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New John Brown Documentary Debuts in Hagerstown

Author: Tricia Lynn Strader | Published: 12/02/2009 | 93 Views | Short URL: http://www.inthepanhandle.com/local/n/5951

Hagerstown, MD - “Echoes of John Brown,” a new documentary by Historical Entertainment, debuts Wednesday, December 2, at 7 p.m. at the Bridge of Life Church in Hagerstown. The church is the former Colonial Theater at 14 South Potomac Street.

Sponsored by the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Franklin County Visitors Center, the approximately 45-minute documentary includes 38 minutes on the story of Brown’s historic October 16, 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, as told by Chief Historian Dennis Frye of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. Also included is a travelogue of places to visit in the Tri-county area, where one can walk in the footsteps of Brown. This 15 minutes or so is hosted by Antietam National Battlefield Chief Historian Ted Alexander. “Echoes of John Brown” is narrated by Tom Riford of the Hagerstown-Washington County CVB.

Historical Entertainment, LLC, started in 2000 as a unique source of television and film casting, background and day players, reenactment coordination, period-specialist stunts and combat scenes, historical wardrobe and props, location scouting, and general historical consulting and production assistance. The company has provided talent and other support for many programs for the History Channel and Discovery Channel, and feature films such as “Gods and Generals.” Historical Entertainment co-produced “No Retreat from Destiny.” Television projects include “Battlefield Detectives,” “Unsolved History,” and “April 1865 - The Month that Saved a Nation.” Current projects include “Echoes of John Brown,” “Greetings from Pen Mar: The Pen Mar Park Story” and an in-production project on Monterey Pass during the Civil War.

President Russell E. Richards, Jr. thought the story of Brown should be told, and approached Frye and the two CVBs last summer.  “We recently started doing our own projects,” Richards says. “The two visitor bureaus liked the idea.  The original contract was to have a 15-minute travelogue, but after talking with Dennis Frye, we realized we had a lot of information we could turn into a documentary.”

Richards says he learned a lot during filming over two months from late summer until fall. “I thought I knew all there was to know about John Brown, but I was wrong. When we watch the old movies, we see him giving this long soliloquy type of speech. He didn’t do that. He didn’t say the same things that are in the movies. He wrote a note and gave it to the jailor.

“There’s also a guy who rode all the way to Shepherdstown to tell everyone about the raid as it was happening. At first, people thought he was coming to tell them about a fire, but it was a completely different kind of fire. He was the Paul Revere of John Brown’s Raid.”

To tell the story, period drawings and original photographs were used, as well as original pen and ink sketches by artist Mike Brown. Things went quickly over two months, from writing the script, getting permissions, and final production.

The premier of this film is being held on the same date as Brown’s historic hanging in Charlestown, Va.  Tickets are only $5, and seating capacity is 400. Tickets are available at the door or by calling 877-HE4-FILM. Anyone at the premier wishing to purchase a DVD of the documentary can do so for $15 ($5 off the regular price). DVDs are also available through Historical Entertainment at http://www.hetvfilm.com.