The last time I spoke with St. Louis Post Dispatch film critic Joe Williams, it was after a movie last winter and in a circle of film critics. That’s the way it worked for movie scribes. A movie would be screened and the critics would inform the local marketing company, Allied, rep what they thought afterwards. A quick take. Joe and I didn’t agree that much, but I respected his work and his blunt assessment of film.

Sunday evening, in route to a movie in Cadet, Missouri, Williams was killed in a car crash. The St. Louis film scene will never be the same. Williams’ loss will reverberate throughout the country.

The hardest part of a writer’s death is never hearing their voice again. Changing websites or papers is one thing. Post Dispatch sports writer Bernie Miklasz will leave the paper in August but he can be found at 101 ESPN afterwards. Williams’ voice is gone forever. That is truly the toughest part of this ordeal. For a town with one paper, Williams was the voice for film fans in the Lou. Every week, they’d rush to the stands or refresh their STLToday apps and see what he thought of the latest flicks. That will not be possible after this weekend.  (more…)