# The "Hey, I know that location" thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 19, 2001, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hey-i-know-that-location-thread/88453 "2001-10-19T16:52:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2001, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hey-i-know-that-location-thread/88453/81 "2001-10-22T13:20:50Z")
**Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade** The very opening shot, where the Paramount logo blends (as it does in all Indiana Jones films) into a mountain. Except it blends into a weathered point of sandstone cliff, then tracks down to Indiana and the scouts riding on burros through the desert. As soon as I saw the rocks I thought to myself: “I _know_ those rocks!” It’s Courthouse Towers at Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. The shots of the scouts then go through several non-contiguous areas – Balanced Rock, Skull Arch, the Three Gossips – before they stop. What’s funny is that the nice, paved road is just barely out of shot in all cases, and in the opening shot actually loops around behind the rocks that you see. I’d jusy spent the two previous summers hiking through those rocks, so they were fresh in my memory. In real life, that opening shot should have show a small valley filled with strings directing the hikers to keep off the endangered cryptogamic soil. A lot of flicks were filmed in Arches ( **Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone, Thelma and Louise** , and a lot of car commercials. The scebes with the train were shot in Arizona, though – it doesn’t look at all like the area around Arches. In **Hawaii** the opening scenes were shot at Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Mass. I still find it hard to watch that film, with Torin Thatcher not playing an Evil Magician for once, and picture them in a real village, rather than a “living museum”. ---
**Author:** ![KeithB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/48db29/32.png) [@KeithB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KeithB)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2001, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hey-i-know-that-location-thread/88453/82 "2001-10-22T15:13:39Z")
I have another location-in-waiting. On Carson street in the LA Harbour Strip, they are decorating a little strip mall for a Christmas themed ghetto comedy. They have Christmas decorations all over – even across the street – and what appears to be a “Swap meet” type table filled with junk. What _really_ caught my eye was that they renamed the stores, too. There is a clothes store called “Pimps and Hos,” and a “Holy Moly Donut Shop.” ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2001, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hey-i-know-that-location-thread/88453/83 "2001-10-22T15:44:53Z")
_The Brinks Job_, while set in Pennsylvania, has a couple of scenes filmed in my hometown of Stoneham, Massachusetts, including one of our town square back when it had a quaint little police box in the center. It’s kind of sad watching the movie now, as none of local places filmed exist anymore. A lot of movies were filmed at my college, but only _With Honors_ was done while I was a student. The filmmakers acted like such absolute jerks (they had that Robert Altman “we’re from Hollywood! Don’t you love us for barricading the front of your house and dumping our crap everywhere?” attitude) that I’ve resolved never to watch the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2001, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hey-i-know-that-location-thread/88453/84 "2001-10-22T18:43:08Z")
As I’ve mentioned in another thread, the opening scenes of _The Hunter_ (Steve McQueen’s final movie) were filmed in and around the town I pretty much grew up in. [ul] [li]Papa Thorson captured Tommy Price in Herscher, IL. My guess would be Park Road in the vicinity of Chicago Ave., which is just north of the railroad crossing. Got my haircuts in Herscher after ours closed up shop.[/li][li]The in-car conversation between Papa and Tommy takes place near the intersection of Illinois Route 17 and Kankakee County 12.[/li][li]The payphone scenes took place in Bonfield, corner of Chester Ave. and Smith Street.[/li][li]Papa, Tommy, and Billie Joe are shown driving east down Smith Street toward Bonfield Road.[/li][/ul] > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Olentzero_ > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by obfusciatrist \* > > **…Though being very familiar with the location of a film can cause problems when you see the hero make a 5-minute drive from downtown Oakland to Richmond, for example)…** > > _Enemy of the State_ had a serious geographical continuity problem, too. The whole chase scene when the video is dropped off in Will’s bag - Smiff enters a lingerie store in one neighborhood and comes out the back door in a neighborhood that’s a good 20-minute walk away. Got plenty of mileage in the _Post_ out of that. > > Of course DC seems to get the geographical short shrift anyway - in every political thriller I’ve seen, the Pentagon has a nice view of the National Mall with the Capitol in the background.\*\* I’ve heard that one movie, dunno which, showed a Metro stop _in_ the Old Post Office Building. Nearest one is actually across the street. ---
**Author:** ![Mogwei22](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@Mogwei22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mogwei22)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2001, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hey-i-know-that-location-thread/88453/85 "2001-10-22T19:41:46Z")
**Robot Arm** Zesty’s is in a small strip of stores in downtown Chelmsford…right near the CVS and Marshalls. I would suggest it…then again…I got some free food there so i’m a bit biased. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2001, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hey-i-know-that-location-thread/88453/86 "2001-10-22T20:06:05Z")
GilaB and Musicat’s posts reminded me of another one: **EdTV** takes place in San Francisco but nothing and nobody in the film resemble the city I know so well. However, when Matthew McConaughey chases Jenna Elfman into a movie theater, it turned out to be my beloved [Castro Theatre](http://www.thecastrotheatre.com/), one of the best Art Deco movie houses on the west coast. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2001, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hey-i-know-that-location-thread/88453/87 "2001-10-22T20:24:40Z")
Outdoor scenes from _The Day After_, parts of which were supposed to take place in Lawrence, Kansas, actually were filmed there, and a lot of that countryside you see in the flyover scenes was from around there. A made for TV movie _The Stalking of Laura Black_, starring Brookes Shields and Richard"John Boy"Thomas, had a number of scenes filmed here in Topeka. In some scenes outside the office building where the shootings take place I can see the roof of the big HyperMart store across the way. The TV film _Cross of Fire_, about the trial for murder of a powerful Klansman, had chunks shot here in Topeka as well. Our streets and Capitol Building stood in for those of Indiana, where the action was supposed to take place. And the home of the chief bad guy was the Kansas governor’s mansion, Cedar Crest. ---
**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:** [October 23, 2001, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hey-i-know-that-location-thread/88453/88 "2001-10-23T00:38:27Z")
Sublight, _The Brinks Job_ was set in Boston, it’s from a true story. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hey-i-know-that-location-thread/88453/89 "2001-10-23T01:07:38Z")
_Dirty Harry_ is a good one for SF. I live across the street from Kezar stadium, which is featured prominently in one scene. Of course, my favorite scene in any SF movie is in _The Graduate_, when Ben drives to Berkeley across the Bay Bridge, and he’s driving East on the upper span, which happens to be the wrong direction. I can’t believe they shut down the Bay Bridge for that one scene - the traffic must have been brutal that day. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hey-i-know-that-location-thread/88453/90 "2001-10-23T03:21:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Robot Arm \* > \*\*Sublight, _The Brinks Job_ was set in Boston, it’s from a true story. \*\* Ok, but I’m pretty sure there was a brief scene that took place in Pennsylvania. If the rest of the movie was set in Boston, at least that would explain why they filmed that scene out in the suburbs. Sorry, It’s been a while since I’ve seen it. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2001, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hey-i-know-that-location-thread/88453/91 "2001-10-23T13:50:45Z")
**Anatomy of a Murder** was filmed about half an hour away from where I grew up, in Marquette, MI. Very good movie, btw. Lee Remick was quite the babe and it had a very cool soundtrack by Duke Ellington. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hey-i-know-that-location-thread/88453.md?page=4)