Description
Matilda and Karl Pfeiffer Museum and Study Center
Elia Kazan’s “A Face in the Crowd” is based on Budd Schulberg’s “Your Arkansas Traveler,” a short story about a fictitious Arkansas native. Shot on location in Piggott, Arkansas, the motion picture is known for being the screen debut of both Lee Remick and Andy Griffith.
The northeast Arkansas community was chosen because of its connection to the legendary Ernest Hemingway, who lived and visited there when married to Piggott native Pauline Pfeiffer. Otto “Toby” Bruce of Piggott, a friend of and assistant to Hemingway, heard of the project after meeting Schulberg in Key West while visiting the author. Bruce suggested Piggott, director Elia Kazan and Schulberg visited, and they decided it was the place to shoot.
Scenes were shot at the local football field, the Clay County Courthouse and at the home of Pauline Pfeiffer’s brother, Karl. Today the house is the Matilda and Karl Pfeiffer Museum and Study Center. The production crew also built the town a swimming pool which is no longer there. Actress Patricia Neal made a guest appearance at the film's 50th anniversary celebration held in Piggott in 2007.
