Philadelphia Films: Videos from the Tri-Co Libraries

(1926) A braggart, who is a clerk at the offices of the Pennsylvania Railroad, wreaks havoc with his fiancee's family as they become poorer. He somehow saves the day.
• Exteriors shot in Philadelphia.

(1927) Story about an ill-matched marriage between a black concert pianist and a poor, lower class black woman. Secretly ashamed of her, the young man keeps his wife hidden from his socially-prominent middle-class mother. Despite the melodrama, it is a strong statement on the issues of class and the color caste system which existed within the African-American community.
Included on disc 1 of The Origins of Film: African American cinema I-II.
•This was the first film of the Colored Players Film Corp. of Philadelphia.

(1940) Kitty, a working-class girl, endures the rejection of Philadelphia society, makes her own way as a single woman, and ultimately chooses between an unmarried arrangement with Main Line scion Wynnewood Strafford VI or marriage to a struggling physician.
• Set in Philadelphia's Frankford neighborhood
• Not shot in Philadelphia, although includes footage from a ball at Bellevue-Stratford Hotel on Broad Street.

(1940) A spoiled socialite learns some things about who she is and what she really wants on the eve of her second marriage.
• Set in Philadelphia & the Main Line
• Not shot in Philadelphia, except for a few location shots of the Main Line and the North Philadelphia train station

(1957) A cunning jewel thief targets the mansion of a wealthy evangelist as his final career heist. Disc 5 in the Film Noir Classics III set.
• Philadelphia Museum of Art, Logan’s Circle, Independence Square and the Atlantic City Steel Pier.

(1958) Residents of a small Pennsylvania town combat a slimy space invader.
• Shot in Phoenixville.

(1959) Anthony Lawrence is an up-and-coming lawyer, whose career is interrupted by the Korean War. On the eve of his decision to run for political office, he finds himself about to defend a down-and-out friend in a murder case that threatens to expose the Main Line's darkest secrets.
• Set in Philadelphia, not shot here
• University of Pennsylvania, Rittenhouse Square, Main Line, South Philly, Cricket Club mentioned

(1962) Painfully shy Lisa can communicate only through rhyme, and David cannot bear being touched. They meet in a mental institution and are strongly attracted to each other.
• Set in Philadelphia
• Main Line, Clothier Estate in Wynnewood, Wynnewood Train Station, Chestnut Street, Center City, Art Museum

(1964) A husband struggles to help his wife face her mental illness.
• Set in Philadelphia & the Main Line
• Center City, Ben Franklin Bridge, 30th Street Station, Schuykill Expressway

(1967) The story of a butler's daughter who must overcome her butler father's eccentricities to find a husband.
• Set in Philadelphia & the Main Line, but was shot on a set.
• Based on the Main Line's Biddle family.

(1967-1987) Six short films from the incomparable mind of David Lynch.
• "Six Men Getting Sick," "The Alphabet," and "The Grandmother" were made while Lynch was a student at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts

(1968) Comedic drama centering around nuns in a convent and the conflict between the traditional, rigid values of the Roman Catholic church and the liberalism of the 1960s.
• Set in Philadelphia
• City Hall, Market Street, Center City, Art Museum, Logan Square

(1972) A musical celebration of the founding of The United States of America.
• Set in Philadelphia
• Shot on a set with a full-scale copy of Independence Hall, some flashbacks shot in Philly

(1972) Trick Baby is the story of the relationship between two Philly con men, Johnny "Folks" O'Brien, a white man, and "Blue" Howard, the black man who raised him.
• Set in Philadelphia
• North Philly, Strawberry Mansion, 52nd and Spruce, PTC Trolley, Horn & Hardart at 11th and Market, Frankford El, 11th and Race, Reading Terminal, Arch Street, Girard Avenue

(1974) A black pious church-going widow and grandmother takes over the political campaign of a neighbor running for mayor of Baltimore, transforming him from a white man's pawn into a serious challenger of the blue-blood establishment.
• Shot in Philadelphia, but takes place in Baltimore.
• West Philly High School, Master Theater, West Philadelphia

(1976) Henry is the nerdish central character who lives in a squalid apartment with a strange girl and their monstrous baby. An eerie, dream-like world with a logic all its own.
• David Lynch has cited living in Philadelphia as a major influence on Eraserhead

(1976) Rocky Balboa gets his million-to-one shot at love, self-respect and the world heavyweight boxing crown.
• Shot and set in Philadelphia
• Kensington, Italian Market, Schuykill River, Art Museum, South Philadelphia, Pat's Steaks, Front and Susquehanna

(1976) Nicky has embezzled a fortune from his Mafia bosses and is on the run. Nicky's only friend, Mikey tries to help him escape; or will he lead him into a trap?
• Set in Philadelphia
• 52nd and Ranstead Streets, Broad and Oxford Streets, Center City, Essex House, 11th and Filbert

(1977) The ultimate Watergate parody. Glenda Jackson as Sister Alexandra fears defeat in ther election for head Abbas from Sister Felicity a young, rebellious candidate, so she bugs the Abbey.
• Set in Philadelphia
• Center City skyline, City Hall, University of Pennsylvania campus, Eagles mentioned, Wanamaker's

(1979) Rocky must cope with the realities of his success, wealth and the responsibilities of marriage, but his main focus is on his second shot at the boxing title against Apollo Creed.
• Set in Philadelphia
• South Philly, Art Museum, the Spectrum

(1979) A fictional president of the U.S. is assassinated and his brother uncovers the conspiracy behind the murder several years later.
• City Hall, Market Street, Lombardi's Bread Shop on 9th Street

(1981) A sound-effects specialist inadvertently records an automobile accident in which a political candidate is killed.
• Set in Philadelphia
• Apollo Theater, City Hall, Independence National Historic Park, Liberty Bell, Wannamakers, Mummers, Delaware Riverfront, Wissahickon Bridge, Philadelphia newscasters

(1983) In the early 1960's, Eddie and the Cruisers had one hit album. Then Eddie Wilson, leader of the band, drove his car off a bridge. Years later, when several old Cruisers' songs again became popular, a former band member begins a search for the missing tapes of the Cruisers' unreleased second album.
• Haverford College

(1983) Rocky becomes world famous, scoring ten consecutive wins. But after suffering a humiliating defeat against Clubber Lang, he considers hanging up his gloves. With encouragement from his old nemesis, Apollo Creed, Rocky strives to regain the "eye of the tiger" before confronting Lang in a rematch.
• Parts are set in Philadelphia
• Ben Franklin Parkway, Center City, South Philly, Rocky Statue

(1983) Two old business partners bet that they can turn a street hustler into a successful businessman.
• Set in Philadelphia
• Rittenhouse Square, Fidelity Bank, Broad and Sansom, Center City, 20th and Delancy, Curtis Institute of Music, Independence Hall, Broad Street, Rosenbach Museum, Library on Delancy Street

(1984) Birdy, a Vietnam veteran, sits in an almost catatonic state in an Army hospital, where he has come to believe he is one of the feathered creatures of his boyhood dreams.
• Set in Philadelphia
• South Philadelphia, 63rd Street El Stop, Parkside Avenue, 46th and Market (a warehouse that once housed American Bandstand studios), Philadelphia House of Correction, City Hall, Gym at Woodrow Wilson High School in Northeast Philly, old PCC trolley.

(1985) Rocky fights the mighty Russian Drago, who has killed Rocky's friend and trainer Apollo Creed in a fight.
• Not filmed in Philadelphia

(1985) When a young Amish woman and her son get caught up in the murder of an undercover narcotics agent, their savior turns out to be hardened Philadelphia detective John Book, who runs head-on into the non-violent world of a Pennsylvania Amish community.
• Set in Lancaster County
• 30th Street Station, Lancaster County locations

(1987) A store display window artist creates the mannequin of his dreams and she comes to life.
• Set in Philadelphia
• Wanamaker's Department Store, Dorchester Hotel, DiLullo's on Locust Street

(1988) A young, hotshot real-estate broker has a drug abuse problem he refuses to acknowledge.
• Set in Philadelphia
• Snow White Diner at 2nd and Market Streets, Independence Hall, Rohn & Hass building, Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Upper Darby, Colonial Theater at 11th and Moyamensing in South Philly

(1988) An ex-ballplayer returns home, thinking of the past and of the person who made it special. A long-time friend and mentor draws the loose ends of his past and present lives together.
• Set in Philadelphia
• Chestnut Hill, Admiral Wilson Boulevard, SEPTA, Ridge Avenue, Roxborough, Chestnut Hill Academy, Veteran's Stadium

(1990) Alex Kearney is a suburban cop who gets into trouble just doing his job, while Dennis Curren is an inner-city detective who never follows procedures.
• Set in Philadelphia
• North Philadelphia, Diamond Street, Bryn Mawr, Main Line, Schuykill Expressway, Center City

(1990) Rocky and his family must move to their old, low-rent neighborhood after all their money is lost by an an unscrupulous financial advisor and injuries force his retirement from the ring. As Rocky tries to resolve the resentment held by his son, a young boxer Rocky trained publicly taunts his mentor, and Rocky realizes he must fight once more.
• Set in Philadelphia
• South Philly, Kensington, El, Civic Center, 7th and Dickenson, Museum of Art, Rocky Statue

(1993) A love triangle in the 1870s New York high society.
• Academy of Music.

(1993) Story of two competing lawyers who join together to sue a prestigious Philadelphia law firm when the firm fires one of them because he has AIDS.
• Set in Philadelphia
• Center City, Mellon Bank Center, Market Street, Pickwick Pharmacy, 19th and Chestnut, University of Pennsylvania Arts Library, The Raquet Club, Mt. Sinai Hospital, the Spectrum, City Hall

(1995) Gennaro is a youngster who'll do anything to earn "two bits". When he finds his pockets are still empty after a day of unforgettable adventures, his mischievous Grandpa offers him an intriguing bargain.
• Set in Philadelphia
• South Philly, 600 block of Durfor Street, 2300 block of South Eighth Street, Saint Gabriel's Church, 29th and Dickenson, 32nd and Tasker, President's Catering Hall at 2308 Snyder Avenue

(1996) An inmate from a futuristic prison is sent to the past to gather information about the virus that sent the human race to live underground.
• Set in Philadelphia
• Wanamaker's, City Hall, Eastern State Penitentiary, Delaware and Richmond Generating Stations, Met Theater on Broad Street, Memorial Hall, Philadelphia Convention Center.

(1996) When aspiring news reporter Tally Atwater tries to break into television, only veteran newsman Warren Justice will give her a shot. But with her rise from local TV weather girl to network anchor, Tally and Warren must balance the dream of success with their desire for each other.
• Parts are set in Philadelphia
• Holmesburg Prison

(1996) Cheryl, a young black woman in a video store, is making a documentary about an obscure black actress from the 1930's. When she discovers that the actress (known as "the Watermelon Woman") had a white lesbian lover, Cheryl just happens to fall in love with a very cute white woman herself!
• TLA video store, Center City, opening shot in Bryn Mawr, PA

(1998) After Paul D. finds his old slave friend Sethe in Ohio and moves in with her and her daughter Denver, a strange girl comes along by the name of "Beloved".
• Third Street in Old City.

(1998) Detective John Hobbes is searching for a criminal he's already met, already caught and already killed.
• Set in Philadelphia
• Eastern State Penitentiary, City Hall, Geno's Steaks, local newscasters, Septa station

(1998) Joshua is a thoughtful 10-year-old looking for some simple answers to life's eternal questions.
•Set in Philadelphia
•Scenes shot at Bryn Mawr College - Taylor Hall

(1999) A noted child psychologist attempts to help a frightened 8 year-old boy who is experiencing terrifying visions of the dead.
•Set in Philadelphia
•Center City, Striped Bass on Walnut Street, Bryn Mawr Acme Supermarket, Saint Augustine's Catholic Church at 4th and Vine, Saint Alban's Place on 23rd Street, Boathouse Row, 13th and Green, Head House Square

(2000) A rumpled, hapless young man in his twenties, FH bounces through his days with his dreams and hallucinations blurring and merging into reality. The shaky center of his universe is his beloved on-again, off-again, girlfriend Michelle.
•Frankford El

(2000) The fact-based story of a reporter's discovery of widespread police corruption in 1970's Philadelphia.
•Set in Philadelphia

(2000) David Dunn is the sole survivor of an horrific train crash that killed 131. Everyone, especially David, is wondering how it could be possible. Soon, David is approached by comic book specialist Elijah Prince, who confronts David with an incredible theory that just might explain the situation.
•Set in Philadelphia
•Manayunk, Franklin Field

(2001) A lushly detailed, early nineteenth century horror tale, concerning the last days of family of once-wealthy aristocrats.
• Filmed in the Philadelphia region

(2001) The emotional and spiritual struggles, and joys of a priest called to serve in poor parish in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
•Set in Philadelphia
•North Philly, St. Malachy's at 11th and Master Streets

(2001) Set in the mean streets of Philadelphia, this is a journey into the dark side of the rap music industry and an underworld filled with hustlers, thieves and killers who will do whatever it takes to stay on top.

(Originally aired on television in 2002-2005) A Philadelphia family's journey through the joys and pains of America in the '60s and early '70s. Inspired by American Bandstand.
•Set in Philadelphia

(2002) Detective Emmett Young is determined to rid Philadelphia of a psychotic serial killer when he discovers he has a painful terminal illness. An ex-cop convinces Young that putting out a contract on himself is the best way to go.
•Set in Philadelphia
•Chinatown, 10th and Cherry, West Philly, 46th St., Fairmont Park, Broad Street, Rittenhouse Square, South Street

(2002) In Bucks County, Pennsylvania, a five-hundred-foot crop circle is found on a farm of reverend Hess which causes a media frenzy and test Hess's faith as he journeys to find out the truth behind the crop circles.
•Set in Bucks County

(2003) Charlie, the mastermind of a Venice heist, is overseen by John, a lifelong criminal. But the thieves are ruthlessly double-crossed by one of their own.
•An early scene is set in Philadelphia
•Ben Franklin Bridge, Center City skyline, Delaware River, Spruce street

(2004) Tthe intense visual and aural perceptions of a young painter as he struggles to overcome his self-imposed boundaries.

(2004) Since his childhood, Benjamin Franklin Gates has known that he is a decendant of a long line of people whose job it has been to guard a treasure hidden by the Founding Fathers. Now, Ben has learned of a plot to steal the Declaration, and has only one option: he had to steal it himself.
•Portions are set in Philadelphia
•Septa bus, Franklin Institute, Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Old City, 5th and Chestnut, Reading Terminal Market, Head House Square

(2004) In an isolated village there lies a pact between the people of the village and the creatures who reside in the surrounding woods.
•Chadds Ford

(2004) After twelve years in prison, a convicted sex offender struggles to regain the life he lost, while grappling with the terrible prospect of his own reawakened demons.
•Set in Philadelphia
•South Philly, 9th and Federal, SEPTA bus, Willow Grove Mall, Navy Yard

(2005) Tom is a loving, well-respected family man from a small Indiana town. When the mob show up at Tom's doorstep, is it a case of mistaken identity or does Tom have a secret Philadelphia past that no one knows about?
•Portions are set in Philadelphia, but not shot there.

(2005) Free-wheeling irresponsible Maggie gets through her life thanks to her remarkable looks and her complete lack of scruples. She constantly goes to her straight-laced, plain-Jane successful lawyer sister Rose when she is in need of financial help.
•Set in Philadelphia
•Rittenhouse Square, South Street, Jamaican Jerk Hut, Italian Market, Art Museum

(2005 - ) Television series. Whether it's underage drinking, homophobia or smokers' rights, no subject is off limits for the hilariously warped gang at Paddy's Pub in Philadelphia.
•Opening credits include shots of the Ben Franklin Bridge, Penn's Landing, Lincoln Financial Field, Logan Circle, Boathouse Row, 30th Street Station, South Street

(2005) When Rose, a female assassin, is diagnosed with terminal cancer, she decides to carry out one final killing assisted by her lover and stepson, Mikey.
•Set in Philadelphia
•Center City, City Hall, Pat's Steaks, Art Museum, Schuykill River, Boathouse Row, Waterworks, Kelly Drive

(2006) Vince Papale is a down-on-his-luck substitute teacher in Philadelphia who, at the age of 30, was out of work, abandoned by his wife, and biding time as a part-time bartender when he decides to answer an open call for tryouts on the Philadelphia Eagles NFL football team in 1976.
•Set in Philadelphia
•Franklin Field, Pat's Steaks, South Philly, Kensington, Frankford El, cheesesteaks, Eagles

(2006) When an apartment building maintenance man rescues what he thinks is a young woman from the swimming pool who is a bedtime story character trying to make the journey back to her home, he and the building residents work to protect her from the creatures determined to keep her in our world.
•Set in a Philadelphia apartment complex
•Shot in Levittown

(2006) A former heavyweight boxing champion comes out of retirement to fight a 10 round exhibition bout against an opponent who is thirty years younger than he is.
•Set in Philadelphia
•South Philly, Kensington, Cira Center, City Hall, Art Museum

(2007) Based on the true story of inner city Philadelphia swim coach Jim Ellis. From his roots in Salisbury, North Carolina, Ellis goes on to build a swim team in one of Philly's toughest neighborhoods in the 1970s.

(2008) Kate is a successful and single businesswoman who has long put her career ahead of a personal life. Unable to get pregnant, a driven Kate allows South Philly working girl Angie Ostrowiski to become her unlikely surrogate.

(2008) An unstoppable event threatens the world's population by attacking the most basic human instinct of all: survival. Elliot Moore is an ordinary man who is trying to save his family from a terrifying, invisible killer. As Elliot discovers the incredible possibility of what is happening, it becomes very clear that no one is safe.
•30th Street Station, Center City

(2008) In the streets of North Philadelphia, the lives of strangers intersect. Tells four stories about people who overcome the obstacles in their daily lives while they face such concerns as poverty, drugs, and the human connection.

(2008) Story of a South Philadelphia Irish American family in crisis, set over the course of a year against the background of a string band preparing for the annual New Year's Mummers parade.

(2009) "The story is about three friends studying in New York, and how one of them strays to become a terrorist due to the needless FBI torture on him after the 9/11 attack"
•Partially filmed at Bryn Mawr College; extensive scenes of Thomas and Taylor Halls and other areas of campus

(2009) Arlen Faber is the reclusive author of 'Me and God,' a book that has redefined spirituality for an entire generation . His life collides with Elizabeth, a single mom raising her seven-year-old son, and Kris, a young man fresh out of rehab who is searching for meaning. Both Elizabeth and Kris are hopeful that Arlen has the answers, but the truth is, he hasn't got a clue.
•Most of the movie was filmed in Old City, Philadelphia

(2009) Professor Charlie Thurber loves to teach but can't stand all the expected publishing and politicking that goes along with the position. So when his opportunity for tenure is announced, he goes out on a limb to prove his worth, but unexpectedly finds himself falling for the very person who might replace him.
•Mostly filmed at Bryn Mawr College

(2009) The plot focuses on a man who, ten years after his wife and daughter are brutally murdered during a home invasion robbery, returns to extract justice from those who prosecuted the case against their killers.
• Set in Philadelphia
• City Hall, Eastern State Penitentiary

(2010) When a pompous actor tells good girl Alexa that she hasn't yet lived, she embarks on a bold journey that takes her to mysterious bad boy Johnny. Envious, her shy best friend Ben also dares to pursue Johnny.
•Partially filmed at Bryn Mawr College; scenes of Taylor Hall, Merion, etc.
•Takes place on the Main Line, scenes of downtown Bryn Mawr

(2010) In 1976, complex political and emotional forces are set in motion when a young man returns to the race-torn Philadelphia neighborhood where he came of age during the Black Power movement.

(2010) Follows a fresh-faced young couple from Delaware, Jeff and Samantha, who have only recently entered the world of New York City's elite private kindergartens. Every private school in the city informs Sam that she's simply too late to apply for a kindergarten spot for her five-year-old daughter this fall, but she begs Jeff to hire a 'consultant' to find a crack in the system.
•Partially filmed at Bryn Mawr College, scenes of Thomas and Taylor Halls, Quita Woodward Room.
•Philadelphia scenes of City Hall area, Rittenhouse Square

(2012) The story of how a man who has lost everything, his house, his job, his wife, reconnects with himself and creates his own silver linings from the bonds he forms with his family and friends.
• Set in Delaware County and Philadelphia.
• Lincoln Financial Field,Wells Fargo Center, Jeweler's Row, Benjamin Franklin House

(2013) Gerry Lane travels the globe in an effort to eliminate the zombie pandemic that is endangering the existence of humanity.
• Partially set in Philadelphia

(2015)
• Pilot episode partially filmed at Bryn Mawr College

(2015) Follows Adonis Johnson, son of world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, as he heads to Philadelphia to convince Rocky Balboa to train him for victory in the boxing ring.
• Philadelphia Museum of Art, Laurel Hill Cemetery, Max’s Steaks, Front Street Gym, Johnny Brenda’s, Electric Factory, Italian Market

(2021) DVD. In this American mockumentary sitcom television series from writer/executive producer/star Quinta Brunson and executive producers Justin Halpern & Patrick Schumacker, a group of teachers is brought together in a Philadelphia public school, because they love teaching. Though outnumbered and underfunded, they love what they do even if they don't love the school district's less-than-stellar attitude toward educating children.

(2021) Academy Award-winner Kate Winslet plays Mare Sheehan, a small-town Pennsylvania detective who investigates a local murder as life crumbles around her. From creator and writer Brad Ingelsby, with all episodes directed by Craig Zobel, the seven-part limited series is an exploration into the dark side of a close community and an authentic examination of how family and past tragedies can define our present.