# Small Movie Set **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 10, 2020, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335 "2020-06-10T00:25:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kzbre5m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kzbre5m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kzbre5m)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/1 "2020-06-10T00:25:53Z")
Somehow this trivia question popped up while watching endless television. What is the smallest movie set or stage used in a major movie? While you could mention the movie you and your brother made in your bathroom when you were kids, or an old off-theatre production, I’m thinking regular theatrical productions. Live action, not animations. And lets not get into “bigger inside than out” Dr Who TARDIS. To make it easier, let’s say most of the production is there. Beginning and ending, how the actors get into the situation and finally get out, we can forgive. I can think of a couple. To give size to small, the largest one I can think of off-hand is **[Rear Window](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rear_Window)**. The entire movie was one set. Pretty cool concept, but still large. **[Life of Pi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_of_Pi)** is a boat, though cheating as there is animations. I haven’t seen it, so I don’t know how much of the movie is boat. Another boat is **[Life Boat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifeboat_(1944_film))**. I haven’t seen this one either. **The African Queen** was another boat. And I’m sure there are movies completely in submarines. I also thought of stage productions that had movies made. Lets not get into a movie made of an actual stage play, but a move production of a stage play. **Arsenic and Old Lace** was a living room on stage and expanded a little to outside the house in the movie. Same with **Desk Set** , though the movie wandered more. So those are bad examples, though points for trying. I did a quick search and came up with **[A Boy And His Atom: The World’s Smallest Movie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSCX78-8-q0)**, which uses atoms and admittedly stop-action, so mostly out as not live action. I guess atoms can be “live”? Some others are **Apollo 13** (kinda), **The Taking of the Pelham One-Two-Three** (again, kinda). Those two the main drama was in a capsule and a subway car, so “kinda”. Unfortunately, I forgot the move that made me think of this. Like a phone booth or something. ---
**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:** [June 10, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/2 "2020-06-10T00:29:27Z")
_My Dinner with Andre_. Except for a couple of shots at the beginning and end on a bus, the movie takes place at one table in a restaurant. Neither character leaves it. ---
**Author:** ![Kzbre5m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kzbre5m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kzbre5m)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/3 "2020-06-10T00:48:47Z")
That’s a good one. Probably a cheap budget for the set too. Well, except it’s a New York City restaurant. To be honest, I’m probably not the best one for movies. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/4 "2020-06-10T00:53:34Z")
How about Dogville. [This](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5186/afe7/b3fc/4b4d/5200/0097/large_jpg/47.jpg?1367781348) was pretty much the entire set. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/5 "2020-06-10T00:55:56Z")
Hitchcocks Rope. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/6 "2020-06-10T01:02:05Z")
Hitchcock’s **Lifeboat** ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/7 "2020-06-10T01:08:53Z")
12 Angry Men? ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/8 "2020-06-10T01:11:14Z")
[_Closet Land_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closet_Land) takes place entirely in a single interrogation room. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/9 "2020-06-10T01:24:46Z")
_The Gin Game_. Originally a stage play, two TV-movies of it were made; one in 1981 with Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy; and the other in 2003, with Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. All the action takes place on the verandah of a senior citizens’ home. On stage, the whole set measures about 25’ to 30’, by 12’ to 15’ or so. From watching the TV movies, I’d guess that the producers were working with about the same sized set. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/10 "2020-06-10T01:28:02Z")
Ryan Reynolds was in _Buried_, which was set in a coffin. Tom Hardy was in _Locke_, which was set in a BMW X5. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/11 "2020-06-10T01:35:26Z")
Just today I was watching _How to Steal a Million_. Peter O’Toole and Audrey Hepburn spend a significant amount of time in a very small closet. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/12 "2020-06-10T02:27:50Z")
> [@Kzbre5m](#): > > **[Life of Pi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_of_Pi)** is a boat, though cheating as there is animations. I haven’t seen it, so I don’t know how much of the movie is boat. Another boat is **[Life Boat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifeboat_(1944_film))**. I haven’t seen this one either. **The African Queen** was another boat. In terms of size of boat, I think [_The Old Man and the Sea_](https://thepulitzerproject.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/spencer-tracy-old-man-and-the-sea.jpeg) might come in as smallest. Much of _Life of Pi_ is on the lifeboat, although quite a bit takes place elsewhere before and after the boat voyage. _Lifeboat_ takes place almost entirely on the boat. I don’t think _African Queen_ counts since that was an actual boat rather than a set (although I suppose that they could have made a mockup for some shots.) ---
**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:** [June 10, 2020, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/13 "2020-06-10T02:43:58Z")
> [@Kzbre5m](#): > > I haven’t seen this one either. **The African Queen** was another boat. The first few scenes of _The African Queen_ take part at a Methodist Mission in Africa, and the final scenes are aboard a German boat. > [@](#): > > And I’m sure there are movies completely in submarines. _Das Boot_, except for the closing and opening scenes. _The Boys in the Band_ takes place in a single NYC apartment, though it does have a balcony. _Give 'Em Hell, Harry!_ is one-man show starring James Whitmore and he appears on a single stage with just a few pieces of furniture. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/14 "2020-06-10T04:08:47Z")
[Abandon Ship!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Waves_Away) (apparently also called Seven Waves Away) takes place entirely in a small lifeboat. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/15 "2020-06-10T04:15:36Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > _Give 'Em Hell, Harry!_ is one-man show starring James Whitmore and he appears on a single stage with just a few pieces of furniture. Similarly, “Secret Honor,” but with Philip Baker Hall as Richard Nixon ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/16 "2020-06-10T04:54:51Z")
> [@Kzbre5m](#): > > Unfortunately, I forgot the move that made me think of this. Like a phone booth or something. Was it perhaps [_Phone Booth_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phone_Booth_(film))? (However, a lot the action takes place on the street around the booth.) Luis Bunuel’s [_The Exterminating Angel_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exterminating_Angel) mostly takes place in one room of a mansion. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/17 "2020-06-10T05:35:03Z")
Tom Hardy never gets out of the car in _Locke_, right? On the flip side, they had to pull it all the way down the M6… ---
**Author:** ![Kzbre5m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kzbre5m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kzbre5m)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/18 "2020-06-10T12:38:23Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Was it perhaps Phone Booth? After an overnight think about this I still don’t remember what I was thinking of. I might have been watching an old Perry Mason and just thought up a movie in a booth, or it was something completely different. After I had read my OP I did think of **Phone Booth** , but that wasn’t what I was thinking, and my lack of watching it except in commercials made me think “not quite”. > [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Abandon Ship! (apparently also called Seven Waves Away) … > [@RealityChuck](#): > > Das Boot … > [@Colibri](#): > > … The Old Man and the Sea … I’m wondering if we should have a separate “boat” category? \ I had heard of **Das Boot** but, again, hadn’t seen it and didn’t know how much was in the boat itself. I’ve been watching (more listening) a television series **Silent Service** (1957-1958) about WW2 submarine stories, but there was lots of other places too. Thinking about it, if all the action was in _one_ place in the sub (Conning Tower, Bridge, etc) it could count, but all over the boat, probably not. > [@Sefton](#): > > Ryan Reynolds was in **Buried** , which was set in a coffin. Vaguely heard of this – probably a winner. > [@Joey P](#): > > How about Dogville. … Minimalist productions are over in room 2 \ Similarly with that **Star Trek O K Corral**. And **Waiting for Godot**. Another (different) category could be driving around in a vehicle: Driving Around Getting Coffee types. Now I’m wondering how a movie could carry over the course of one or two hours with minimal to work with. The boats, and Twelve Angry Men, have at least the tension of people (or depth charges, or a fish) to play off. Buried has the tension of rescued in the end (I assume; don’t count as a spoiler). Though I’m guessing it ends up as a lot of talking. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/19 "2020-06-10T12:52:58Z")
It’s been decades since I saw it, but Fassbinder’s “The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant” pretty much takes place in the main character’s bedroom. In looking up info on that movie, I found [this link about 10 great movies set in one location.](https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/lists/10-great-films-set-one-location) ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2020, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335/20 "2020-06-10T13:40:14Z")
The sci-fi movie Cube was set in a never-ending maze of identical square rooms but to make the movie all they used is a single room for the set and varied the lighting. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-movie-set/855335.md?page=2)