Film History of the National WWI Museum & Memorial

The National WWI Museum and Liberty Memorial—iconic landmarks in Kansas City—have been featured in countless television programs and films.


The Day After

Some films focus on the Liberty Memorial’s history, while others, like The Day After, used this KC landmark for a far more cinematic purpose. The movie, which was about a nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia, is to this day the most watched and highest rated TV movie of all time.

The Day After filmed in Lawrence and Kansas City

While much of the film was shot in nearby Lawrence, the production made its way eastward for vital scenes in which Liberty Memorial and Kansas City are reduced to rubble. In the final scene, actor Jason Robards walks through the fallout of the attack and witnesses what’s left of Liberty Memorial and the city in a dramatic end to the film.

Article 99

The memorial also features prominently in the Howard Deutch film, Article 99, which follows a group of doctors at a veteran’s hospital as they fight the bureaucracy and belt-tightening of hospital administrators in order to care for and protect their patients.

Article 99 Filmed in Kansas City Mo

The film was set in the now-demolished St. Mary’s Hospital, which once overlooked Liberty Memorial and KC’s Downtown skyline, and featured an incredible cast, including Ray Liotta, Kiefer Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Lea Thompson and John Mahoney.

Fast Facts

  • The tragic events of the First World War have been explored through countless films and television programs since it took place 1914–1918. But, coincidentally, the first film ever to win an Oscar for Best Picture was William A. Wellman’s WWI aviation spectacle Wings, which starred KC native—and KU graduate—Charles “Buddy” Rogers.
  • Opened November 11, 1926
  • The nation’s only World War I museum

Find It

 

 

Movie Trip Goes To Liberty Memorial

Movie Trip Kansas City talks Liberty Memorial

Explore the Area

Apr 06
Apr 07
Apr 08
Apr 11
Apr 13
Apr 18
Apr 19
Apr 19
Apr 24
Apr 25
Apr 27
Apr 30
May 02
May 03
May 05
May 06
May 07
May 10
May 10
May 14
May 15
May 15
May 17
May 19
May 24
May 25
May 26
Jun 02
Jun 02
Jun 06
Jun 08
Jun 09
Jun 11
Jun 12
Jun 16
Jul 26
Jul 31
Aug 05
Aug 09
Aug 15
Aug 20
Aug 21
Aug 23
Aug 24
Sep 14
Sep 14
Oct 16
Oct 25
Nov 06