Museum chronicles Cape's cinema history

It was Dec. 24, 1921, and the biggest opening night ever for a Cape Girardeau theater at that time. The Broadway Theater at 805 Broadway was premiering "The Sheik" -- a silent romantic drama starring Rudolph Valentino, Agnes Ayres and Adolphe Menjou -- for its first film since the theater's remodel, with approximately 6,000 moviegoers attending the silent film.

The Gone Girl and Old Cape Theaters exhibit at Cape River Heritage Museum Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. (Glenn Landberg)

This, along with many others, is just one of the interesting facts available at the Cape River Heritage Museum's latest exhibit.

The exhibit opened Oct. 3, to coincide with the opening of the "Gone Girl" movie, and since then has received a strong response.

Although "Gone Girl" is the most prevalent feature in the exhibit, Cape Girardeau's history in cinema, as well as past films' effect in the small river town, cannot be overlooked.

"The exhibit's called 'A Century Plus Seven,'" said Charlotte Slinkard, the main researcher for the exhibit. "[It features] both the history of the movies and the buildings. We're interested in the buildings as well because four of the six theaters are still standing."

In the back exhibition room of the museum at 538 Independence St., six large boards line the walls, each with a different date between 1907 and 1947, each one dedicated to a different theater that once stood in Cape Girardeau.

A photo of William A. Shivelbine, a silent movie organist at the New Broadway Theater, sits on display in the Gone Girl and Old Cape Theaters exhibit at Cape River Heritage Museum Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. (Glenn Landberg)

The exhibit then skips a period of time to Cape Girardeau's latest brush with fame.

"Gone Girl" memorabilia fills cases, with a variety of pictures, newspaper clippings and even a homemade scrapbook of all the articles printed about the Twentieth Century Fox Film's production.

Trish Kell, the secretary of the museum board, estimated more than 130 people have come to see the exhibit since its opening.

"It was really funny when the American Queen [riverboat] stopped by. People loved the exhibit. They would say, 'Oh, 'Gone Girl'? I read that book. It was filmed here?'" Kell said.

Since then, a steady stream of interested people and school groups have visited. Kell said they enjoyed the exhibits but still found the most interest in the firetruck that resides in the room next door. The truck's been in the museum for years, and was the first hook and ladder firetruck used by the Cape Girardeau Fire Department.

Drawings of historic theaters hang as part of the "A Century Plus Seven" movie exhibit Friday at the Cape River Heritage Museum. (glandberg@semissourian.com)

At 11 a.m. Saturday, Dr. Frank Nickell, the assistant director of the State Historical Society, will give a free lecture at the museum on the history of cinema in Cape Girardeau, and the affect it's had on the city's residents.

"Cape Girardeans movies have always been important to the people here, always ..." Nickell said. "With the college in this area, that's 6,000 to 12,000 young people in this area at any given time; they're always looking for different, inexpensive forms of entertainment to escape from school."

Slinkard agreed and said Cape Girardeau has always been relatively quick in receiving new movies after they are released. Even in the '40s and '50s, Cape Girardeau theaters would have new releases within a month of their opening dates.

Nickell recalled stories from a good friend of his, Raymond F. Meyer, about how they would go to the movies for 10 cents, and for a nickel they could get a bag of popcorn in the very beginning of black-and-white cinema.

Refurbished seats from the New Broadway Theater sits on display in the Gone Girl and Old Cape Theaters exhibit at Cape River Heritage Museum Friday, Oct. 3, 2014. (Glenn Landberg)

"Movies and music were the two greatest entertainments; it was a cheap form of entertainment that was very exciting and attracted us as kids," Nickell said.

Nickell taught at Southeast Missouri State University for more than four decades, and since retiring in 2012 has called the historical society his home.

The Cape River Heritage Museum is open from noon to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday until the exhibit closes Dec. 15.

For more information, visit caperiverheritagemuseum.com.

smaue@semissourain.com

388-3644

Pertinent address:

538 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.