‘Death Alley,’ a movie shot in Kansas and Wichita to premiere at Starlite Drive-in
“Death Alley,” a film shot in Kansas last year, has its world premiere in Wichita this weekend on Friday, March 12, at the Starlite Drive-in. Way to go big!
The Movie Maniac had a virtual interview with director Nicholas Barton recently. Here are excerpts:
Movie Maniac: When did you shoot? Where?
Nicholas Barton: We shot in Lawrence, the Flint Hills, Sedgwick, Old Cowtown Museum, Broken Bow, Okla., and Southwest Missouri. We had our first department head meeting at Cowtown in January of 2020. Principal photography began in mid-February and ended literally the day of all of the lockdowns from COVID.
MM: You’re originally from Wichita, correct? When did you move?
Barton: I am originally from Great Bend and moved to Wichita in 2007 after graduate school at K-State. I lived there for 8 years and loved every minute of it. I have a sizable portion of my extended family in Sedgwick County. To this day, most of my best friends on the planet live in Wichita and every time I come back, I feel like I’ve never left.
I tried out Los Angeles for a few years and it really didn’t suit me. I was fortunate enough to find a really great job as the chief editor of a network and met my beautiful wife Alyson. In 2017, we moved to Dallas/Fort Worth where I resurrected my production company and have been happily shooting features and commercials ever since.
MM: What’s “Death Alley” about and what drew you to it?
Barton: The film tells the fateful last days of the infamous Dalton Gang, some of the 1890s’ most iconic criminals. As cousins of the Younger Gang (the gang behind Jesse James), the outlaws pined for the celebrity that only being a wanted outlaw could deliver. In an attempt to upstage their predecessors, the Dalton Gang attempted to do something unheard of by any measure — rob two banks at the same time in broad daylight in Coffeyville. The rest as they say ... is history.
As a native Kansan, I felt a unique obligation to resurrect the story for a modern audience in a fun and fast-paced way. At one point, the Dalton Gang was synonymous with Wyatt Earp or Billy the Kid in terms of Western folklore. But for some reason, their story has faded from American Cinema since about the 1940s. So I wanted to bring it back into public consciousness. To me, this was never going to be a “western” or a “drama” or a “documentary.” I wanted to make an action film first and foremost and luckily the cast, crew, and collaborators did a wonderful job embracing that philosophy.
From day one, I declared that this film would be “unapologetically rock and roll.” There were no egos on the set at all. The cast all went for the stunts. And I mean, hard. They threw themselves through windows, doors, through props. They staged their own intense fight choreography. Every principal actor committed to serious horse-riding lessons and rode in the film across water features, on cliff edges, and through downtown chases with over 100 blank rounds being fired off and live pyrotechnics. We had the best horse wrangler I have ever worked with, Andy Humble, on set supervising all riding.
This was easily the most tight-knit cast I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Everyone left with cuts, scrapes, and bruises and if you asked any of them, they would all tell you one thousand times over, they would do it again. I truly believe it’s what made this movie so much fun for me to make and I think it really shows in the final edit. It’s fast-paced, violent, and I hope quite entertaining. I would gladly work with any of them again. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, for sure.
MM: You used a lot of local talent and crew. How did that happen?
Barton: I have made so many marvelous connections with Wichita-based talent, many of whom I have had the great fortune of working with for more than a 10-year span, several of whom have been with me through all of my movies and now run full departments on our sets — including our director of photography Naythan Smith, sound mixer and drone operator David Youso, camera operator Alec Walterscheid, Ryan Johnson, who jumped in as art director, Mark Anderson as our amazing production designer, and (hair and makeup artist) and my co-producer Constance Consola.
To steal a Western trope, Wichita is a gold mine of artists and has so many incredibly talented actors, crew members, and support professionals who all jump head first into a major project.
MM: Please briefly talk about your past work.
Barton: In 2014, I completed my first feature, “Wichita,” which was later distributed by Indican Pictures. In 2017, I completed my second feature, “Deadman Standing,” about the gunfight at Hyde Park just outside of Newton in the 1870s. We were fortunate to get a deal with Lionsgate Entertainment who distributed the film globally.
MM: What or who are your influences as a filmmaker?
Barton: I try to be a bit of a chameleon in my directing style. All three of my movies are very different from one another and I appreciate the crew’s ability to start with a blank slate each time. I don’t like being recognizable in my work and I hope I never play the sort of “three note chord” approach. I like to start with what I have access to, what fits perfectly, and build out from there.
I don’t really model myself after any specific filmmakers, but I do love the works of William Friedkin and Alfred Hitchcock and for very different reasons. Friedkin is completely unfiltered and cares nothing about who he offends with his work. He just tells the story. No need to be overly political or drive a thesis into the viewer’s head. You leave feeling drained, almost completely submerged in the moments his films create. Of course, “The Exorcist” or “The French Connection” will go down in American cinema lexicon forever, (but) I find myself bringing up the “Sorcerer” more to young filmmakers than maybe any other film. It’s utterly flawless to me — gritty, dark and visceral. ... It’s a ride. Literally. Hitchcock I love because even in the face of ultimate horror or a disturbing premise, there’s something lighthearted and fun about some of his films. I love “Rope” and “The Trouble with Harry.” Both are sickly fun films.
MM: A premiere at the drive-in sounds super cool. Are people excited? Will you and the crew be attending?
Barton: I couldn’t be more excited to partner with Blake and his team at the Starlite. We are an independent crew and it was important to me to have our world premiere be somewhere locally owned. A huge portion of the cast and crew will be in attendance, including several flying in from both coasts. I will be driving up from North Texas with several (members) of our producers team on Thursday morning and can’t wait to see everyone again!
MM: What are future plans for the film after that?
Barton: We signed a Global Rights distribution deal with the excellent team at Uncork’d Entertainment, who specialize in genre indies. If people are interested, they can stay locked into the Facebook page “Death Alley - Movie” (https://www.facebook.com/DeathAlleyMovie) for the dates for release and details over the next couple months.
World Premiere of “Death Alley”
Where: Starlite Drive-in, 3900 S. Hydraulic
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 12
Director: Nicholas Barton
Logline: In 1892, the Dalton Gang sets out to become the most famous outlaws in America.
Tickets: $10 at the gate or https://starlitefun.com
Cast: Ryan T. Johnson, Mark Anderson, Sean Gestl, Shaelynn French, Hannah Smith, Delno Ebie, Gregor Hunt, Dan Schuster, Donald Wineke, Mary Lou-Phipps Winfrey, Joe Parrish, Justin France, Kaye Brownlee France
The premiere will be followed by a screening of Barton’s film “Wichita” at 9:30 p.m.
This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 5:01 AM with the headline "‘Death Alley,’ a movie shot in Kansas and Wichita to premiere at Starlite Drive-in."