Top Ten Films Shot in Fort Lauderdale

By Chris Joseph Tue., Nov. 13 2012 at 8:45 AM

3. Cape Fear (1991)

Martin Scorsese's remake of the 1962 classic is a chilling psychological thriller starring Nick Nolte as Sam Bowden, a small-town corporate lawyer who is stalked by a deranged Cajun-talking, Bible-quoting ex-con Max Cady, played by Robert De Niro. Cady's mindscrew of Bowden's life is like a slow decent into Dante's Circles of Hell as he looks to enact revenge on the attorney after he failed to defend him properly in Cady's rape trial. Bent on vengeance, Cady worms his way into Bowden's family by wooing his young daughter and always being a step ahead of Bowden. Scorsese pays homage to the pulp crime films of the '50s and '60s and stuffs Cape Fear with enough Hitchcockian overtones to make a proper creeper of a film. Various parts of Fort Lauderdale make for an excellent backdrop to the movie's dark, purgatory noir feel.

2. Caddyshack (1980)

One of the most quotable films ever, Caddyshack is the all-time classic comedy that is the template for others to follow. A star-studded cast led by Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, and the incomparable Ted Knight make this quite possibly the greatest comedy ever made. It's debatable, but there might be fisticuffs involved. Portions of the golf scenes were actually filmed in Boca Raton. It's not Fort Lauderdale, but Caddyshack was filmed near Fort Lauderdale. So that, and its awesomeness, are enough to get on this list. IT'S IN THE HOLE!

1. Midnight Cowboy (1969)

OK, so most of the film takes place in New York. But the pivotal scene, which happens to be the final scene, which happens to be the video clip above (SPOILER ALERT), was shot in Fort Lauderdale. Fort Lauderdale, after all, represents the film's quest for hope amid darkness. So there's that. Jon Voight stars as Joe Buck, the Texan cowboy who soon realizes that big-city life is meager, ugly, and all too real. He soon begins to make a living as a hustler (which is '60s talk for male prostitute) and befriends a gimp named Ratzo, played by Dustin Hoffman. The film depicts New York in its peep-show heyday, when it was a dirty, sexy hot mess. And the film richly portrays two lost souls trying to find their way through the detritus. Hoffman is exceptional as Ratzo ("I'm walkin' here! I'm walkin' here!") and Voight is equal parts naive and intelligent in his portrayal as the fish-out-of-water Texan. In the end, the cowboy goes from being a self-centered gigolo to a man who simply wants to get his tuberculous-striken friend to the warm, sunny beaches of... awww yeah, Fort Lauderdale.

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Tags:

Adaptation, Any Given Sunday, Caddy Shack, Cape Fear, Donny Brasco, Fort Lauderdale, Happy Gilmore, Midnight Cowboy, Out of Sight, There's Something About Mary, True Lies

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smdrpepper topcommenter

1 Like

This makes me feel slightly better after reading the criminal West craziness.

cetacean1

Maybe you should include Body Heat, The Island, and whatever the film with Tom Cruise as a rock and roll star was.

kilmo

1 Like

Yes, Caddy Shack golf course shots were at Rolling hills in Davie. Midnight Cowboy shots were in Hollywood. Scenes were shot at the now demolished Greyhound Bus Station, the doughnut shop on the corner of Tyler St. and Young Circle and at shops along Hollywood Blvd. You can also see the Great Southern Hotel in one shot. I believe in the closing scene where Ratzo passes away the bus was on I-95in Miami.

chrisjoseph13 writertopcommenter

@kilmo Good stuff!

winsomelosesome

1 Like

You know you can't do this without getting other submissions. It's why we love subjective lists. One flim that shot a lot of Ft. Lauderdale scenes was "Harry & Son" with Paul Newman and Robbie Benson. Somewhat sappy film but I liked the neighborhood shots of old FTL. I'm also pretty sure the golf scenes and Club House and pool scenes From Caddy Shack were shot on an old course near FTL. It was called Rolling Hills. I played there several times.