Not too long ago, I surfed Bill Crider’s Pop Culture Magazine and saw a link to a list of the 50 states and the best movie associated with each state. The more I thought about them, the more I disagreed with most of them. For example, Recount was listed as the best movie ever associated with Florida. Of course, that’s just bullshit political posturing. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was listed as the best-ever Illinois movie, and, well, you get the idea.
Nevertheless, I thought it was a good concept, so I gave it a go. Here are my choices for the best movie about each state (and the District Of Columbia). I must add that the films were not necessarily shot in their respective states, but for the most part each film is set there, or it has a strong organic link to that state. Arkansas, for instance, gets A Face In The Crowd. Only the opening scenes are set in Arkansas, then the film swiftly moves on to Memphis and New York, but the central character, played by Andy Griffith (in a blistering debut performance), is an Arkansan through and through. His persona drips with Arkansas throughout the movie.
Also, a few of the states have had many great movies connected to them, so they get multiple entries. It’s just too difficult to pick out one great New York movie, for example, so I listed five. In those cases, the multiple listings are arranged chronologically.
All set? Here we go.
Alabama: THE PHENIX CITY STORY (1955), TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
Alaska: THE FAR COUNTRY (1955)
Arizona: THE BARON OF ARIZONA (1950), 3:10 TO YUMA (1957)
Arkansas: A FACE IN THE CROWD (1957)
California: A STAR IS BORN (1954), BULLITT (1968), FAT CITY (1972), THE PLAYER (1992), LA CONFIDENTIAL (1997)
Colorado: MISERY (1990)
Connecticut: HOLIDAY INN (1942), CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT (1945)
Delaware: TRIGGER MAN (2007)
District Of Columbia: JFK (1991), ENEMY OF THE STATE (1998)
Florida: KEY LARGO (1948), BODY HEAT (1981), SCARFACE (1983), THE BOYNTON BEACH CLUB (2006)
Georgia: GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
Hawaii: BIG JIM McLAIN (1952), FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)
Idaho: DUCHESS OF IDAHO (1950)
Illinois: HALLOWEEN (1978), THE UNTOUCHABLES (1987), CHICAGO (2002), CADILLAC RECORDS (2008)
Indiana: HOOSIERS (1986)
Iowa: THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY (1995)
Kansas: THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939), IN COLD BLOOD (1967)
Kentucky: COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER (1980), THE INSIDER (1999)
Louisiana: ALL THE KING’S MEN (1949), KING CREOLE (1958), THE CINCINNATI KID (1965)
Maine: THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994)
Maryland: AVALON (1990)
Massachusetts: THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE (1973)
Michigan: ANATOMY OF A MURDER (1959), THE SHINING (1980)
Minnesota: FARGO (1996)
Mississippi: THE LONG HOT SUMMER (1958)
Missouri: WINTER’S BONE (2010)
Montana: THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON (1941), A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT (1992)
Nebraska: ELECTION (1999)
Nevada: OCEAN’S 11 (1960), THE GODFATHER PART II (1974), CASINO (1995), HARD EIGHT (1996)
New Hampshire: TO DIE FOR (1995)
New Jersey: ATLANTIC CITY (1980),THE WRESTLER (2008)
New Mexico: THE BIG CARNIVAL (1951)
New York: THE HUSTLER (1961), THE GODFATHER (1972), ACROSS 110th STREET (1972), SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (1977), WALL STREET (1987)
North Carolina: CAPE FEAR (1962)
North Dakota: NORTHERN LIGHTS (1979)
Ohio: MAJOR LEAGUE (1989)
Oklahoma: THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940), OKLAHOMA! (1955)
Oregon: MR HOLLAND’S OPUS (1995)
Pennsylvania: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968), ROCKY (1976), GROUNDHOG DAY (1993)
Rhode Island: REVERSAL OF FORTUNE (1990)
South Carolina: THE LORDS OF DISCIPLINE (1983)
South Dakota: DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990)
Tennessee: MYSTERY TRAIN (1989)
Texas: THE ALAMO (1960), THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971)
Utah: ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1968)
Vermont: BABY BOOM (1987)
Virginia: REMEMBER THE TITANS (2000)
Washington: HOUSE OF GAMES (1987), THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYSÂ (1989)
West Virginia: MATEWAN (1987)
Wisconsin: OUR VINES HAVE TENDER GRAPES (1945)
Wyoming: SHANE (1953)
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Definitely like your choices for Texas better.
Hmmm, interesting and very good overall, but helloooooo…. the choice for New Hampshire is DEFINITELY What About Bob? Great post, Mike! (Except for that–ha!)
And P.S. I would have picked Me, Myself and Irene for the great state of Rhode Island.
And Tender Mercies for Texas.
Jeez, I should do my own list!
Thanks, Bill. And thanks for the link. Much appreciated.
Linda–TENDER MERCIES is a great film, no question, but for me it didn’t quite rise to the Texas-ness AND the greatness of the other two. I’d definitely place it in the top 5 Texas films, though.
You did this just to get people to argue with you, didn’t you? Okay, I’m in.
Maryland has to be DINER.
What happened to ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN for DC?
Dana–
I considered DINER for Maryland, along with the rest of Levinson’s Baltimore movies. But I went with AVALON because for me, it’s a much deeper, more rewarding film, spanning generations and giving a much more visceral experience.
ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN is an excellent film, but IMHO it just missed the cut.
Well, I’m glad neither list opted for NORTH TO ALASKA for AK…I’ve not yet seen THE FAR COUNTRY, that does look a bit better, at least, than the Jack London adaptations I might’ve plumped for.
JFK? Really? ENEMY OF THE STATE? ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN beats the hell out of both, by me.
TRIGGER MAN is probably not a great film, but my dim memory of it has been reinforced, that it was set in Delaware.
Todd–
I’ve never heard of TRIGGER MAN, but I looked it up and it looks like a decent film, so I’ll add it to Delaware. It was in fact set there.
Exactly my choice for Michigan. Most of Michigan is rural.
Patti–I thought of ANATOMY OF A MURDER and THE SHINING for Michigan right away, because they really did convey that feeling of non-Detroit Michigan-ness. Like you say, it’s a pretty rural place.