The Carrollton Center for the Arts will celebrate Oscar winner (and former Carrollton resident) Susan Hayward with a showing of the film that first brought her to Georgia, I’d Climb the Highest Mountain, January 7 at 2pm.
In the 1951 film, which was shot in and around Dawsonville and Cleveland, Georgia, Methodist minister William Thompson (William Lundigan) moves to a rural town in the Blue Ridge Mountains with his wife, Mary Elizabeth (Hayward). The townspeople have doubts about the new minister and he must also help his city-raised wife adjust to life in the country. As he leads his congregation through hardships, including an epidemic leading to some deaths, he proves his worth as a pastor. The film had its world premiere at Atlanta’s Paramount Theater in 1951. Hayward attended and was honored by the Georgia Senate, which issued a resolution making her an “adopted daughter of Georgia.”
“We are honored to have this annual opportunity to pay tribute to this remarkable actor who once called Carrollton home,” said Carrollton Center for the Arts Manager Tim Chapman.
Hayward lived in Carrollton with her husband, local businessman Eaton Chalkley, from 1957 until 1966. She won the Academy Award for her role in 1958’s I Want To Live! while living here and was presented with the key to the city upon her return to Carrollton from the Oscar ceremonies. The center hosts a showing of one of her films each year in January.
Tickets are $5 (includes water and popcorn) and can be purchased online at carrolltonarts.com, by phone at 770-838-1083 or at the center’s box office at 251 Alabama Street.
What: Susan Hayward Tribute Film: I’d Climb the Highest Mountain
When: January 7, 2024 / 2pm
Where: Carrollton Center for the Arts
For questions concerning this event or the Carrollton Center for the Arts, please call (770) 838-1083.
