Baxter, Strother Martin, Kurt Russell, William Windom, Mike Kellin, Kathy Cannon, Morgan Paull
WV Filming Locations: In and around Moundsville, including Marshall County Courthouse, Marshall County Bank (now occupied by different companies), Home Electric Supply (now occupied by different company), former West Virginia Penitentiary (now a tourist destination), The Strand Theatre, open field near Ohio River in Washington Lands area, traveling road shots near Roberts Ridge. Other structures used during filming have since been razed.
Synopsis: Based on Moundsville native Grubb’s novel, the drama follows the efforts of an ex-convict to open a general store using money he saved during a 40-year prison sentence, while receiving resistance from a corrupt prison official and a banker.
Local Contacts: (1) Pat Kleinedler, Moundville Economic Development Council, 304-845-6200; (2) Charlie Barger, Marshall County Chamber of Commerce, 304-845-2773
Gods and Generals
2002 Turner Pictures/Warner Bros.
Director: Ron Maxwell
Cast: Jeff Daniels, Stephen Lang, Robert Duvall, Mira Sorvino, Kevin Conway, C. Thomas Howell, Frankie Faison
WV Filming Locations: Harpers Ferry National Park (Historic District, Lower Town); Charles Town (Jefferson County Courthouse, Claymont Court Mansion, Old Opera House, Shenandoah River vista near Lover’s Leap and Route 25); Martinsburg (Apollo Theatre, Shenandoah Hotel); Berkeley Springs (Route 9 panorama overlook). The Apollo Theatre hosted one of the film’s official premieres.
Synopsis: The prequel to “The Killer Angels,” the novel upon which the film “Gettysburg” was based, “Gods and Generals” is a dramatization of the rise and fall of acclaimed Civil War hero Stonewall Jackson.
Local Contacts: (1) Paulette Sprinkle or Bob O'Connor, Jefferson County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 304-535-2627 or 866-435-5698; (2) Andrea Ball, Martinsburg/Berkeley County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 304-264-8801 or 800-498-2386; (3) Laura Smith, Berkeley Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau, 800-447-8797 or 304-258-9147
Lassie
1994 Paramount Pictures
Director: Daniel Petrie
Cast: Tom Guiry, Helen Slater, Jon Tenney, Brittany Boyd, Frederic Forrest, Richard Farnsworth
WV Filming Locations: Sandstone Falls, New River Gorge National River
Matewan
1987 Artisan Entertainment
Writer and Director: John Sayles
Cast: Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, Will Oldham, David Strathairn
WV Filming Locations: Thurmond (railroad depot, church, private residences, and more); Grandview State Park (overlooks, fields); Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine; various other locations in the New River Gorge area in and around Thurmond
Synopsis: Filmed entirely on location in West Virginia, “Matewan” received an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. The film is a fictionalized retelling of true events that led up to a vicious 1920 battle between striking miners and union-busting private detectives.
Local Contacts: (1) Calentha Quesenberry, Fayetteville Convention & Visitors Bureau, 304-574-1500 or 888-574-1500; (2) Cecil Hatfield, Tug Valley Chamber of Commerce, 304-235-5240; (3) Cleeta Mullins, Coalfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, 304-855-5521 or 888-272-6762
The Night of the Hunter
1955 MGM
Director: Charles Laughton
Writer: Davis Grubb (Moundsville native)
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, James Gleason, Peter Graves
WV Filming Locations: Moundsville
No Drums, No Bugles
1972 Cinerama Releasing Corporation
Director: Clyde Ware (West Union native)
Cast: Martin Sheen, Davey Davison, Elaine Giftos
WV Filming Locations: West Union, Alma
Paradise Park aka Heroes of the Heart
1990 Silver Lake International Pictures
Director: Daniel Boyd (Martinsburg native)
Cast: Larry Groce, Jeniphur Gurney, John McIntyre, Michael Martin, Jim Wolfe, Gary Brown, Johnny Paycheck, Porter Wagoner
WV Filming Locations: Tornado, St. Albans, Grandview, Institute, Charleston
Primal Fear
1996 Paramount Pictures
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Cast: Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand
WV Filming Locations: Keystone, Northfork, Eckman
The Rain People
1969 American Zoetrope, Warner Bros.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Cast: James Caan, Robert Duvall, Shirley Knight
WV Filming Locations: Clarksburg
Reckless
1983 MGM Entertainment
Director: James Foley
Cast: Daryl Hannah, Aidan Quinn
WV Filming Locations: New Cumberland, Weirton, Wheeling
Sommersby
1992 Warner Bros.
Director: Jon Amiel
Cast: Richard Gere, Jodie Foster, Bill Pullman, James Earl Jones
WV Filming Locations: Snowshoe
Stage Struck
1925 Paramount Pictures
Director: Allan Dwan
Cast: Gloria Swanson, Lawrence Gray, Gertrude Astor
WV Filming Locations: New Martinsville
Strangest Dreams: Invasion of the Space Preachers
1989 Troma Films
Director: Daniel Boyd (Martinsburg native)
Cast: Jim Wolfe, Guy Nelson, Eliska Hahn, Gary Brown, Jesse Johnson, John Riggs
WV Filming Locations: Tornado, Dawes, Institute, Charleston, Teays Valley
Super Size Me
2004 Kathbur Productions/The Con Production; Roadside Attractions/Samuel Goldwyn Films
Writer and Director: Morgan Spurlock
WV Filming Locations: Beckley (a private residence and Park Junior High School)
Synopsis: Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, the film was an experiment on fast food and its effects on the body. Filming occurred across the country and included a stop in Spurlock’s hometown of Beckley.
Sweet Dreams
1985 TriStar Pictures
Director: Karel Reisz
Cast: Jessica Lange, Ed Harris, John Goodman
WV Filming Locations: Martinsburg (Green Hill Cemetery, private residences, traveling road shots near underpass, Race Street and train station); Rippon (Rainbow Road); Bakerton (a quarry, traveling road shots along Engel-Molers Cross Road south of Shepherdstown).
Synopsis: A biographical drama portraying the life of country music singer Patsy Cline. Lange received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Local Contacts: (1) Andrea Ball, Martinsburg/Berkeley County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 800-498-2386 or 304-264-8801; (2) Paulette Sprinkle or Bob O'Connor, Jefferson County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 304-535-2627 or 866-435-5698
Teen-Age Strangler
1964 Ajay Film Company
Director: Ben Parker
Cast: Bill Bloom, John Ensign, Rick Harris, Stacy Smith, Jim Asp, Mickey Banga, John Humphries
WV Filming Locations: Huntington
The Turning
1991 Leo Films/Phaedra Cinema
Director: Lou Puopolo
Cast: Gillian Anderson, Karen Allen, Tess Harper
WV Filming Locations: Bramwell
We Are Marshall
2006 Warner Bros.
Director: McG
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, David Strathairn, Anthony Mackie, Ian McShane, Kate Mara, January Jones, Brian Geraghty, Arlen Escarpeta
WV Filming Locations: Huntington (numerous Marshall University campus locations, Spring Hill Cemetery, Frederick Hotel, Keith-Albee Theater, Peanut Shoppe, Fourth Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets, Steel of West Virginia, Greyhound Bus Station, private residence); Kenova (private residence). The film’s official premiere took place at the historic Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center.
Synopsis: Nominated for an ESPY award for Best Sports Movie, the film is a dramatization of a true story about the worst air tragedy in collegiate athletics history. On the fateful night of November 14, 1970, 75 members of the Marshall University football team, coaches, university staff, community members, and flight crew were killed in a plane crash while returning to Huntington after a game at East Carolina. Struggling to cope with the devastating loss of their loved ones, the grieving families found hope and strength in the leadership of Jack Lengyel, a young coach determined to rebuild the football program and, in the process, helped to heal a community.
Local Contact: Tours of film sites available through Cabell-Huntington Convention & Visitors Bureau, 800-635-6329
When the Line Goes Through
1973 All Seasons Video
Director: Clyde Ware (West Union native)
Cast: Martin Sheen, Tillie Allen, Dick Barton, Vicki Carroll, Davey Davison
WV Filming Locations: West Union
Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!
2004 DreamWorks Pictures
Director: Robert Luketic
Cast: Kate Bosworth, Topher Grace, Josh Duhamel, Nathan Lane, Sean Hayes
WV Filming Locations: Fayetteville (town aerials, Fayette County Bank, Fayette County Courthouse, Court Street); New River Gorge Bridge aerials; Oak Hill (aerials of Gatewood Road, Old Reiners Dairy Farm); Grandview State Park (overlook); aerial of London Locks on Kanawha River
Synopsis: A fictional story set in the real town of Frazier’s Bottom, West Virginia, this romantic comedy focuses on a small-town girl who wins a date with a celebrity through a contest.
Local Contacts: (1) Calentha Quesenberry, Fayette County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 304-574-1500 or 888-574-1500; (2) Linda Bush, Putnam County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 304-562-0518
Whatever
1997 Sony Pictures Classics
Director: Susan Skoog
Cast: Liza Weil, Chad Morgan, Frederic Forrest
WV Filming Locations: Wheeling