# Cities "Doubling" As Other Cities In Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 17, 2015, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939 "2015-10-17T21:50:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/1 "2015-10-17T21:50:33Z")
I recently read on the internet a post by someone who was inquiring about whether Montevideo, Uruguay has “doubled” for Havana, Cuba in movies before. Someone replied that the Uruguayan Capital city has never been used as a setting for the Cuban capital in movies. But that they have seen Barcelona, Spain used as Havana in “Voyage of the Damned” and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic filling in for Havana in “Godfather II”. I knew that sometimes locations used in movies are not the actual location, but another place “doubling” for that city. I remember in 1999’s James Bond film “The World Is Not Enough”, a scene was supposedly shot in Azerbaijan. Who knows if it actually was filmed in that country or not? This is not surprising, it’s hard and not worth it to travel and shoot in the actual place for one scene only. Among other reasons. But I have no idea in which movies or shows cities doubling for other cities, and have never paid much attention or thought to it. Do any of you actually know of places doubling for other places in movies. Please mention. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/2 "2015-10-17T22:22:37Z")
Vancouver has stood in as a generic San Francisco fairly often. The two cities have similar climates, hilly terrain and even electric trolley bus lines. Obviously, the major buildings and views are different, but for close-scale street scenes, Vancouver has been cheaper in terms of labor, permits, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/3 "2015-10-17T22:22:47Z")
Not sure if this is what you are looking for but [Vancouver never plays itself](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojm74VGsZBU). ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/4 "2015-10-17T22:38:07Z")
[Toronto](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_shot_in_Toronto) certainly stands in for many cities in the US. [The Freshman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Freshman_%281990_film%29), set in New York, was filmed in [Montreal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_shot_in_Montreal). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/5 "2015-10-17T22:44:11Z")
The old districts of Helsinki often stand in for Moscow. _ **Firefox** _ was filmed there, and I recognized the Helsinki Metro immediately. In the Soviet series of Sherlock Holmes movies (which were excellent, BTW), Baltic cities stood in for London. ---
**Author:** ![northporlarbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7bcc69/32.png) [@northporlarbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/northporlarbear)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/6 "2015-10-17T22:46:11Z")
Looks like Canadian cities are cheaper than USA. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/7 "2015-10-17T22:58:41Z")
They used Dallas for Detroit in at least one of the Robocop movies. Real Detroit was way too run down to even play a run down Old Detroit. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/8 "2015-10-17T23:09:08Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Not sure if this is what you are looking for but [Vancouver never plays itself](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojm74VGsZBU). Yes, all examples are welcome. Good responses to everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/9 "2015-10-17T23:11:53Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The old districts of Helsinki often stand in for Moscow. _ **Firefox** _ was filmed there, and I recognized the Helsinki Metro immediately. > > In the Soviet series of Sherlock Holmes movies (which were excellent, BTW), Baltic cities stood in for London. I don’t recall ever recognizing L.A other than it’s when it’s supposed to be L.A in the movie, show or commercial. Never as one city, then as watching it realizing that blank city is really L.A standing in for that city by recognizing a detail. I find your attention to the Helsinki Metro interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/10 "2015-10-17T23:12:54Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > They used Dallas for Detroit in at least one of the Robocop movies. Real Detroit was way too run down to even play a run down Old Detroit. LMAO!!:p:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mr.Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Me)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/11 "2015-10-18T00:37:43Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > They used Dallas for Detroit in at least one of the Robocop movies. Real Detroit was way too run down to even play a run down Old Detroit. Some of Robocop 2 was filmed in Houston. I once worked with a guy who was an extra (he played a security guard at the OCP building, iirc). ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/12 "2015-10-18T00:45:29Z")
_Last of the Mohicans_ was set in upstate New York, but filmed in North Carolina. Also see: [California Doubling](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CaliforniaDoubling) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/13 "2015-10-18T00:54:12Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > They used Dallas for Detroit in at least one of the Robocop movies. Real Detroit was way too run down to even play a run down Old Detroit. And St. Louis substituted for New York City in _Escape from New York_ because Real New York wasn’t run down enough! ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/14 "2015-10-18T02:05:26Z")
The early scenes in the movie _Stripes_ were supposed to take place in New York City. In reality, they were filmed in Louisville, KY. Ft Knox is not too far from Louisville. The scene where Bill Murray stops the cab he’s driving and throws the keys into the river? That was the Second Street Bridge that spans the Ohio River, leading into Indiana. Trivia bit: The bridge that was used in that scene is the one that Muhammad Ali is alleged to have [thrown his Olympic medal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali#Early_life_and_amateur_career) after still experiencing racism. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/15 "2015-10-18T02:11:20Z")
A lot of the city scenes in _The Avengers_ were filmed in Cleveland, including the scenes where Loki appeared (supposedly in Stuttgart) and the scenes where the Avengers fought the Chitauri (supposedly in Manhattan). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/16 "2015-10-18T02:14:43Z")
One surprising one is _Full Metal Jacket_. Kubrick didn’t feel like traveling so the entire movie was filmed in the United Kingdom - including the battle scenes that were supposed to be in Vietnam. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/17 "2015-10-18T02:15:23Z")
> [@Nema98](#): > > I find your attention to the Helsinki Metro interesting. I rode on it when I visited a classmate there. She (a native Finn) thought it was something of a joke, because it had only one line (this was in 1990) with not too many stops. You don’t really need the Metro to get around Helsinki; I did it very well on foot. And after having lived in Moscow for almost a quarter century, I can tell you the Metro there bears little resemblance to the one in Helsinki. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/18 "2015-10-18T02:17:01Z")
> [@Wolf333](#): > > _Last of the Mohicans_ was set in upstate New York, but filmed in North Carolina. _ **The Green Berets** _ was set in Vietnam, but filmed in Georgia (USA). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/19 "2015-10-18T02:26:05Z")
Los Angeles has stood in for numerous cities. The TV show Castle takes place in NY, filmed in LA. The early season of McGuiver was supposed to take place in various locations around the world, filmed in LA. The very first mission Impossible TV show was supposed to take place at an Eastern European prison. The exteriors were filmed at Fairfax High School. My father’s construction office was a guard shack. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939/20 "2015-10-18T02:28:00Z")
A fair amount of _Up In The Air_ was filmed in St. Louis. One neighborhood stood in for Chicago. A couple places were used for a Wisconsin town (I think; wherever Clooney’s character was supposed to have grown up). Some empty buildings were also used for interior shots. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-doubling-as-other-cities-in-movies/734939.md?page=2)