BOUNTIFUL—On the corner of 300 North and Main Street sits a pioneer home that is now the Bountiful Historical Museum, but back in the 1800s when it was built, it was owned by the Smedleys. The film “Alice and James Smedley A Valentine” depicting stories from their lives and featuring descendants as some of the actors, was recently installed at the museum.

“It is my great-great grandparents’ house,” said Kristine Gill. “They owned all of the land where Bountiful Junior High is and the 400 North park. They were a big part of Bountiful.”

James Smedley was born seven days after his parents came to the valley in 1864, she said. “He built the home in 1892 and in 1893 married Alice on Valentine’s Day and brought her there to live.”

His parents came on a ship from England and traveled 1,000 miles to join with the pioneers, said Gill. “They arrived in 1864. His mother was pregnant with James and also had a toddler. She made that journey and gave birth to him seven days later.”

In 1896, James was called on a full-time mission, she said. “Alice was pregnant and Dan was born just six weeks after James left.”

The video has been fun, said Gill who plays Alice’s mother, Josephine Streeper Chase. “Richard (Hatch the director) wanted descendants not actors for the film. It’s interesting how much goes into one scene.”

It really helps to draw closer to them (ancestors), she said. “To see them as people, not just on a piece of paper. I became more attached to them.”

“I’ve done six other videos for the museum,” said the director Richard Hatch. “Five were about the building of the (Bountiful) Tabernacle and one about the story of Perrigrine Sessions who settled Bountiful.” 

There wasn’t much documentation about the Smedleys, he said. “I wanted to do something entertaining and accurate so I did vignettes from the stories I found. I wanted as many family members as I could get.”

Hatch said he also used some professional actors such as the narrator. “I needed a pregnant woman and my daughter was nine months pregnant so that worked out. I cast my three grandsons to play the main character at different ages. I filled in where I could. I didn't have a lot of money to spend.”

He hired a composer to create an original music score. “I also used some music I have.”

It’s a simple but authentic, unique storyline, said Hatch. “It’s written as a friend of Jim Smedley’s. He is sort of omniscient so he can talk about the future. It’s an odd mix of an approach but it seems to work.”

Hatch said they’d been talking about the film for about a year but he started it in April. “There are root stories inside and outside of the house. But we went to the West Desert for a wagon train. James had fruit orchards so we filmed in Fruit Heights and in some historical homes in Bountiful and Centerville that fit the bill.”

The scenes with family members were filmed in one day, he said. “Another day was the narrator. It was a production of about five days spread out over time.”

Hatch’s career has been in filmmaking so he’s used to working with people who are not trained actors. “I teach a master class in acting,” he said. “We ran through the scenes many times until they kept getting better. You do with what you have but cast it so they can give you what you need.”

Hatch said he’s used to doing everything. “In my career I’ve had to write, produce, be a director and shoot when I need to. That’s what you do when your budget is small and time is of the essence. I like to have kind of control and bring my vision but match what the client wants. It’s been a fulfilling career.”