Articles

  • Famous Movies Filmed In Real Bars

    • 10/14/2015
    • ADB
    • 0 Comments

    Some of the most iconic moments in film and television have been created in bars.  Bars and movies go together like butts and barstools.   We have all fantasized about bellying up to the bar and knocking back a couple of cold ones with our favorite character or having a good punch up with a group of bad guys. 

     

    In most cases, the bars are no more real than the characters in the movie.  However, there are instances in which life imitates art.  The bar you see in the movie might really be a working bar and the history of many of these places is as interesting as the movies filmed there. 

     

    Here is a look at nine iconic bars featured in film.  It is by no means a complete list, and if your favorite real bar from the movies was left out, my apologies in advance. 

     

    Formosa Cafe

    Location:  West Hollywood, California

    Movie:  L.A. Confidential

     

    One of my favorite movies of all-time is L.A. Confidential.  There is nothing about this film that I do not love.  I remember one day driving down Santa Monica Boulevard and seeing it for the first time and thinking how cool it was that it was a real place.  I love the scene in the Formosa when Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) goes in to pump gangland enforcer Johnny Stompanato for information and mistakes Lana Turner for a prostitute that looks like Lana Turner.

     

    Stompanato was a real-person who worked as an enforcer for Mickey Cohen.  Stompanto is also portrayed in the movie Gangster Squad in which scenes were filmed at Boardner’s.  He had a real relationship with Lana Turner and was stabbed to death by Turner’s daughter.

     

    Re-bar

    Location:  Seattle, Washington

    Movie:  Singles

    In 1992, “Singles” was released in theaters.  Directed by Cameron Crowe, the movie focused on four young single adults in the Seattle area.  One of the characters, Cliff (Matt Dillon) is the singer in a rock band called Citizen Dick.  Re-bar was the venue in which his band played. 

     

    Three Clubs

    Location:  Los Angeles, California

    Movie:  Swingers

    Swinger’s, released in 1996, is a club classic movie starring Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn.  While the movie did not make a ton of money by movie standards, it launched the careers of Favreau and Vaughn.  The vibe of the bar fit in perfectly with the Sinatra style hipster vibe of the movie.  The movies also brought a lot of exposure to Three Clubs.  The bar has been used in episodes of “Mad Men” and “Private Practice.”

     

    Boardner’s By La Belle

    Location:  Los Angeles, California

    Movie:  L.A. Confidential

    Yes I am going back to the L.A. Confidential well again but I love the movie so I make no apologies.  For more than 70 years, Boardner’s has been a Hollywood institution.  From Gene Autry and Mickey Mantle to Quentin Tarantino, numerous celebrities have graced their door.  It has also been featured in a number of movies.  In the film, L.A. Confidential, it is the location of the scene where Detective Bud White (Russell Crowe) gets his gun and badge back from Captain Smith (James Cromwell).

     

    Cowboy Palace Saloon

    Location:  Chatsworth, California

    Movie:  La Bamba

    The Cowboy Palace Saloon has been featured in numerous television shows, music videos and movies.  It was the location from the scene in the movie “La Bamba” where Ritchie Valens is worried because he is playing in front of an Anglo audience.  It is also the location of the Toby Keith video, “I Love This Bar.”  For more than 30 years, The Cowboy Palace Saloon has not only become an institution for the locals of Chatsworth, California, but a tourist destination for people around the world.

     

    Barney's Beanery

    Location:  West Hollywood, California

    Movie:  The Doors

    Barney’s Beanery has been an institution in West Hollywood since the 1920’s.  Here is an example of life imitating art, sort of!  In Oliver Stone’s movie, “The Doors”, there is a scene where Jim Morrison (Val Kilmer) is kicked out of the place for urinating on the bar, which was based on actual circumstances.  Jim Morrison was actually thrown out of the bar for doing the exact same thing.  If you go to Barney’s Beanery, look for the plaque that notes where Jim Morrison used to sit.

     

    The Original Mother's

    Location:  Chicago, Illinois

    Movie:  About Last Night

    This movie was made in 1986 with a main cast of Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, James Belushi and Elizabeth Perkins.   The main plot revolves around the lives of Danny (Lowe) and Debbie (Moore) who hook up on a one-night stand that develops into a relationship.  The movie chronicles the first year of that relationship.   Danny and Debbie hook up after a night at Mother Malone’s (Mothers).  The movie was well received critically and did fairly well at the box office.  Mother’s is also well known as live music venue as bands such as The Velvet Underground, The Mekons, Chicago and Dave Matthews all played there in their early days.

     

    Gilley's

    Location:  Pasadena Texas

    Movie:  Urban Cowboy

    Established in 1971, Gilley’s was the brainchild of country music star Mickey Gilley.  It was enormous and was most famous for having a mechanical bull.  It rose to huge fame in 1980 with the release of “Urban Cowboy”, starring John Travolta and Debra Winger.  A large portion of the movie focused on the nightclub and after the release of the movie, Gilley’s became a mecca for those wanting to don a cowboy hat, Wranglers, boots and a big belt buckle and ride the bull.  Unfortunately, the club is no longer.  It was closed in 1989 and the majority of the structure was destroyed in a fire in 1990.

     

    There have been other reincarnations of the nightclub in Las Vegas and Dallas, but the original is no more.  R.I.P.

     

    Studio 54

    Location:  New York, New York

    Movie:  54

    Studio 54 gets a huge honorable mention.  While the movie 54 was not filmed at the legendary discotheque, the movie was about the legendary discotheque.  Now that is star power.  Studio 54 was during the 1970s the most iconic club in the world and ground zero for the disco movement.  Its legendary guest list included Mick Jagger, Andy Warhol, Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Michael Jackson.  Tales of debauchery were legendary at the club.  The club ceased to exist in 1986 and is now the Roundabout Theater Company.  In 1998, the movie 54, starring Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek and Mike Myers, chronicled the legendary venue through the eyes of a young employee. 

     

    While I’m sure there are countless other cool bars that have been featured in movies this is just a small sample to illustrate the significance that a good bar plays not only in life, but in the movies as well.  What could be better than going to your favorite movie bar and throwing back a few cold ones?  The characters might not be there, but the memories are.

Comments
 

Recent

Famous Movies Filmed In Real Bars

Some of the most iconic moments in film and television have been created in bars.  Bars and movies go together like butts and barstools.   We have all fantasized about bellying up to the bar and knocking back a couple of cold ones with our favorite character or having a good punch up with a group of bad guys. 

 

In most cases, the bars are no more real than the characters in the movie.  However, there are instances in which life imitates art.  The bar you see in the movie might really be a working bar and the history of many of these places is as interesting as the movies filmed there. 

 

Here is a look at nine iconic bars featured in film.  It is by no means a complete list, and if your favorite real bar from the movies was left out, my apologies in advance. 

 

Formosa Cafe

Location:  West Hollywood, California

Movie:  L.A. Confidential

 

One of my favorite movies of all-time is L.A. Confidential.  There is nothing about this film that I do not love.  I remember one day driving down Santa Monica Boulevard and seeing it for the first time and thinking how cool it was that it was a real place.  I love the scene in the Formosa when Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) goes in to pump gangland enforcer Johnny Stompanato for information and mistakes Lana Turner for a prostitute that looks like Lana Turner.

 

Stompanato was a real-person who worked as an enforcer for Mickey Cohen.  Stompanto is also portrayed in the movie Gangster Squad in which scenes were filmed at Boardner’s.  He had a real relationship with Lana Turner and was stabbed to death by Turner’s daughter.

 

Re-bar

Location:  Seattle, Washington

Movie:  Singles

In 1992, “Singles” was released in theaters.  Directed by Cameron Crowe, the movie focused on four young single adults in the Seattle area.  One of the characters, Cliff (Matt Dillon) is the singer in a rock band called Citizen Dick.  Re-bar was the venue in which his band played. 

 

Three Clubs

Location:  Los Angeles, California

Movie:  Swingers

Swinger’s, released in 1996, is a club classic movie starring Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn.  While the movie did not make a ton of money by movie standards, it launched the careers of Favreau and Vaughn.  The vibe of the bar fit in perfectly with the Sinatra style hipster vibe of the movie.  The movies also brought a lot of exposure to Three Clubs.  The bar has been used in episodes of “Mad Men” and “Private Practice.”

 

Boardner’s By La Belle

Location:  Los Angeles, California

Movie:  L.A. Confidential

Yes I am going back to the L.A. Confidential well again but I love the movie so I make no apologies.  For more than 70 years, Boardner’s has been a Hollywood institution.  From Gene Autry and Mickey Mantle to Quentin Tarantino, numerous celebrities have graced their door.  It has also been featured in a number of movies.  In the film, L.A. Confidential, it is the location of the scene where Detective Bud White (Russell Crowe) gets his gun and badge back from Captain Smith (James Cromwell).

 

Cowboy Palace Saloon

Location:  Chatsworth, California

Movie:  La Bamba

The Cowboy Palace Saloon has been featured in numerous television shows, music videos and movies.  It was the location from the scene in the movie “La Bamba” where Ritchie Valens is worried because he is playing in front of an Anglo audience.  It is also the location of the Toby Keith video, “I Love This Bar.”  For more than 30 years, The Cowboy Palace Saloon has not only become an institution for the locals of Chatsworth, California, but a tourist destination for people around the world.

 

Barney's Beanery

Location:  West Hollywood, California

Movie:  The Doors

Barney’s Beanery has been an institution in West Hollywood since the 1920’s.  Here is an example of life imitating art, sort of!  In Oliver Stone’s movie, “The Doors”, there is a scene where Jim Morrison (Val Kilmer) is kicked out of the place for urinating on the bar, which was based on actual circumstances.  Jim Morrison was actually thrown out of the bar for doing the exact same thing.  If you go to Barney’s Beanery, look for the plaque that notes where Jim Morrison used to sit.

 

The Original Mother's

Location:  Chicago, Illinois

Movie:  About Last Night

This movie was made in 1986 with a main cast of Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, James Belushi and Elizabeth Perkins.   The main plot revolves around the lives of Danny (Lowe) and Debbie (Moore) who hook up on a one-night stand that develops into a relationship.  The movie chronicles the first year of that relationship.   Danny and Debbie hook up after a night at Mother Malone’s (Mothers).  The movie was well received critically and did fairly well at the box office.  Mother’s is also well known as live music venue as bands such as The Velvet Underground, The Mekons, Chicago and Dave Matthews all played there in their early days.

 

Gilley's

Location:  Pasadena Texas

Movie:  Urban Cowboy

Established in 1971, Gilley’s was the brainchild of country music star Mickey Gilley.  It was enormous and was most famous for having a mechanical bull.  It rose to huge fame in 1980 with the release of “Urban Cowboy”, starring John Travolta and Debra Winger.  A large portion of the movie focused on the nightclub and after the release of the movie, Gilley’s became a mecca for those wanting to don a cowboy hat, Wranglers, boots and a big belt buckle and ride the bull.  Unfortunately, the club is no longer.  It was closed in 1989 and the majority of the structure was destroyed in a fire in 1990.

 

There have been other reincarnations of the nightclub in Las Vegas and Dallas, but the original is no more.  R.I.P.

 

Studio 54

Location:  New York, New York

Movie:  54

Studio 54 gets a huge honorable mention.  While the movie 54 was not filmed at the legendary discotheque, the movie was about the legendary discotheque.  Now that is star power.  Studio 54 was during the 1970s the most iconic club in the world and ground zero for the disco movement.  Its legendary guest list included Mick Jagger, Andy Warhol, Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Michael Jackson.  Tales of debauchery were legendary at the club.  The club ceased to exist in 1986 and is now the Roundabout Theater Company.  In 1998, the movie 54, starring Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek and Mike Myers, chronicled the legendary venue through the eyes of a young employee. 

 

While I’m sure there are countless other cool bars that have been featured in movies this is just a small sample to illustrate the significance that a good bar plays not only in life, but in the movies as well.  What could be better than going to your favorite movie bar and throwing back a few cold ones?  The characters might not be there, but the memories are.

0