Special Report

The Best Movie Filmed in Your State

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Over the last 100 years, Hollywood studios and surrounding areas were the filming locations for many classic movies. Southern California is not only the home base of many of the country’s largest production companies, but also the sunny weather and proximity to a variety of geographical features make it an easy filming location.

If the movies aren’t filmed on the West Coast, studios tend to go to New York City to take advantage of some America’s enduring images, such as Central Park and the Statue of Liberty.

Even so, the film-going public, as well as the motion picture artistic community, demands authenticity. While going on the road comes with a price, there is no substitute for the screen-filling landscapes in Arizona and Utah that made westerns such as “The Searchers” unforgettable, or the gritty docks operated by longshoremen in Hoboken, New Jersey, that made “On the Waterfront” a classic. Films shot “on location” are frequently listed among the best movies of all time.

The film industry’s need for genuine locations also means more states can benefit financially from the industry. A movie shoot can create jobs and have other economic advantages for the state. For this reason, states welcome and promote film shoots, setting up film commissions or offices with robust websites touting the advantages of filming a movie in their state.

Some of the most popular, top grossing films may also draw tourism to their shooting locations after their release as fans seek out memorable locations seen in their favorite movies. These are the top grossing films of all time.

Each state has unique characteristics that make it attractive to filmmakers, and with that in mind, 24/7 Tempo has tapped critic and audience ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb to find the best movie filmed in every state.

Click to see the best movie filmed in your state.

To determine the best movie filmed in every state, 24/7 Tempo created an index based on each film’s Rotten Tomatoes average critic rating, Rotten Tomatoes average audience rating, and Internet Movie Database average user rating. To be considered, each film needed to have at least 5,000 Rotten Tomatoes user ratings, 10 approved Tomatometer critic reviews, and 10,000 IMDb user ratings.

We averaged the user ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb and weighted by the number of votes for each. The combined user rating was then averaged with the Rotten Tomatoes critics rating.

We then used each movie’s filming locations, as listed on IMDb, to assign a film to each state. 24/7 Tempo assigned one state to films shot across multiple states in order to maximize the number of high-rated films on our list.

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

1. Alabama
> Best movie: Big Fish (2003)
> Starring: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup
> Director: Tim Burton
> Favorable reviews: 89% of audiences

Tim Burton’s fanciful movie “Big Fish” was primarily filmed around Montgomery, Alabama. One of the episodic movie’s tales revolves around the fictional town of Spectre, which was built on a private island outside of Millbrook especially for the film. While the town has fallen into disarray (much like in the film) it still stands today.

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Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

2. Alaska
> Best movie: Into the Wild (2007)
> Starring: Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener
> Director: Sean Penn
> Favorable reviews: 89% of audiences

“Into the Wild” is based on the true story of 24-year-old Christopher McCandless, who sold his possessions and traveled to live in the Alaskan wilderness. The movie was filmed in the state, and star Emile Hirsch told /FILM in an interview that he traveled to the actual abandoned bus which is portrayed in the film and that McCandless stayed in.

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Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

3. Arizona
> Best movie: Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
> Starring: Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale
> Director: Sergio Leone
> Favorable reviews: 95% of audiences

Sergio Leone’s Western epic “Once Upon a Time in the West” partially takes place in the town of Flagstone, Arizona. While Flagstone is a fictional location, Arizona’s Monument Valley is of course real and serves as a beautiful backdrop for much of Leone’s masterpiece.

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Courtesy of Miramax

4. Arkansas
> Best movie: Sling Blade (1996)
> Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, J.T. Walsh
> Director: Billy Bob Thornton
> Favorable reviews: 93% of audiences

Billy Bob Thornton filmed his indie hit “Sling Blade” in Benton, Arkansas, for a reported budget of $1 million. Many of the specific locations within Benton are no longer there or have been changed significantly since the 1996 production.

See all stories featuring: Arkansas

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Courtesy of Miramax

5. California
> Best movie: Pulp Fiction (1994)
> Starring: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson
> Director: Quentin Tarantino
> Favorable reviews: 96% of audiences

California is the most popular shooting location for American movies, yet not all of the films shot there look like they were shot in the state. “Pulp Fiction” does. The movie was filmed in and around Los Angeles, though some of its more signature settings, such as Jack Rabbit Slim’s, were sets built specifically for the production.

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Courtesy of Warner Bros.

6. Colorado
> Best movie: Badlands (1973)
> Starring: Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren Oates
> Director: Terrence Malick
> Favorable reviews: 90% of audiences

Terrence Malick’s 1973 debut film established the director as a major cinematic talent. Among the movie’s exceptional traits is its portrayal of America’s expanse — intended to be South Dakota and Montana. Filming was actually done in Colorado, primarily the southeast region of the state.

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Courtesy of Warner Bros.

7. Connecticut
> Best movie: Strangers on a Train (1951)
> Starring: Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman
> Director: Alfred Hitchcock
> Favorable reviews: 92% of audiences

Alfred Hitchcock filmed parts of his 1951 thriller “Strangers on a Train” — including his recurring cameo — in Danbury, Connecticut. Danbury is renamed “Metcalf” in the film, and the train station that’s portrayed — then Danbury Union Station — is now the Danbury Railroad Museum.

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Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

8. Delaware
> Best movie: Dead Poets Society (1989)
> Starring: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke
> Director: Peter Weir
> Favorable reviews: 92% of audiences

“Dead Poets Society” stars Robin Williams as an English teacher who inspires students at an exclusive preparatory school in Vermont. The movie was actually filmed in Delaware and used the St. Andrew’s School in Middletown as its prep school.

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Courtesy of Warner Brothers/Seven Arts

9. Florida
> Best movie: Cool Hand Luke (1967)
> Starring: Paul Newman, George Kennedy, Strother Martin
> Director: Stuart Rosenberg

Numerous scenes of “Cool Hand Luke,” starring Paul Newman as a rebellious prisoner in a Southern prison, were shot in and around Jacksonville, Florida. None of these scenes actually featured Newman, however, but rather his stunt double.

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Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

10. Georgia
> Best movie: Black Panther (2018)
> Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o
> Director: Ryan Coogler
> Favorable reviews: 79% of audiences

The recently released “Black Panther” was a huge success at the box office, becoming the third highest grossing superhero movie of all time, when adjusting for inflation. Much of the Marvel movie was shot in South Korea as well as Atlanta, Georgia. Among the landmarks that can be seen in the movie are Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, Atlanta City Hall, and Atlanta Air Recovery and Storage in Griffin.

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Courtesy of Universal Pictures

11. Hawaii
> Best movie: Jurassic Park (1993)
> Starring: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum
> Director: Steven Spielberg
> Favorable reviews: 91% of audiences

Steven Spielberg’s visually stunning “Jurassic Park” takes place on the fictional island of Isla Nublar, which is described as sitting off the coast of Costa Rica. In reality, much of the movie was filmed in Hawaii. Filming took place in various locations on the islands of Kaua’i, O’ahu, and Maui.

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Courtesy of Warner Bros.

12. Idaho
> Best movie: Pale Rider (1985)
> Starring: Clint Eastwood, Michael Moriarty, Carrie Snodgress
> Director: Clint Eastwood
> Favorable reviews: 83% of audiences

“Pale Rider” follows an enigmatic preacher — played by Clint Eastwood — as he protects a California village from a ruthless mining company. Some of the movie was indeed filmed in the Golden State, but much of it was shot in Idaho’s Sawtooth National Recreation Area.

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Courtesy of Warner Bros.

13. Illinois
> Best movie: The Dark Knight (2008)
> Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart
> Director: Christopher Nolan
> Favorable reviews: 94% of audiences

Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” holds a 94% positive rating from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. And though “Gotham” is a nickname for New York City, Nolan’s film was shot in his hometown of Chicago, which the director referred to as “a really cinematic city” in 2008.

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Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

14. Indiana
> Best movie: Breaking Away (1979)
> Starring: Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern
> Director: Peter Yates
> Favorable reviews: 88% of audiences

This movie, about a cycling enthusiast’s pursuit of his love interest, was shot nearly entirely in Bloomington, Indiana. The movie’s screenplay was written by Indiana University alum Steve Tesich, and the film included many student extras from the school, as well as a cameo by then-University President John Ryan.

See all stories featuring: Indiana

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Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

15. Iowa
> Best movie: The Straight Story (1999)
> Starring: Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Jane Galloway Heitz
> Director: David Lynch
> Favorable reviews: 91% of audiences

David Lynch stepped away from his trademark dreamlike filmmaking style to create 1999’s “The Straight Story” — a Disney-distributed movie about a 73-year-old Iowan who travels across state lines on a lawnmower to visit his ill and estranged brother. Lynch filmed in numerous areas of Iowa — in line with the nomadic nature of the film — including in Laurens, Clermont, and Lansing.

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Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

16. Kansas
> Best movie: Paper Moon (1973)
> Starring: Ryan O’Neal, Tatum O’Neal, Madeline Kahn
> Director: Peter Bogdanovich
> Favorable reviews: 94% of audiences

“Paper Moon” tells the story of a Depression era conman who teams up with a young girl to trick residents of the Midwest out of their money. The film’s production was based in Hays, Kansas, with some scenes being filmed in St. Joseph and Wilson.

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Courtesy of Universal Pictures

17. Kentucky
> Best movie: Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980)
> Starring: Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones, Levon Helm
> Director: Michael Apted
> Favorable reviews: 86% of audiences

The Loretta Lynn biopic maintained an air of authenticity in telling the story of the country legend from Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, by filming in her home state. Locations included Blackey, Eolia, Flatgap, and Bottom Fork, where a replica of Lynn’s childhood home was built. The house, unfortunately, has since burned down.

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Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures

18. Louisiana
> Best movie: 12 Years a Slave (2013)
> Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth Williams, Michael Fassbender
> Director: Steve McQueen
> Favorable reviews: 90% of audiences

“Twelve Years a Slave,” the movie based on the memoir of Solomon Northup, a free man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery, was filmed throughout Louisiana. Even scenes meant to appear as taking place in areas such as Saratoga, New York, or Washington D.C. were shot in the state.

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Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

19. Maine
> Best movie: Forrest Gump (1994)
> Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise
> Director: Robert Zemeckis
> Favorable reviews: 95% of audiences

“Forrest Gump” is one of the most popular films of all time; it won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. One of the most memorable moments in the movie is when Tom Hanks’s Forrest runs an uncompromising marathon across the United States. He concludes his run at Marshall Point Lighthouse in Port Clyde, Maine.

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Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

20. Maryland
> Best movie: The Social Network (2010)
> Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake
> Director: David Fincher
> Favorable reviews: 86% of audiences

David Fincher’s popular 2010 drama chronicling the founding of Facebook by its CEO Mark Zuckerberg — played in the film by Jesse Eisenberg — features numerous scenes shot in Massachusetts due to the role of Harvard University in the movie. The filmmakers also used Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood campus in Baltimore as a stand-in for Harvard, though spotting when and where may be difficult for those not familiar with the schools.

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Courtesy of Warner Bros.

21. Massachusetts
> Best movie: The Departed (2006)
> Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson
> Director: Martin Scorsese
> Favorable reviews: 94% of audiences

“The Departed” won both Best Picture at the 2007 Academy Awards and Best Director for Martin Scorsese. The movie tells the story of an undercover cop in South Boston, and Scorsese took to shooting much of the film in Massachusetts locations such as Boston, Quincy, and Lynn.

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Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

22. Michigan
> Best movie: Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
> Starring: James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara
> Director: Otto Preminger
> Favorable reviews: 91% of audiences

Otto Preminger’s 1959 courtroom drama was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The movie was filmed in Marquette County, Michigan, and even used local residents as extras.

See all stories featuring: Michigan

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

23. Minnesota
> Best movie: A Simple Plan (1998)
> Starring: Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Bridget Fonda
> Director: Sam Raimi
> Favorable reviews: 81% of audiences

Director Sam Raimi directed this 1998 crime drama after his cult classic “Army of Darkness” and before he tackled “Spider-Man.” The film is set in Minnesota, and that’s also where much of it was shot. Shooting locations include Delano, St. Paul, and Golden Valley.

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Courtesy of Spyglass Entertainment

24. Mississippi
> Best movie: The Insider (1999)
> Starring: Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, Christopher Plummer
> Director: Michael Mann
> Favorable reviews: 90% of audiences

Director Michael Mann’s “The Insider,” about a chemist’s efforts to expose the secrets of the tobacco industry via an interview on “60 Minutes,” was an international shoot, with filming taking place in the Bahamas, Israel, and the U.S. Among the American locations was the coastal city Pascagoula, Mississippi, where the courtroom scenes were shot.

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Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

25. Missouri
> Best movie: Gone Girl (2014)
> Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris
> Director: David Fincher
> Favorable reviews: 87% of audiences

“Gone Girl” takes place in the fictional town of North Carthage, Missouri, and the majority of the film was shot on location in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. According to director David Fincher, this is the town that writer Gillian Flynn had in mind when she originally wrote the book.

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Courtesy of Warner Bros.

26. Montana
> Best movie: The Shining (1980)
> Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd
> Director: Stanley Kubrick
> Favorable reviews: 93% of audiences

Stanley Kubrick’s horror classic tells the story of the Torrance family, lead by father Jack, as they spend a winter in the Colorado Rockies at the Overlook Hotel. To capture the family’s journey to the isolated hotel, footage was actually shot along the shore of Saint Mary Lake in Montana’s Glacier National Park. Many of the film’s interior shots were done on a stage in England.

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Courtesy of Paramount Vantage

27. Nebraska
> Best movie: Nebraska (2013)
> Starring: Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb
> Director: Alexander Payne
> Favorable reviews: 83% of audiences

While Nebraska is far from the most popular location for filmmaking, it would have been foolish for the team behind the 2013 black and white flick “Nebraska” to shoot anywhere else. Among the various cities and towns used in the movie are Lincoln, Hooper, Osmond, Stanton, and Plainview.

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Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

28. Nevada
> Best movie: Out of the Past (1947)
> Starring: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas
> Director: Jacques Tourneur
> Favorable reviews: 92% of audiences

Jacques Tourneur’s “Out of the Past” is a shadowy classic of the film noir genre. Produced by RKO Radio Pictures, much of the movie’s filming took place in California, though it also includes footage shot in Reno.

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Courtesy of Universal Pictures

29. New Hampshire
> Best movie: On Golden Pond (1981)
> Starring: Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda
> Director: Mark Rydell
> Favorable reviews: 87% of audiences

“On Golden Pond” — which earned Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda Academy Awards — was filmed on New Hampshire’s Squam Lake. Visitors to the lake can still view from the water the original house that appears in the movie.

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Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

30. New Jersey
> Best movie: On the Waterfront (1954)
> Starring: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb
> Director: Elia Kazan
> Favorable reviews: 95% of audiences

Director Elia Kazan’s gritty drama “On the Waterfront” is about corruption on the New Jersey waterfront in the 1950s. The movie was shot in Hoboken, where screenwriter Budd Schulberg walked the streets with star Marlon Brando to get a feel for the longshoremen’s lives.

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Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

31. New Mexico
> Best movie: Ace in the Hole (1951)
> Starring: Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Robert Arthur
> Director: Billy Wilder
> Favorable reviews: 93% of audiences

Billy Wilder’s “Ace in the Hole” about a journalist who takes a job writing for an Albuquerque newspaper was partially filmed in Los Angeles and partially in New Mexico. Albuquerque can be seen in the film, as well as the New Mexican desert.

See all stories featuring: New Mexico

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Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

32. New York
> Best movie: The Godfather (1972)
> Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan
> Director: Francis Ford Coppola
> Favorable reviews: 98% of audiences

Much of Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” — considered one of the greatest films of all time — was shot on location around New York City. The Corleone home, where the famous wedding scene was filmed, is portrayed as if it were in Long Island. It actually existed on Staten Island.

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Courtesy of United Artists

33. North Carolina
> Best movie: Being There (1979)
> Starring: Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas
> Director: Hal Ashby
> Favorable reviews: 92% of audiences

A significant portion of Hal Ashby’s movie about a simple gardener named Chance was filmed at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. The estate — now open to the public — was built in the 1890s for the Vanderbilt family.

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Courtesy of Gramercy Pictures

34. North Dakota
> Best movie: Fargo (1996)
> Starring: William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi
> Director: Joel Coen
> Favorable reviews: 93% of audiences

Filming for “Fargo” took place in locations in both North Dakota and Minnesota. Superfans of the Coen Brothers movie may be disappointed to learn that many of the movie’s prominent locations are no longer around, including the “Welcome to Brainerd” Paul Bunyan statue, which was built for the film and dismantled right after.

See all stories featuring: North Dakota

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Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

35. Ohio
> Best movie: The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
> Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton
> Director: Frank Darabont
> Favorable reviews: 98% of audiences

“The Shawshank Redemption” is a fan favorite, with 98% of audiences giving it a positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie — much of which takes place within a prison — was primarily filmed in Ohio, specifically in the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield. A 25-year anniversary celebration was held at that site in 2019.

See all stories featuring: Ohio

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

36. Oklahoma
> Best movie: The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
> Starring: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine
> Director: John Ford
> Favorable reviews: 88% of audiences

John Ford based the visual style of his 1940 film “The Grapes of Wrath” on famous Great Depression-era photographs taken in Oklahoma. To increase the movie’s authenticity, he also sent a camera crew to film along Route 66. Among the locations featured in the film are McAlester and Sayre, Oklahoma.

See all stories featuring: Oklahoma

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Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

37. Oregon
> Best movie: Stand by Me (1986)
> Starring: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman
> Director: Rob Reiner
> Favorable reviews: 94% of audiences

Based on a novel by Stephen King, “Stand By Me” takes place in the writer’s often-used fictional town of Castle Rock. While in his books King often refers to the town as being located in Maine, in “Stand By Me” it was placed in Oregon, where much of its filming took place. Many of the movie’s locations are in Brownsville, where official “Historic Oregon Film Trail” plaques have since been erected.

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Courtesy of Orion Pictures

38. Pennsylvania
> Best movie: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
> Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Lawrence A. Bonney
> Director: Jonathan Demme
> Favorable reviews: 95% of audiences

“The Silence of the Lambs” was shot in multiple states, with most of the filming taking place around Pittsburgh. Notable Pennsylvania locations in the film include the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Allegheny County Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum. Perhaps the most interesting location — the frightening torture house of serial killer Buffalo Bill — is located in Layton, Pennsylvania.

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Courtesy of Focus Features

39. Rhode Island
> Best movie: Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
> Starring: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis
> Director: Wes Anderson
> Favorable reviews: 86% of audiences

Filming of Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” — which boasts a cast of Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, and Francis McDormand among others — took place in different locations across Rhode Island, and the crew’s primary base was in Newport.

See all stories featuring: Rhode Island

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Courtesy of Warner Bros.

40. South Carolina
> Best movie: Full Metal Jacket (1987)
> Starring: Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D’Onofrio
> Director: Stanley Kubrick
> Favorable reviews: 94% of audiences

The first half of Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket” follows the training of Marines on South Carolina’s Parris Island. The majority of this footage was actually shot on a military base in England. Filming of the Marines’ graduation, however, did take place on Parris Island (where actor Lee Ermey had served as a real life drill instructor) using footage of an actual Marine Corps graduation.

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Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

41. South Dakota
> Best movie: North by Northwest (1959)
> Starring: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason
> Director: Alfred Hitchcock
> Favorable reviews: 94% of audiences

“North by Northwest,” which stars Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, is considered to be among Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest thrillers. The movie is remembered in part for its depicting South Dakota’s Mount Rushmore. And, while the sculpture used in the movie’s climax is a Rushmore reproduction that was built in Hollywood, the actual South Dakota landmark was used in establishing shots.

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Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

42. Tennessee
> Best movie: Nashville (1975)
> Starring: Keith Carradine, Karen Black, Ronee Blakley
> Director: Robert Altman
> Favorable reviews: 84% of audiences

Robert Altman’s sprawling country music epic “Nashville” — which was shot primarily in its titular city — has exceptional ratings from critics and audiences. It earned many detractors in 1975 Nashville, however, including many country musicians who were offended by the movie’s satirical content.

See all stories featuring: Tennessee

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

43. Texas
> Best movie: The Last Picture Show (1971)
> Starring: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd
> Director: Peter Bogdanovich
> Favorable reviews: 90% of audiences

“The Last Picture Show” is a coming-of-age film set in a small and isolated West Texas town named Anarene. The actual town used in the film, however, is Archer City, located in North Texas. Other Texas locations seen in the movie include Olney, Wichita Falls, and Holliday.

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Courtesy of United Artists

44. Utah
> Best movie: Stagecoach (1939)
> Starring: John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Andy Devine
> Director: John Ford
> Favorable reviews: 86% of audiences

“Stagecoach” is one of the most famous and beloved collaborations between director John Ford and actor John Wayne. The movie makes use of the iconic Monument Valley on the Arizona-Utah border. Ford would return to shoot in the valley numerous times throughout his career.

See all stories featuring: Utah

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Courtesy of Warner Bros.

45. Vermont
> Best movie: Beetlejuice (1988)
> Starring: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton
> Director: Tim Burton
> Favorable reviews: 82% of audiences

Exterior shots for Tim Burton’s late ’80s comedy “Beetlejuice” were filmed in the village of East Corinth, Vermont. The house seen in the movie was a fake residence, though the town’s school that is shown at the end of the movie was actually East Corinth’s Mason Hall.

See all stories featuring: Vermont

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

46. Virginia
> Best movie: Argo (2012)
> Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman
> Director: Ben Affleck
> Favorable reviews: 90% of audiences

Ben Affleck’s 2012 film about a CIA operation to rescue American hostages from Iran in 1979 won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Part of the movie’s success is due to its realism. In addition to other aspects, the filmmakers were able to shoot in the actual CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

See all stories featuring: Virginia

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Courtesy of Universal Pictures

47. Washington
> Best movie: The Deer Hunter (1978)
> Starring: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale
> Director: Michael Cimino
> Favorable reviews: 92% of audiences

“The Deer Hunter” explores the effects of service in the Vietnam War on a group of friends from the blue collar, industrial town of Clairton, Pennsylvania. Other shooting locations included areas in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh. The movie’s famous deer hunting scene, however, was shot in Washington state’s North Cascades National Park.

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Courtesy of United Artists

48. West Virginia
> Best movie: The Night of the Hunter (1955)
> Starring: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish
> Director: Charles Laughton
> Favorable reviews: 90% of audiences

Charles Laughton shot much of his lone directorial effort on sets located in California. Other parts of this expressionistic slice of Americana he filmed on the Ohio River in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle.

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Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

49. Wisconsin
> Best movie: Major League (1989)
> Starring: Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen
> Director: David S. Ward
> Favorable reviews: 84% of audiences

The 1989 baseball comedy was primarily shot in Wisconsin, where filmmakers made use of Milwaukee County Stadium as a stand-in for Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium. Milwaukee native Bob Uecker also appears in the movie, though the story is about the Cleveland Indians.

See all stories featuring: Wisconsin

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Courtesy of The Weinstein Company

50. Wyoming
> Best movie: Django Unchained (2012)
> Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio
> Director: Quentin Tarantino
> Favorable reviews: 91% of audiences

Director Quentin Tarantino was drawn to Wyoming for its snowy vistas located near Jackson Hole. Other filming locations for “Django Unchained” include California and Louisiana.

See all stories featuring: Wyoming

 

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