Skip to content

Philly Stunt Cities

World War Z will join an exclusive list of movies that are set in Philly but are shot elsewhere.

    by Mike Russell
    Published 

World War Z, which was set in Philly but shot in Glasgow, Scotland, joins an exclusive list of movies that are set in the city but are shot elsewhere. Oh well, maybe Philly will be home to the next $170 million summer blockbuster. Maybe.

The Philadelphia Story (1940) — Shooting location: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Culver City, Calif. — A perfectionist Main Line woman divorces her husband and then finds a new man to marry. The woman's plans go haywire when her ex-husband helps a reporter and photographer sneak into the wedding. Like most movies from this era, it has very few exterior shots, all of which were shot in a sound studio in California.

The Young Philadelphians (1959) - Will Rogers State Historic Park, Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, CA - A young Philadelphia lawyer has to balance his professional and spousal duties while he tries to rise in Philadelphia's social scene. Oh, and he has to defend his friend against murder charges. Like "The Philadelphia Story," this one was filmed in California.

1776 (1972) - A movie based on a musical of the same name, it follows the Founding Fathers as they craft the Declaration of Independence. True, we're not actually in 1776, so this movie should get a pass [for being set in Philly but not filmed here], but I'm sure they could have used Elfreth's Alley or 2nd Street, or something.

The Amati Girls (2000) - An indie flick where a family of Italian-American woman living in Philadelphia get into a bunch of shenanigans. It was filmed in Los Angeles.

Best In Show (2000) - A comedy about dog owners who compete in the Mayflower Kennel Dog Show at the Taft Hotel in Philly. The entire movie is filmed in Vancouver and Los Angeles.

A History of Violence (2005) - A David Cronenberg film where a man in a small Indiana town gets unwanted publicity after he takes down a would-be robber. Some men from his past see him on T.V. and travel to his small town to drag him back to Philly to get their revenge. The protagonist eventually goes with them, but you only get to see interior shots. Everything was filmed in Ontario.