# Shows or film that were actually filmed in the place where they are set **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2021, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764 "2021-01-18T00:29:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![BigDfromLA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@BigDfromLA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDfromLA)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/81 "2021-01-19T09:30:36Z")
You are right. Monk was filmed in Southern California. Years ago I went to a grocery store near my work in Downey, CA, about 13 miles from downtown L.A. Monk was being filmed in the store’s parking lot. They even had police cars there marked San Francisco P.D. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/82 "2021-01-19T10:47:02Z")
The scenes in the film **The Fugitive** that are supposed to be in and around Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/83 "2021-01-19T11:03:17Z")
I’m less familiar with the remakes, but the original (1960) _Oceans’ Eleven_ was set in and filmed in Las Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/84 "2021-01-19T11:21:22Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Me, too. I love the Bradbury building. Some very good TV episodes and movies were filmed there. I’m not sure if it’s still the case, but the Bradbury was home to LAPD Internal Affairs for decades, which, for cops, must have made it the scariest building in LA. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/85 "2021-01-19T13:09:36Z")
_The Sound of Music_ was filmed in and around Salzburg. You can do a tour and visit the nunnery and the church where they got married, and the steps where they danced to Do Re Me. You can see the house from across a lake but can’t visit it, as it’s a private American college. (Why yes, I did do the tour, since you ask!) _Notting Hill_ was filmed in the Notting Hull suburb of London. It has a distinctive architecture and vibe so they would have struggled to recreate it elsewhere. Bridgerton, on the other hand, was not filmed much in London, the outdoor ‘London’ scenes were filmed in Bath which is SO bloody obvious. Bath looks nothing like London. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/86 "2021-01-19T13:36:34Z")
How could we forget _The Blues Brothers_? It was famously filmed on location in Chicago. I don’t know if I’ve ever driven through a place and recognized it from a movie…except when I drove through Chicago. I recognized the main entrance to Wrigley Field from the opening to “Perfect Strangers”! But the show wasn’t filmed in Chicago, just the opening. I didn’t actually recognize any filming locations on my trip to Chicago from _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_ (other than Wrigley), but it was filmed on location. Oddly enough, the family home was located in Los Angeles (everything else, including Cameron’s home, is the Chicago area). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/87 "2021-01-19T13:54:49Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > When were you at USC? I was there in the mid 1980s and I can’t remember if Paper Chase was still being filmed at the time. I do remember a part of an episode of Remington Steele being filmed right outside the residence building I lived in. BSCS 77-79, MBA 80-81. Ref the wiki, _Paper Chase_ has just one season aired in 78-79, then production was halted for a few years then restarted in 1983 for a different network. By '83 I had left USC. I’ve never seen any of the later episodes and have no idea where they were filmed. ---
**Author:** ![Kzbre5m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kzbre5m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kzbre5m)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/88 "2021-01-19T14:02:18Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > the TV series _Emergency!_ … Some/Half/Most of their emergencies were real LA locations. It was fun watching them zoom real streets and see gas stations and department store signs – stock footage, I assume. Though you can “sort of tell” when they are pulling up to a real building or a back lot. The airplane crash into an apartment building was a real location, if I remember. I found the location on google maps – the tall building diagonally across was used for the overhead shots. Double ninja’d about how Station 51 covered most of TMZ Los Angeles, but it was only ten minutes to get to Rampart. (Except when it was a plot story.) Some fan must of tracked where all the addresses were located from the radio calls. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/89 "2021-01-19T15:14:47Z")
I forget whether the location was mentioned in the movie, but the famous restaurant scene in _Five Easy Pieces_ (“Hold 'em between your legs!”) was filmed in a restaurant on Bainbridge Island, Washington (in the part that at the time was called Winslow). It still operates as a restaurant, at least as of the last time I lived there in 2016. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/90 "2021-01-19T15:32:21Z")
Emergency! got a lot of interesting locations. They’d cover brush fires in the valley, even the very north end, they’d help boaters in Castaic Lake, which is half way to Bakersfield (like a 1-2 hour drive to “Rampart”.), they’d take calls on Mulholland Drive, rescue people from Marina Del Rey (with assistance from the actual Station 110), get a kid off the Colorado St bridge in Pasadena, rescue a guy trapped in the sky ride at Marineland of the Pacific (near Long Beach), go to Playa del Rey, respond to traffic accidents on the 5 or the 405, respond to Griffith Observatory and the Railroad Park, take numerous calls within a mile of Universal Studios, many more calls where the Universal backlot was used as if it were a real location (hey, didn’t Adam-12 just arrest a guy there last week? Didn’t Chief Ironside question a witness there?), and of course a couple times they’d respond to calls where actors or stuntmen got hurt at “Miracle Pictures Studio” (aka Universal) - talk about a budget-saving choice. 🙂 Don’t even have to leave that day. I don’t think they ever went east of the 605, though. I guess they wanted _some_ believability. 🙂 As a kid watching it, I didn’t know and couldn’t care. I loved the show. LA was this magical place. Now I watch it, and I’m like, “I know where that is, and it isn’t where they are supposed to be!” ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/91 "2021-01-19T15:43:01Z")
I was a big TV fan growing up, so when I moved to LA, I thought now I’ll get the see “where all the magic happens”. My very first day, I didn’t even have my car, so I went for a walk around my neighborhood (Marina Del Rey/Venice). Surprise surprise, I get to the end of the apartment complex, and what do I see but Simon and Simon’s office building, right there! On my very first day, I found my first recognizable filming location! Except S&S was set in San Diego! Oops. The magic got tarnished just a little that day. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/92 "2021-01-19T16:40:56Z")
> [@TiberiusNeroClaudius](#): > > TV shows “Route 66” and “Movin’ On”. Maybe a couple of the Route 66 episodes took place in cities or towns on Route 66, but the overwhelming majority were far from the mother road. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/93 "2021-01-19T16:44:51Z")
Rocky ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/94 "2021-01-19T16:48:52Z")
In the _Doctor Who_ episode “City of Death” all the exteriors were shot on location in Paris. Indeed, there were long sequences of the Doctor and Romana walking around Paris just to show they were there. _[The Man on the Eiffel Tower](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041628/)_ was shot completely in Paris. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/95 "2021-01-19T18:50:07Z")
The larglely-forgettable movie Smokin’ Aces was actually shot in Tahoe and is set there… They got some stuff wrong, but at least they were actually there. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/96 "2021-01-19T19:32:15Z")
How about _The Love Boat_? It was shot on two ships. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/97 "2021-01-19T19:44:53Z")
_The Last Voyage_, about a ship sinking, was shot aboard the actual ship. And, yes, they sunk it. > **[The Last Voyage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Voyage)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > The Last Voyage is a 1960 Metrocolor American disaster film written and directed by Andrew L. Stone. It stars Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone, George Sanders, and Edmond O'Brien, and features Tammy Marihugh. > The film centers on the sinking of an aged ocean liner in the Pacific Ocean following an explosion in the boiler room. There are some plot similarities to the disaster involving the Italian liner SS Andrea Doria, which sank after a collision fo... ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/98 "2021-01-19T20:18:04Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > How about _The Love Boat_ ? It was shot on two ships Speaking of lovey boats, parts of Titanic were filmed on location… ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/99 "2021-01-19T20:25:08Z")
[Terriers](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1493239/) took place and was filmed in various locations in and around San Diego. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764/100 "2021-01-19T20:31:49Z")
Even when films are shot where they’re located, there are still inaccuracies. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen movies set in Los Angeles where the time it takes to travel from one place to another is impossible, or they’re on the wrong freeway, or they’re going the wrong direction. Plus there are the movies where they show you the famous city landmarks, even though being at that location makes no sense, story wise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-or-film-that-were-actually-filmed-in-the-place-where-they-are-set/930764.md?page=6)