Movies filmed in New Hampshire? The Granite State doesn't get Hollywood traffic like Boston does, but when the cameras come up Route 93, they find gold: loons on Squam Lake, a jungle stampede down Main Street in Keene, Exeter dorms, Seacoast hotels and a Manchester bowling alley or two. Same ground rule as our Maine, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts and Rhode Island lists: every film here actually put cameras on New Hampshire soil. Just being "set in New Hampshire" doesn't count, and you'll see why at the end.
This one wraps up our six-state series. We've got a Steve McQueen glider, Henry Fonda chasing a trout, Robin Williams and a whole lot of CGI monkeys, a Donald Glover cult comedy and two Seinfeld writers making a movie in Claremont. Oldest to newest, with real towns you can drive to without paying a toll. Here are 12 films shot in the Granite State.
1. The Whistle at Eaton Falls (1951): The Seacoast Plays a Mill Town
Producer Louis de Rochemont grew up in Newington and ran his operation out of Portsmouth, so when he made a labor drama about a mill town in trouble, he shot it at home. Robert Siodmak directed. Lloyd Bridges and Dorothy Gish starred. Portsmouth, Dover and Exeter all show up on screen, and the world premiere was held right in Portsmouth in July 1951. Brick mills, river towns and people arguing about the future: about as New Hampshire as cinema gets.
2. The Thomas Crown Affair (1968): Steve McQueen Soars Over Salem
The original Thomas Crown is pure Boston: Beacon Hill, the bank heist, the polo. But when Crown goes gliding to clear his head, that footage came from the old Salem gliderport in Salem, NH, filmed in July 1967. Fun fact that'll ruin it for you: McQueen was filmed in the cockpit on the ground, while a local glider pilot did the actual flying in a yellow Schweizer. The gliderport is a golf course now. Picture McQueen over your back nine next time you shank one.
3. A Separate Peace (1972): Exeter Plays Itself
John Knowles based his fictional "Devon School" on Phillips Exeter Academy, so Paramount simply went to the real place. Filming started on the Exeter campus in February 1971 for the winter scenes, and the crew came back that July for summer. Cast and crew set up headquarters in Amen Hall. The train station scenes were shot at Rockingham Junction in Newfields. The "Hampton Beach" trip? That was actually Salisbury Beach in Massachusetts.
4. Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980): John Sayles Rents a Ski Lodge
Before Matewan, before Eight Men Out, John Sayles made his first feature for about $60,000 in North Conway. He rented a ski lodge for $800, used it as the main location and put the cast up there too, and shot the whole thing in 25 days in the fall of 1978. It's a reunion movie about '60s activists turning 30, with a young David Strathairn, and it helped kick off the American indie boom. Wicked thrifty.
5. On Golden Pond (1981): Squam Lake Steals the Show
The big one. Ernest Thompson wrote the play with Maine's Great Pond in mind, but the movie was made on Squam Lake in Holderness. The production leased a lakeside cottage and added a whole second-floor balcony for the shoot. "Walter," the legendary trout, came from a pond at Castle in the Clouds. The lake was so low that September that Henry Fonda and Doug McKeon could've stood up during the boat-on-the-rocks scene, wetsuits and all. Fonda and Katharine Hepburn both took home Oscars. The loons should've gotten one too. Rep them with our Wicked Loony T-Shirt, and yes, Squam boat tours still pass the cottage.
6. Once Around (1991): Skating on Lake Winnipesaukee
Lasse Hallström's first full English-language feature is a family dramedy with Holly Hunter, Richard Dreyfuss, Danny Aiello and Gena Rowlands. Most of it is Boston-area family chaos, but in February 1990 the production spent several days in Wolfeboro, filming at Rust Pond and putting the cast on skates on Lake Winnipesaukee. A Hollywood crew in a Lakes Region February is a special kind of brave.
7. The Good Son (1993): Macaulay Culkin Goes Dark in the 603
Home Alone's Kevin turned psycho for this one, with Elijah Wood as the cousin who figures it out. The story is set in Maine and most of it was shot on Cape Ann in Massachusetts, but New Hampshire got its piece. The state film office lists North Conway and Greenland. The movie's credits thank Mirror Lake in Jackson. And local lore says the infamous scene where Culkin tosses a dummy off an overpass onto the highway was filmed near Greenland. Drive Route 16 carefully, is all we're saying.
8. Jumanji (1995): The Stampede Hits Keene
Most of Jumanji was made in British Columbia, but "Brantford," the town square and the young Alan Parrish scenes are pure Keene. Central Square got a vine-covered bandstand and an Angus Parrish statue. About 150 locals were extras. The animals tearing down West Street were added later by computer. The "Parrish Shoes" sign was painted on a brick wall at Main and West for filming, and it was left up after the shoot. Fans still line up for selfies with it. The grave scene was shot at Mount Caesar Cemetery in Swanzey. The shoe factory itself was across the line in North Berwick, Maine.
9. In Dreams (1999): Wentworth by the Sea at Its Spookiest
Neil Jordan's psychic thriller starring Annette Bening and Robert Downey Jr. was shot mostly around Northampton, Massachusetts. Its creepiest set piece, though, took place at Wentworth by the Sea in New Castle. In October 1997 the grand old hotel was boarded up and falling apart, which made it the perfect "Carlton Hotel" for one of the movie's most gruesome scenes. The Wentworth has since been fully restored into the resort Seacoast folks know today. Way less haunted. Probably.
10. Live Free or Die (2006): Claremont Gets Its Own Crime Comedy
A movie named after the state motto had better be shot here, and it was. Directors Gregg Kavet and Andy Robin, two former Seinfeld writers, filmed the whole thing in Claremont in November 2004. Aaron Stanford plays a small-time wannabe crook. Paul Schneider, Zooey Deschanel, Michael Rapaport and Judah Friedlander round out the cast. It's a dark little comedy about a guy who thinks he's way tougher than he is. Every 603 town has one.
11. Mystery Team (2009): Donald Glover Takes Over Manchester
Before Community, before Childish Gambino, before Atlanta, Donald Glover and the sketch group Derrick Comedy made a feature in Manchester. Director Dan Eckman is from Manchester, so in spring 2008 the "Oakdale" of the movie became Derryfield Park, Bunny's Superette, Stadium Ten Pin bowling and Reeds Ferry Lumber, among others. Aubrey Plaza and Ellie Kemper pop up too. It premiered at Sundance and became a cult hit. Manch Vegas in a Donald Glover movie. Put that on the welcome sign.
12. In Your Eyes (2014): Joss Whedon's Romance Comes to Exeter
Joss Whedon wrote this one: two strangers, one in New Mexico and one in New Hampshire, who can suddenly see through each other's eyes. Zoe Kazan's half of the story was filmed here in early 2012, with the crew shooting along Water Street in downtown Exeter. The state film office also lists Amherst, Bedford, Claremont, Hooksett and Windham. Exeter got picked as the perfect New England town. Correct call. The movie premiered at Tribeca and Whedon put it online the same night.
Set in New Hampshire, Shot Somewhere Else
Now for the twist. Some of the most famous "New Hampshire" movies barely touched the place, or didn't touch it at all:
- What About Bob? (1991): Bill Murray follows his shrink to a lake house on Lake Winnipesaukee, but the movie was filmed at Smith Mountain Lake near Moneta, Virginia
- Affliction (1997): Paul Schrader's small-town New Hampshire drama, which won James Coburn an Oscar, was filmed in Quebec
- The Skulls (2000): the secret-society thriller was shot mostly in Toronto; New Hampshire's part is Dartmouth's boathouse in Hanover
- Jumanji (1995): Keene got the town square, but the Parrish mansion was a facade in Vancouver and the big effects scenes were shot in British Columbia
That's why the twelve above get the credit. They did the work on real New Hampshire lakes, campuses, main streets and Seacoast hotels.
Roll Credits on the Granite State
From Henry Fonda chasing Walter on Squam Lake to a jungle stampede through Central Square, New Hampshire keeps showing up in movies for a state with no sales tax and plenty of moose. Next time you're in Keene, Exeter, Wolfeboro, North Conway or New Castle, look twice. You might be standing on a movie set. For more Granite State deep cuts, check out our list of things invented in New Hampshire, plus the weird laws in New Hampshire that are somehow still real.
Want to rep the lake that Hollywood keeps borrowing? Our I'd Rather Be at Lake Winnipesaukee T-Shirt is the official movie-night uniform, whether the movie was really shot on Winni or not.
Were you an extra in Keene in '95, or did you skate with Holly Hunter in Wolfeboro? Tell us on our socials. We want the gossip.
Stay wicked cinematic, New Hampshire,
Ryan & the Chowdaheadz Crew