The cast and crew of "Engagement to Murder" load into a limo on their way to the Student Film Night and Awards Ceremony held at U.O.P. "Engagement to Murder" won Best Picture and Best Cinematography. Photo by: Scott Thomas Anderson Caroline Taylor, who grew up in Ione, wrote, produced and directed "Engagement to Murder." Taylor now has two awards to show for her effort. Photo by: Scott Thomas Anderson

They fought back the daylight stubbornly pouring through the open windows, drawing curtain after curtain until the audience that filled the room was waiting in shadow. Everyone present was about to watch a murder.

On May 10, aspiring director Caroline Taylor debuted her movie "Engagement to Murder" before a packed house at Clark's Corner in Ione. A local woman who grew up amidst the city's faded storefronts and old, hanging eves, Taylor revealed a student film project that was nothing less than a love letter to Hollywood's forgotten genres, as well as the history of a hometown that's always captured her imagination.

Three days later, Taylor's film won top honors at the Student Film Night and Awards Ceremony held in Stockton.

Taylor has been making films at the University of the Pacific since last year. Double-majoring in Film Studies and Political Science, her first assignment for the school was a silent, black and white comedy shot on a Super 8mm camera called "Cube." She followed "Cube" with a hilarious color sequel set to music, entitled "Dream Girl." All along, Taylor was building up for an opportunity to create an entire story of her own, complete with dialog and elaborate sets - which became a must when she was recently assigned a project that involved shooting a movie with a digital camera.The result was "Engagement to Murder," a clever homage to film noir, along with a touch of old school, silver-screen horror. The film tells the story of a lounge singer trapped in a chilling love triangle. Its star, Argonaut senior Stormy Sergent, did her own singing on the low, curtained stage at Clark's Corner, a setting Taylor was able to transform into a smoky gin joint with little effort.    

"When I was writing it, I was inspired by many of my favorite films, most of which take place in the 1930s," Taylor said. "Everything from 'Pennies from Heaven' and 'Clue' to 'Gosford Park' were influences on it."

As Taylor moved through seven drafts of her script, which was originally called "Basement Blues," she became increasingly intent on having a large cast that would play out most of her tale at Ione's most noted landmark - Preston Castle.

"It took three weeks to get to the script we actually used, but the murder mystery gave me a chance to incorporate a lot of actors," she said. "The cast had a great time filming in Preston Castle. It was exciting for them to wander around and try to find the perfect rooms to shoot in."

Two days before the digital film began to roll on "Engagement to Murder," Taylor found a new creative partner to help bring her vision to the screen. Eddy Walsh is a self-described "hobbyist" when it comes to sound editing. Walsh has been reading about the movie-making process for years and owns a collection of sound-editing software. He jumped on the chance to help Taylor with her ambitious project.   

"The whole thing was an adventure," Walsh recalled. "Most people had never had free run of places like Preston Castle. And it was really great to work with so many creative people." In the end Walsh assisted with most of the camera work, as well as a particularly difficult sound-editing mission.

"We were promised some really sophisticated sound equipment from the school, but we weren't able to get it on the days we needed," Taylor said.

"We did a straight 17-hour shooting schedule, basically using the same one mic for each situation. We had to go back and fix a lot of the sound in editing."

Walsh called the process "grueling."

The hard work soon paid off. The Clark's Corner premiere of "Engagement to Murder" drew a full house. Three days later, Taylor and her cast and crew piled into a limousine and drove to the Student Film Night and Awards Ceremony at UOP.  

"I was nervous," Taylor admitted the next day. "We faced some stiff competition going in. When we won, I was really surprised but happy." Not only did Taylor's film win the most coveted prize of the night, Best Picture, the sweeping footage of the Ione Hotel and Preston Castle helped garner it the award for Best Cinematography.   

Taylor and Walsh have started drafting their next project, currently under the working title, "Miss Motherlode." For Taylor, the experience of making "Engagement to Murder" will always stand out to her because of how supportive and involved the community was. "I'm so proud of everything we were able to accomplish," she said. "I really wanted to create something Ione could be proud of - something that would showcase everything that was special about our hometown."