Remembering the time Robert Redford filmed a movie on the Mississippi Coast
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- Robert Redford died at 89 at his Utah home, surrounded by loved ones in sleep.
- Redford filmed 1966's 'This Property is Condemned' in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
- Film locations remain accessible through a self-guided tour by local tourism groups.
Robert Redford, an iconic actor who pushed to help the environment, support independent filmmaking and advocate for human rights, has died at 89.
According to a statement from his representative, Redford passed away Tuesday, Sep. 16. He was surrounded “by those he loved” in his home at Sundance, in Utah. According to the New York Times, no cause of death was reported. The statement said he died in his sleep.
Over his career, Redford acted in multiple award-winning movies and became an Academy Award-winning director.
His efforts to spur more independent films led to him creating the Sundance Institute, which led to the creation of the Sundance Film Festival.
Filming on the Coast
Redford shot “This Property is Condemned” with Natalie Wood and Charles Bronson in Bay St. Louis. It was written by Tennessee Williams and Francis Ford Coppola. Sydney Pollack directed.
The movied, released in 1966, features an affair between a railroad official and a young woman in the fictional town of Dodson.
Today, there’s a self-guided walking tour of the places the movie filmed. According to the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area, people can get maps and brochures at the L & N Train Depot, 1928 Depot Way, or download the tour information online in advance at http://bit.ly/4mhIvIw.
The depot building itself was featured in the film. Today, it’s home to the Hancock County Tourism, Bay St Louis Mardi Gras Museum, and Alice Moseley Folk Art Museum.
The building that served as Starr Boarding House for the film became the Bay Saint Louis Little Theatre after Hurricane Katrina.