Scott Jordan Harris (ed.): World Film Locations New York. Bristol, UK: Intellect Books, 2011. 126 pp. ill.
This slim volume is clearly meant for fans who are already familiar with most of the films under discussion but who are interested in the local angle, who want answers to questions like, “Is that the Woolworth Building?” So it’s a mystery why it was considered necessary to provide abbreviated plot summaries, even for such classics as The Godfather: “… beloved son Michael returns from war a hero with no interest in joining the family business.” Why waste words on this when each film is given only about half a page to begin with? It’s as if the editor (Scott Jordan Harris) and the publisher (Intellect Books) either have no idea of their intended audience, or have a low opinion of them.
Some rather forgettable movies are considered worthy of brief mention – Flaming Creatures from 1963, for instance. Pillow Talk, which is set in the city but not made there, gets the full treatment. Fair enough. But then why doesn’t 12 Angry Men, which was both set in New York and filmed on location, rate so much as a mention? Moscow on the Hudson also failed to make the cut. Incredible. (I wrote this just hours after the death of Robin Williams.)
The choice of films is one thing. But what ultimately makes this ship with insufficient ballast keel over and sink to the bottom is the writing. Practically every entry features annoying little stylistic infelicities. Someone who cares about language can’t read more than a few pages without wincing. Take the opening words of the opening essay: “New York City is photogenic. Of course, it is.” Gotta love that comma, so carefully placed, so superfluous. Contributing author David Finkle goes on to remind us that the song “Hooray for Hollywood” was written – I kid you not – for Hollywood, and that the music for An American in Paris was written – for Paris!
Grace Wang feels it necessary to inform us that the World Trade Centre was located “in New York City.” Just in case we thought the towers were in Kokomo. Does anyone (except for Simon Kinnear) seriously think that the torch held aloft by the Statue of Liberty “wards off potential aggressors”? Its official name, “Liberty Enlightening the World,” probably gives a better clue as to its intended purpose. According to Emma Simmonds, “All manners [sic] of wickedness” take place in Rosemary’s Baby. In his essay on Mo’ Better Blues, Omar P. L. Moore reveals that “the music and the span of the Brooklyn Bridge symbolically unites [sic] two continents…”
Some of this prose is so flat-footed it would not pass muster in your average American high school. “It is New York City. This is Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Somehow Grace Wong fails to add, “That is Audrey Hepburn. She is an actress.” Clunky, amateurish writing abounds: “Oscar-nominated for costume design, we…” Samira Ahmed doesn’t reveal, though, who – besides us – was also nominated (The Best of Everything). “Throughout the film, Serpico is constantly filmed…” (Elisabeth Rappe). Gene Hackman’s pursuit of Fernando Rey in The French Connection is actually characterized as “far from a walk in the park” – which “climaxes in an [sic] subway terminal” (Michael Mirasol). Probably the original UK edition said the climax took place in “an underground terminal,” but since this obviously would have been confusing to an American audience, it had to be changed – incompetently.
It’s as if the writers had been given ten minutes to dash off something, and then the result was revised by editors who were distracted by other deadlines. The best writing in the volume comes at the end, in the biographies the contributors submitted of themselves. Far more care was lavished on these entries than on their essays about the films.
Even the typeface was irksome, come to think of it. Pretty pictures, though.
Postscript: The Amazon website does not allow authors to vote for their own books, or reviewers for their own reviews, but evidently it does grant this right to contributors. Wael Khairy signed off as such on four of the essays included in this rather embarrassing mess of pottage. That said, credit where credit is due. His piece on “The Godfather” (1972) is one of this publication’s few bright spots. His other three efforts (on “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Do the Right Thing” and “25th Hour”) are also a cut above the mostly weak competition. Way to go, Wael! (He awarded this book a five-star rating at Amazon; after I posted this comment, he took it down.)
Here, in alphabetical order, are a few other pre-2011 movies that didn’t make the cut. I do not claim that these are all great movies, or that all of them should be mentioned – far from it. On the other hand, they all do take place in New York, unlike Easy Rider. BTW, this list is not the result of any systematic search of the topic – for the most part, these were just movies I happened to catch on TV recently.
The Anderson Tapes, with Sean Connery, 1971.
Anger Management, with Jack Nicholson, 2003 (with a scene in Boston)
Audrey Rose, with Anthony Hopkins, 1977.
Believers, with Martin Sheen, 1987.
Bell Book and Candle, with Jimmy Stewart, 1957.
Best Seller, with James Woods, Brian Dennehy, 1987; I concede that some scenes are set in Oregon
Blade, with John Marley (and, fleetingly, Morgan Freeman as “Chris”), 1972.
Bright Lights, Big City, with Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Robards, 1988.
Cops and Robbers, with Joseph Bologna, Cliff Gorman, 1973. Credits say it was “filmed entirely on location” in NYC.
Cop Land, with Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Robert DeNiro, 1997. Yes, it’s set in New Jersey but the cops all work in the city and we see plenty of Manhattan skyline.
The Code, with Morgan Freeman, 2009. Like Catherine Zeta-Jones in Entrapment, Antonio Banderas acrobatically avoids laser detection in this heist caper set entirely in Manhattan.
Daisy Kenyon, with Joan Crawford, Dana Andrews, Henry Fonda, 1947.
Desperately Seeking Susan, with Rosanna Arquette, 1985. Not as good as After Hours from the same year.
Devil’s Advocate, with Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, 1997.
Fatal Attraction, with Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, 1987.
FBI Story, with Jimmy Stewart, 1959. Not a New York movie as such, but the last – and longest – episode shows Yankee Stadium, the Bowling Green subway station, 46th Street and Central Park. The football game in the stadium may feature the NY Giants.
Fitzwilly, with Dick van Dyke, 1967. Shows lots of Manhattan, including the B. Altman store on Fifth Ave.
F/X, with Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, 1986.
Going My Way, with Bing Crosby, 1944. Though actually filmed in California, the film is set in the slums of New York.
The Group, dir. Sidney Lumet, 1966. Lumet himself said the movie needed “a lighter comedic feeling in its first twenty-five minutes”. (Making Movies, pg. 11-12) While true, that misses the point. The real problem was length – there is no way this should ever have been allowed to drag on for two and a half hours. Today they would make it into a mini-series, which is the format it needs. In any case, plenty of scenes in Manhattan, including Central Park.
House on Carroll Street, 1988. The best thing about this movie is Jessica Tandy, who is not called on to do much except look outwardly severe while betraying a heart of gold. Plus it was written by Walter Bernstein, who was blacklisted in 1950; he also wrote the screenplay for “The Front” (another movie that doesn’t get included in World Film Locations). The New York scenes are a trifle overdone in terms of authenticity, as though director Peter Yates was flaunting all the location research. The characters look like they are wearing meticulously researched costumes instead of their own clothes.
How to Murder Your Wife, with Jack Lemmon, Verna Lisi, 1965. The best scenes are in the lawyer’s office and the courtroom. But the outdoor scenes were clearly Manhattan.
The Interpreter, with Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, 2005. Apart from the opening sequence, pretty much the rest of the movie was shot in Manhattan. Directed by Sidney Pollack, meaning it’s well-made and intelligent.
January Man, with Kevin Kline, 1989. Another disappointing movie, considering the talent. Harvey Keitel should have been the murderer. Apparently much of the movie was actually shot in Toronto.
Laura, dir. Otto Preminger, 1944.
Married to It, with Beau Bridges, 1993. See my (negative) review elsewhere on this site.
Masquerade, with Rob Lowe, Meg Tilley, 1988. This one is set in Manhattan and the Hamptons.
Money Train, with Wesley Snipes, 1995. Set in NY subway system.
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, with Gary Cooper, 1936. Not filmed on location, but plenty of background shots
The Pawnbroker, with Rod Steiger, 1965.
Perfect Stranger, with Holly Berry, Bruce Willis, 2007.
Prince of the City, with Treat Williams, 1981.
Q and A, with Nick Nolte, 2003.
Report to the Commissioner, 1975. Not a great movie, but one that captures the atmosphere of the city in the mid 70s, especially the area around 42nd Street.
Romeo Is Bleeding, with Gary Oldman, 1993. Lots of NY skyline.
Single White Female, with Bridget Fonda, 1992.
Six Degrees of Separation, with Will Smith, 1993. Strong focus on Manhattan, to put it mildly.
16 Blocks, with Bruce Willis, 2006. Looks like it was filmed entirely in Manhattan.
A Stranger Among Us, with Melanie Griffith, 2003.
Sweet Smell of Success, with Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, 1957.
World of Henry Orient, with Peter Sellers, 1964. The best thing about this self-indulgent, smirking movie was the Manhattan location, though Humbert Humbert and Judge Roy Moore might disagree.
Incidentally, here’s a trope of NY movies: When people are in a real hurry, they get out of the taxi, which is of course stuck in traffic, and take off running. Happens in “Sleepless in Seattle,” “Kate and Leopold,” and others. May have started with Woody Allen in “Manhattan.”
© Hamilton Beck
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