‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil’ is a drama that was released in 1997. The film stars Kevin Spacey and John Cusack. It was directed by Clint Eastwood. The movie is an adaptation of a book by the same title written by John Berendt. The book was based on real-life events surrounding Jim Williams and his trial for the murder of his assistant that occurred in 1981, in Savannah, Georgia. The film was mostly filmed in Savannah.
The main character, Jim Williams (played by Kevin Spacey), lived in Mercer House located at 429 Bull Street in the west end of Monterey Square in Savannah. The mansion was built in 1861 and was used as Williams’ home in the film as well. During the time of filming, Williams’ sister was the owner and her friends were extras in the Christmas Party scene that was filmed in the house. Kevin Spacey even stayed at least one night in the house. The mansion was the location of the murder of Williams’ assistant, Danny Hansford, whose name was changed to Billy Hanson in the film. The home is now known as the Mercer-Williams House and is still owned and lived in by Jim Williams’ family, though part of the house has been opened to the public for tours.
A bar scene in the movie was filmed at the British Pub, Churchill’s. The pub, owned by Manchester, England native Andy Holmes, opened in 1996. It’s original location and the location where filming was done, was at Drayton and Bay Lane in a historic, three-story building. In 2003, a kitchen fire devastated much of the establishment. The owner decided to move locations. The updated Churchill’s opened in 2004 at 13 W. Bay Street and now seats about 400 patrons as opposed to the 72 that the original Churchill’s seated.
At the beginning of ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil’, the camera pans over songwriter, Johnny Mercer’s grave, which is located in the Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah. The camera then takes the viewer to a shot of the statue known as the “Bird Girl” statue. This statue is also located in the cemetery. It is the statue that is featured on the book’s cover as well as in the posters for the film. Many recreations of the statue have gone up all over Savannah, as well as on t-shirts.
Other locations in Savannah that can be seen in the film include, Forsyth Park, the Tomochichi Federal Building, and several local houses. Armstrong House, where the real Jim Williams’s lawyer, Sonny Seiler, had his office, was also used in the film. Seiler, himself played the judge in the movie. Seiler also had his bulldog featured in the film. His bulldog, Uga V, portrayed Uga IV in the film. Uga I through V were all mascots of the University of Georgia.
Many of the local people who lived the real-life events of Jim Williams’ trial played characters and extras in the film.
‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil’ is currently available on DVD, but does not yet have a Blu-ray release date.
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