Intruder in the Dust

Photo by J. R. Cofield

The world premiere of MGM’s “Intruder in the Dust”

In 1949, William Faulkner walked from his home at Rowan Oak to his childhood stable for the world premiere of MGM’s “Intruder in the Dust” that was adapted from one of his novels.

The property at 1006 Van Buren Avenue in Oxford, Mississippi, has enjoyed an extremely interesting life since its original construction in the late 1800’s. The structure was originally a livery stable owned by William Faulkner’s family in the early part of the 20th century. During the 1920’s it was converted into a theatre for live performances and silent films and named The Lyric Theatre. The advent of motion pictures saw The Lyric evolve into Oxford’s first movie theatre. The Lyric stopped operating as a movie theatre in the 1970’s and was left abandoned for many years until the early 1980’s when it was restored and converted into office spaces and a health center. In 2007, The Lyric underwent an extensive restoration process and was returned to its original use as a theatre and began operating again on July 3rd, 2008.