The James Kilgore Film Collection:
Four Decades of Innovative Amateur Filmmaking
James Henry Kilgore., 1942 (age 23) in uniform preparing to serve in WWII in Italy. Mr. Kilgore is shown here with his mother, Irene Watkins Kilgore and his father, James Henry Kilgore Sr.
Conservation & Capture
Original format: 8mm & Super 8 film, silent.
Digital format: Footage captured at 2k resolution of 2048 x 1556.
Length/feet or running time: Approx. 1550ft.
Circa: 1940 - 1982
Status: Conservation & digital capture completed by Pro8mm.
Online Access:
Snapshots at Fort Benning (1941) 1 reel https://archive.org/details/ALCFJamesKilgoreClip5217
Yank About Italy (1940) 2 reels https://archive.org/details/ALCFJamesKilgoreClip5218
https://archive.org/details/ALCFJamesKilgoreClip5219
President Carter Visits Nashville (1978) 1 reel https://archive.org/details/ALCFJamesKilgoreClip5220
World’s Fair Knoxville (1982) 1 reel https://archive.org/details/ALCFJamesKilgoreClip5222
Summer Lights (1984) 1 reel https://archive.org/details/ALCFJamesKilgoreClip5222
Belle Meade Theatre Opening (1940) 1 reel https://archive.org/details/ALCFJamesKilgoreClip5223
Grantee
The Audiovisual Heritage Center (AVHC) is part of the Nashville Metro Archives. The project is funded by the Nashville Public Library Foundation and is located at the Nashville Public Main Branch in downtown Nashville, Tennessee.
The Audiovisual Heritage Center (AVHC) is founded to conserve, preserve and make accessible the moving image and sound collections under the care of the Nashville Public Library and to collect and care for audiovisual records vital to the history and culture of Davidson County and Middle Tennessee. The Center seeks to preserve and increase awareness of Middle South history and culture, create positive partnerships with other archives and the public, and support and contextualize artifacts and documents under the care of Nashville Metro Archives and Nashville Public Library.
James Henry Kilgore, Jr, ca. Mid 1970’s, with his super-8 camera and mic, Charleston, South Carolina, awaiting a surrey tour.
Filmmaker
Nashville, Tennessee native and lifelong resident, James Kilgore, (1919-2014) was an avid amateur filmmaker who began shooting film at the age of 14. He served in Italy during WWII and spent most of his post war life working for the Department of Transportation and continuing to shoot home movies, and amateur travelogues and documentaries, and several narrative films throughout the following decades.
Kilgore is believed to have been a member of the Amateur Cinema League, the oldest amateur filmmaker’s club in the United States, and his zeal for the technology of film is evidenced by his use of sound and color film. Major themes in Kilgore’s work include short narrative fiction films, recordings of family travels and local events, documentation of his experience during WWII, and footage of his church’s works and activities.