Lexington Filmmaker’s ‘Ghost Army’ to Ride Again in Salem

It was around this time last year—a few weeks earlier, if we’re being honest—that t as a local promotion for his then-in-the-works documentary project on the Ghost Army.

A WWII unit full of artists specializing in deception, the Ghost Army crisscrossed the European Theatre in an effort to dupe the Germans and save lives. Beyer first heard about the so-called Ghost Army about eight years ago; last year, he was in a final state of fundraising and hoping to get his documentary onto PBS or some other venue.

Part of that effort included an exhibit at the Lexington Depot, followed by a surreal and hilariously one-of-a-kind faux face-off with Patriots’ Day re-enactors on the Battle Green in Lexington Center.

Since then, Beyer and his film have been making moves.

There was a recent Chronicle appearance and an apparently overwhelming response at the Salem Film Festival, which has led to a second showing, scheduled for 4 p.m. this Wednesday, March 13 at CinemaSalem.

According to the Salem Film Festival’s website, the second showing was added due to overwhelming response that sold out the first. For the upcoming encore performance, Beyer will be on-hand to take questions from the audience.

Speaking to Patch back during his initial Lexington exhibit, Beyer described Ghost Army as an enormously fascinating and yet underappreciated aspect of the WWII narrative.

"This exhibit is kind of a snapshot of the story the film tells,” Beyer said last February, standing outside of his exhibit at Lexington Depot, “Which is the story of a bunch of guys who go to war with inflatable tanks and sound trucks, land in Normandy, France in June 1944 and do 21 different deception missions trying to deceive the Germans, to fool the Germans, using all their trickery over the course of the next nine months until the end of the war. And so we're trying to tell that story, tell it in a film that we hope will get on PBS and try to tell it in this exhibit."

And it’s that film you’ll be able to see at 4 p.m. this Wednesday afternoon in Salem.

Tickets can be purchased online here. And don’t forget to read the film fest’s recent interview with Beyer about the men of the 23rd, his experiences making the film, and THE GHOST ARMY.