By Vicki Ingham
The 25th anniversary of “Field of Dreams” brought Kevin Costner back to Iowa to reminisce, but ever since “State Fair” and “The Music Man,” Iowa has captured the popular imagination through movies. A new exhibition, “Hollywood in the Heartland,” opens June 27 at the State Historical Museumto celebrate that legacy as well as the movie stars the state has produced—John Wayne, Donna Reed, Cloris Leachman and Ashton Kutcher, among others. The 6,400-square-foot exhibit also explores the state’s historic theaters, the role of movie houses in small-town Iowa and early movie technology.
Artifacts include an Edison Kinetoscope (circa 1896), props from “Field of Dreams” and “The Bridges of Madison County,” costumes, scripts and even an Academy Award. There’s also an original advertisement from “The Wonderful Thing” starring Norma Talmadge. The movie, released in 1921, was the first full-length feature film to shoot on location in Iowa—in Centerville, in fact. The opening reception is 5-7 p.m. Learn more here.
