Joselyn King BACKDROP – The Bellaire Bridge was part of a scene in “Silence of the Lambs,” shot in Bellaire in 1991. The bridge closed later that year, and remains standing above Ohio 7.

BELLAIRE – In 1991 — now 35 years ago — movie makers set out to make a psychological thriller involving murder and cannibalism in what was then the city of Bellaire.

Today, Bellaire is a village, and “The Silence of the Lambs” went on to win five major Oscars and become the premier film of its genre. Considered among the most influential movies of all time, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2011.

But in the end, after some controversy, little of the film actually was shot in Bellaire.

The Bellaire Bridge is featured when Clarice Starling, played by Oscar winner Jodie Foster, drives toward what the film calls “Belvedere, Ohio” to investigate a lead. Foster’s car is seen only as a shadow on the water entering the bridge from Benwood on the West Virginia side.

The Bellaire Bridge would close for good later in 1991. It remains standing, but unusable.

Another noteworthy piece of trivia is that Ted Levine, the actor who plays murderer “Buffalo Bill” in “Silence of the Lambs,” is a Bellaire native.

“I really don’t know much about the book, myself,” said retired Bellaire Police Chief Robert Wallace. “But (Bellaire resident) Nancy Hughes used to say it was a book about a man who goes around killing fat women.”

Hughes, now deceased, had an office within what is often referred to as the historic First National Bank Building at 3201 Belmont St. in Bellaire. There were initial plans to perhaps shoot some scenes at the building.

Additional shots were being considered at the Malik home on the 4600 block of Guernsey Street, Wallace said.

But Hughes didn’t think such a movie would reflect well on Bellaire and began to publicly speak out against filming there. In the end, the film’s producers moved much of their cinematography to Perryopolis.

“My personal knowledge is they (a film crew) came to town, came to the police station and asked for assistance in scouting out locations,” Wallace said.

He remembers accompanying a producer and two other crew members on an all-day drive around Bellaire. He first took them up Winding Hill Road.

“They loved the view because you could look up the river and see Wheeling Island,” Wallace continued. “But there were so many overhanging trees that they weren’t really happy with the overall site.

“We went to a couple of other places locally, and went to the place former (Belmont County) Commissioner Matt Coffland now owns on the other side of the river, the Prima Marina (in Moundsville).”

Later in the day, they ended up on the Bellaire Bridge.

“Of course, the car Jodie Foster drove in the movie was a Chevrolet Citation,” he said. “We ended up shutting down the Bellaire Bridge on both sides. Then they had somebody — because she was never there — drive back and forth across the bridge while they filmed.

“The funny thing about that is they spent about an hour and a half doing all the filming. But in the movie itself, it showed her going onto the bridge. The only footage they showed of her was her car’s shadow in the water. All that time, and they shot three seconds of shadow on the water.”

Wallace said he loved “Silence of the Lambs” when he watched it.

“But you actually didn’t see much of Bellaire on the screen except the Bellaire Bridge,” he explained. “And if you want to get really technical, the shadow on the water was actually on the West Virginia side.

“I was not impressed with what they showed about Bellaire.”

Wallace admitted he is often critical of movies depicting law enforcement actions that aren’t accurate or realistic.

“Everything that I saw (in the movie) seemed to be realistic, from the training scenes to the follow up to the questioning,” he said. “It was a great movie. I was deeply impressed.”

Benwood Police Chief Frank Longwell also remembers having the bridge closed while film crews took footage.

“They wanted a police officer to hold the traffic while they did a flyover with a helicopter,” he explained.

“It was no big deal. It was just a matter of stopping traffic for a few minutes.”

Longwell noted he also enjoyed watching the finished movie and seeing a little of his home area in the footage.

“Anytime you see one of your landmarks in a movie, it’s an honor,” he said. “I’m glad they used our bridge. It stirs up excitement in the town.”