Movies made in and about Atlantic City, from early Edison films to 'The Oranges.'
ATLANTIC CITY — At its heyday, when it was known as the World’s Playground from the 1920s through the 1960s, Atlantic City was referenced in numerous movies, including Citizen Kane. And, even before that, the town was the subject of several shorts made by Thomas Edison’s film company, according to IMDB (the Internet Movie Database), which lists Circular Panorama of Atlantic City (1901), Life Rescue at Atlantic City (1903) and Parade, Fiftieth Anniversary Atlantic City, N.J. (1904).
Three Little Girls in Blue (1946) was partially filmed in Atlantic City and featured the song “On the Boardwalk (in Atlantic City).” The 1944 movie Atlantic City is a musical about how it became a famous resort, and in Citizen Kane (1941), there is a flashback set in Atlantic City.
The 1957 film, The Burglar, which starred Jayne Mansfield, was also set in Atlantic City.
A review of Convention Girl (a.k.a. Atlantic City Romance 1935) suggests that, “Those viewers interested in United States social and cultural history will have a whale of a time watching incorporated footage of the era’s Atlantic City Boardwalk, including scenes of acrobats, the famous Diving Horse at Steel Pier, vast crowded beaches, and the still popular wicker rolling chairs, all nicely integrated into the scenario.”
However, when it comes to the best movies filmed here, the top two were Louis Malle’s magnificent Atlantic City (1981) and Bob Rafelson’s The King of Marvin Gardens (1972). Both looked at the city when it was on the ropes. In particular, The King of Marvin Gardens uses the crumbling Atlantic City as the perfect metaphor for its story of losers and schemers looking to pull off a get-rich quick scheme in a dying city, and to establish the uncomfortable relationship between two brothers (played by Bruce Dern and Jack Nicholson). While I was annoyed director Rafelson showed jitneys going downtown on Atlantic Avenue, it is a brilliant film and features one of Nicholson’s best performances.
Malle’s film is a fascinating examination of an Atlantic City that was in the very early stages of its revival. The film features the exquisite pairing of Susan Sarandon as a raw-bar waitress hoping to improve her life by becoming a dealer and moving to Monte Carlo, and Burt Lancaster as an aging numbers runner who seizes an opportunity to be a high roller for once when he lucks into a cache of drugs. The film perfectly captures the early transformation of Atlantic City as it was striving to once again be known as “The World’s Playground.”
There is also a little movie you might want to check out on DVD. Duane Hopwood (2005) stars David Schwimmer as a drunk trying to get his life back together. It was filmed in Atlantic City and Longport in 2004, directed by actor Matt Mulhern, who grew up in Philadelphia and Longport. and if you look closely, you will see a scene that features a copy of Atlantic City Weekly on a coffee table.
Several gambling-themed movies have used Atlantic City as a background. George Clooney was here for a few days to film a scene in Ocean’s Eleven (2001) and his co-star Matt Damon was a poker pro who shows up at the Taj in Rounders (1998). Paul Newman and Tom Cruise played in an A.C. pool tournament in The Color of Money (1986).
Movies can offer a window on the past, a look at the way we were. That’s the case of The Money, later renamed Atlantic City Jackpot, a 1976 independent film partially shot in the city and Atlantic County four years before the first casino opened.
"It's always cool to see Atlantic City on the big screen."
Atlantic City has been the main setting — or shown up at some point — in numerous movies over the years. Three Little Girls in Blue, starring June Haver and George Montgomery, was partially filmed in Atlantic City and featured the song “On the Boardwalk (in Atlantic City).” The 1944 movie Atlantic City is a musical about how it became a famous resort, and in Citizen Kane, the motion picture that has most often been called the greatest film ever made, there is a flashback set in Atlantic City. With this special issue being devoted to the 35th anniversary of Atlantic City...
Do you have stars in your eyes and Hollywood in your fantasies? Do you yearn for recognition, glamour, fame and fortune? At least 500 people in this area do, since, in spite of cold weather and icy roads, they turned out en mass for a movie audition on Saturday at the Clarion Hotel in West Atlantic City. Duane Hopwood, starring David Schwimmer, Janeane Garofalo and Judah Friedlander, will be shot in Atlantic City from Feb. 9 to March 5. This writer cast his iron into the fire by attending the auditions with headshot and resume grasped tightly in hand. As a part-time actor, I've worked as a background artist or "extra" in a number of films, infomercials and TV programs (including Fallen, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Snake Eyes and Sex and the City), many of them shot locally. I've had a couple of speaking roles in commercials and in an industrial (an in-house training film). Usually, extras have to look the part they're playing and are often hired for that look. Although I don't gamble, I must look like a player, since I've often been chosen to portray casino patrons. I relished attending this casting call, since I knew that it...
Motion pictures can share the same title but offer completely different stories. A case in point is Atlantic City — two films with little in common beyond their names. The more recent Atlantic City, which came out in 1981 and was directed by Louis Malle, depicts the resort in the early years of legalized gambling. Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon lead a strong cast in this gritty drama filmed on location.
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For the 1972 film 'The King of Marvin Gardens', screenwriter Jacob Brackman reached back to his childhood memories of living in Atlantic City between 1948 and 1953.
Located about two miles south of Atlantic City, the small development of Marven Gardens is known throughout the world thanks to the original Monopoly game and a movie starring Jack Nicholson, Bruce D...
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