January 6, 2009
Movies about Oregon
Movies that are about Oregon, were filmed in Oregon or have some other connection to Oregon.
"The General." 1927, starring and directed by Buster Keaton; filmed in Cottage Grove. Perhaps the most important movie ever made in Oregon, this Civil War comedy also contained the most expensive scene ever shot in a silent film - a real locomotive plunging through a real burning bridge.
"Animal House." 1978. Why? Because it's fun. Because the late John Belushi was in it. Because it was filmed at a former fraternity house in Eugene and on campus at the University of Oregon. (The frat house was later demolished to make way for a pediatrics office.)
"Five Easy Pieces." 1970. Starring Jack Nicholson and Karen Black. Look carefully, trivia buffs: the famous diner scene where Nicholson orders a chicken salad sandwich - hold the chicken salad - was shot at Denny's in Eugene. On a deeper level, though, the movie touches on the Northwest as a symbol of wholeness and home.
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." 1975. Starring Jack Nicholson as a lusty mental patient, based on the novel by Pleasant Hill author Ken Kesey, filmed in part at Oregon State Hospital and with a cameo by former Oregon Gov Tom McCall.
Photo: Riley Pond
all text and images © 2005-06 by Bob Keefer
no reproduction allowed in any form without written permission