By Chuck Darrow
Last month, we looked back at “Boardwalk Empire,” the HBO series (2010-2014) that was a fictional tale based on the life and times (and crimes) of Prohibition-era vice lord, Enoch “Nucky” Johnson.
But while set in AyCee, “Boardwalk Empire” was actually filmed on a soundstage in Brooklyn (as the Boardwalk of recent times bears little resemblance to the Great Wood Way of the Roaring Twenties). So we figured as a follow-up, this month, we’d look at some motion pictures that were actually filmed here—and, more importantly, some which had Atlantic City not just as a backdrop, but as an actual character, if you will.
Please note, this isn’t intended as a definitive list (for that, there is the Internet!):
*Atlantic City (1980): While Hollywood had been setting up shop on Absecon Island for decades, director Louis Malle’s minor masterpiece starring Burt Lancaster as an aging, low-level gangster reduced to running errands for the widow of his dead boss, is an important work, as it captured Atlantic City at a crucial time in its history—the dawn of the legal-gambling era.
To be honest, watching some of the scenes makes it hard to believe they were shot here, for so much has physically changed in the ensuing decades—including at what is now Resorts Casino-Hotel, where several sequences were filmed. But “Atlantic City” provides not only an interesting tale of people on the margins struggling with internal and external changes (welcome or not) and a wonderful cast (the female lead is played by Susan Sarandon, who won an Oscar nomination for her work), but also a fascinating trip down Memory Lane.
*The King of Marvin Gardens (1972)
If “Atlantic City” offers a glimpse of the beginning of the future, this brooding, talky piece directed by Bob Rafelson (co-creator of “The Monkees”) shows us the end of the preceding era that saw AC go from “The World’s Playground” to a bleak, decaying, on-life-support locale populated by people going through their sad lives against a backdrop of no-longer-grand hotels.
Jack Nicholson plays a Philadelphia late-night radio personality battling demons who is lured to the Shore by his hustler brother (Bruce Dern), who needs him to complete a big score. While things may not be as sunny as many would like in Atlantic City today, “The King of Marvin Gardens” is a stark reminder of how far things have come in a half-century.
“Wise Guys” (1984): The above two flicks are hardcore dramas, but this effort from director Brian De Palma (“Scarface”) is an out-and-out comedy.
Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo play two bumbling wannabe North Jersey gangsters who lam it to Atlantic City after screwing up an assignment given them by a gangland boss played by Dan Hedaya. Hijinks ensue once the pair checks into Resorts using a credit card stolen from a particularly brutal thug played by wrestling legend “Captain” Lou Albano.
“Snake Eyes” (1998): Nicholas Cage stars in this political thriller/whodunnit (also helmed by Brian De Palma) as a local detective with tons of baggage and many poor lifestyle choices who finds himself immersed in events following the assassination of a top government official at a Taj Mahal Casino-Resort (now Hard Rock) boxing event.
Fun fact: Cage’s character, Rick Santoro, was originally called by a different name in the script, but was changed after he was introduced to the real Rick Santoro who, at the time, was the Taj’s head of security. Cage apparently felt that was the perfect name for his character.
“Duane Hopwood” (2005): This low-budget, low-key indie character study came and went without a trace, but it’s actually a sweet little film.
“Friends” star David Schwimmer plays a floor person at Caesars Atlantic City whose life is spiraling out of control. A divorce has led him into alcoholism; his drinking leads to a plot-launching DUI. While the picture is a bit on the melodramatic side, the local landscape gets a lot of love, especially Downbeach.
Fun facts: Former TV talk-show host Dick Cavett plays Duane’s gay neighbor, and John Krasinski of “The Office” and “A Quiet Place” fame appears in a supporting role.
*Penn & Teller Get Killed” (1989):
Arthur Penn (“Bonnie & Clyde”) directed this deep-black comedy that stands as the only movie to star the now-iconic comedy-magic team (which hits Hard Rock May 16 and 17). The plot is a little convoluted (and, in typical P&T fashion, a lot weird), so those interested can do more research. But it was shot pretty much entirely in Atlantic City, a good deal of it at the now-demolished Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino. As such, many familiar locations and landmarks are on view.
There are also several films of note for which specific, crucial scenes were shot here, rather than the bulk of the movies.
In 1990’s “Godfather III” (which was reissued as a re-cut version in 2020 titled “The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone), a pivotal (and memorable) scene is the one in which there is an attack on a meeting of mob bosses taking place at the “Palazzo Azure” casino-hotel. The exterior shots were of what was then Trump’s Castle Hotel-Casino (now Golden Nugget Atlantic City).
In 2001’s “Ocean’s Eleven,” the initial remake of the 1960 Frank Sinatra/”Ratpack” caper flick, “Ocean’s 11,” star George Clooney begins his recruitment of robbery-gang members by meeting at Caesars with a Trump Plaza blackjack dealer played by Bernie Mac.
And with all the hoopla over the recent “Curb Your Enthusiasm” finale, it should be noted that Larry David’s first post-“Seinfeld” project was the long-forgotten 1998 film comedy “Sour Grapes,” which was about a feud between two brothers (Steven Weber, Craig Bierko). The scene that puts the story into play was shot on the Taj Mahal’s casino floor.
Chuck Darrow has spent more than 40 years writing about Atlantic City casinos.
