1 October 2023
(Stacker) — The magic of Hollywood is that oftentimes movies aren’t filmed anywhere near where they purport to be taking place. California may be home to Hollywood, but so many of your favorite films were set against backdrops far removed from the glitterati of the West Coast.
With huge studios like Warner Bros., MGM, and RKO Pictures churning out film after film during the heyday of the silver screen, California made a name for itself as the cornerstone for all things movies. As the industry has continued to shift, however, that has begun to change.
From the need for more rural settings to a director’s desire to get everything as historically accurate as possible, not to mention the attractive tax incentives offered by states outside of California, crews are increasingly enticed to look elsewhere when filming. More and more, shoots take place in the most unexpected places in a quest to entertain, and sometimes, to make film history. Have you ever wondered where the Cullen house in the “Twilight” movies actually is? (The answer is Oregon.) How about the location of where the wasteland astronauts trekked in “Planet of the Apes” from 1968? (Answer: Arizona.)
With that in mind, Stacker compiled a list of movies filmed in Kansas using data from Movie Locations. Additional information about each film was collected from IMDb. Some films may have been omitted due to data dissimilarities and lack of corresponding information found on IMDb.
Carnival of Souls (1962)
– Director: Herk Harvey
– IMDb user rating: 7.0 (27K reviews)
– Runtime: 78 minutes
– Genres: Horror and Mystery
– Cast: Candace Hilligoss, Frances Feist, and Sidney Berger
In Cold Blood (1967)
– Director: Richard Brooks
– IMDb user rating: 7.9 (28K reviews)
– Runtime: 134 minutes
– Genres: Biography, Crime, and Drama
– Cast: Robert Blake, Scott Wilson, and John Forsythe
Paper Moon (1973)
– Director: Peter Bogdanovich
– IMDb user rating: 8.1 (51K reviews)
– Runtime: 102 minutes
– Genres: Comedy, Crime, and Drama
– Cast: Ryan O’Neal, Tatum O’Neal, and Madeline Kahn
Picnic (1955)
– Director: Joshua Logan
– IMDb user rating: 7.0 (9.6K reviews)
– Runtime: 115 minutes
– Genres: Drama and Romance
– Cast: William Holden, Kim Novak, and Betty Field
This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Olivia Monahan, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 48 states.