In the spring of 1996, a two-act musical play, written by freelance writer Lee Davis, was performed at half a dozen churches in the Pine Mountain/LaGrange Georgia area, one hour south of Atlanta. Originally conceived as a showcase for the songwriting and vocal talents of folk performer Judy Reagan and church musician Michael White, Purchase of God grew from a collection of songs into a dramatic story of one woman’s betrayal and redemption, drawing enthusiastic crowds and inspiring the formation of drama groups in at least three of its host churches.
       Meanwhile, Lee Davis’s writing efforts (in particular his screen biography Unaccustomed As We Are: the Story of Laurel and Hardy) earned national honors at WorldFest Houston and The Charleston International Film Festival. Another script placed ninth out of 800 entries in The Lone Star Screenwriting Competition, prompting someone in the Purchase of God troop to jokingly ask Davis, “Why don’t you write our play into a movie?” The idea was intriguing, but not particularly realistic. Pine Mountain, Georgia was, after all, a long way from Hollywood.
       But several factors came into play, not the least of which was a prayer campaign initiated by the Purchase of God castmembers. Soon, private financiers, inspired by the success of the Catholic charity-financed motion picture The Spitfire Grill, approached Lee Davis with financing enough to hire a Director of Photography and crew. As details fell into place for a film version of their stage play, it was agreed that the original Purchase of God players would appear in the movie. Additional parts would be cast out of Atlanta. Davis would adapt the screenplay and direct.
       David Arnold, Director of Photography for such diverse clients as MCI, Mercedes-Benz,and Delta Airlines, was signed to shoot Purchase of God, assisted by Location Audio Specialist Don Dunn. Soon the word got out that an independent film was under way, and technicians, assistants and grips -- collegiate, amateur and professional-- volunteered to help Davis and company record the story of Christine Bell and her Cedar Hill ‘vacation’.
       The action of the stage play took place entirely within the sanctuary of a small church in Cedar Hill, Georgia. Davis’ screenplay, therefore, took advantage of the film medium to ‘open up’ the story. Award-winning science fiction writer Michael Bishop, a Pine Mountain resident, lived in a striking, two-story antebellum house with a wrap-around front porch-- the ideal location for Christine Bell’s conversation with her ‘mirror’ character in the story, pretty boardinghouse owner Ruth Dawson. Other Pine Mountain and LaGrange landmarks were included in the screenplay and the Pine Mountain city water tower and storefronts were changed to read ‘Cedar Hill’ by way of David Arnold’s photographic special effects.
       The biggest challenge facing Davis in adapting Purchase of God for the screen was collapsing the play’s two teen-age female characters, one the preacher’s daughter and the other a free-spirited, curious young woman, into one character-- Elizabeth Humble, the impressionable girl who befriends Christine moments after she lands in Cedar Hill. The part was rewritten for Rachel Hollaway based on her convincing stage performance. 12-year-old Laura Chappell was moved into the important role of Elizabeth’s friend Joanie, a character only mentioned in the play.
       Two other characters, mentioned but not seen in the play, were cast. Former Hollywood special effects man Marvin Gardner, who came to Georgia with the company of Kevin Costner’s The War and decided to stay, agreed to play the part of gruff but benign radio station owner Fred Bartow. Ralph Price, an actor associated with the Warehouse Actors Theatre in north Atlanta, came aboard as Christine’s conniving fiancee, Steven.
       Production commenced in the fall of 1996 and was completed in a total of 20 shooting days.
       As post-production began, an arrangement with custom production house Paul French and Partners allowed Lee Davis to edit his motion picture. The Purchase of God digital audio track was posted at Hammock Audio Services in LaGrange. Musical score was composed and performed by Lee Johnson, former Georgia Artist of the Year, whose credits include the action film Deadly Run and orchestral arrangements for Intersound Records. Final posting was done at Crawford Communications, Atlanta. The POG web site is a service of Stairwell Studios.
       "When you find that God is all you have, you realize that God is all you need." That is the sentiment behind Purchase of God. And that is the witness of the cast and crew who were inspired to tell this story.